Drake entered the classroom, after the students should have been there. His black, always black, like the night, robes billowing behind him. He wanted to make an impression on the students that he could still make an impression on. Especially now, when they were now in the territory, his territory, where he felt in control. For the most part, he didn't enjoy being outdoors with the sun shining. It was too hot with his robes on, but he felt vulnerable otherwise.
Behind him trailed a girl, taller than the majority of first years, with a lighter version of his crimson red hair. Aside from the hair, most wouldn't suspect the girl to be related nor suspect that she was the reason that the normally punctual teacher was late. She had agreed to meet him before the class, so that he could discuss how he wanted the demonstration to go. Of course, she had been late, because she was dawdling in the library. Always the bookworm.
“Welcome back, class,” he said, moving to the front of the room rather quickly. “Before midterm, we were working on the Point Me spell. The first part of defense is to get away as fast as possible and not to get lost doing so.”
Now, nearby, the fair girl shifted nervously in front of everyone. She didn't like to be the center of attention and she felt sure most were looking at her, wondering who she was and what she was doing here. It was obvious that she didn't belong in this class.
Drake briefly glanced over to her, before continuing his lesson, “Today, we are going to begin working on two spells that can be immensely useful if you can't reach safety right away, Expelliarmus and Protego.”
Walking over to her, he put an arm around her shoulder, “This is my daughter, Briony. She is here to help me demonstrate these spells.” Turning to her, he asked softly, “Ready?”
She nodded. No, she wasn't ready. She didn't want to have everyone seeing how well she could or couldn't do a spell, but she had agreed for him. While he could perform Expelliarmus on a student, the student would most likely not be able to perform the spell back to show the second spell they were to learn. Taking her stance, now across from him, she pulled her wand and pointed it at him, as his own was drawn from the depths of his sleeves, as he took a similar position.
“Expelliarmus,” she shouted, a shot coming from her wand.
Drake didn't bother to block the spell, allowing it to hit him, knocking his wand a few feet away. He addressed the class, as he went to get his wand, “This spell is designed to knock the wand from your opponent's hand. It is a very useful spell. The more practiced and powerful you become, the more likely it is that you can also knock your opponent off their feet with the spell. Of course, remember, your opponent can also try to use the spell on you. In which, case, you then want to use Protego. This is the shield charm and will create a magical shield to deflect minor to moderate spells. Ready?”
Nodding, Briony took stance again, “Expelliarmus!”
Immediately, Drake shouted, “Protego!” His daughter's spell was deflected. “Now, then, I want you to work in groups of two, practicing Expelliarmus and Protego. The spells may not be very strong to begin with, but with practice, they'll become more powerful. You may begin.”
OOC: Okay, remember, the usual - minimum ten sentences, creativity counts, so have some fun!
Subthreads:
Oh no! Big Words! by Talitha Cumni with Oliver Abbott, Oliver, Talitha
YAY! We get to practice dueling spells! TAG! by Hikaru Kasuragi with Hyana Kamiya, Hikaru, Professor O'Leary
Uh-oh. by Ebony with Lucas Smythe
Dueling...I think I'll be quite good at this. by Kaleb Heindrich with Brett Hodges
A little shy (okay, and a little late...) by Camren Christianson with Law Cooper, Camren
Talitha made sure she got to class early. She really liked DADA and worshipped Professor O'Leary even if he did scare her a bit. But she was going to be brave from now on and not dissappear into the woodwork any more.
A bit disappointed not to see the professor at his desk waiting for them, she took a seat. As the rest of the class wandered in, she became a bit concerned. What if Professor o'Leary had left too? Professor Deck was gone, Professor K was gone, teachers were leaving right and left and she would hate it if he was gone as well.
Right when it was time to start class, Talitha breathed a sigh of relief as the professor swept into the classroom in his usual black robes. Good,this was the first familiar face she'd seen amongst the teachers. She sighed. He looked so powerful, Talitha didn't think there was any dark force that could stand a chance against him.
The girl who was with him looked familiar. Talitha'd seen her in the library and Cascade hall. She didn't know her name or what house she was in. Even though she looked a bit embarassed standing in front of a bunch of firsties, Talitha thought she seemed nice.
When Professor O'Leary introduced her as Briony, his daughter, Talitha's mouth dropped open. Professor O'Leary was a daddy! Cool! Then he wasn't as cold and mean as he pretended to be. She could tell by the way he put is arm around his daughter. Yep, she was right,crusty on the outside and mush on the inside.
As they demonstrated the Expelliarmus and the Protego spells, Talitha mouthed the words silently over and over again as she watch the wand movements. The hand motions werenn't too hard. She never really had a problem with that. But she was never any good at pronoucing big words. Protego was okay. But Explelly... Espelli... Well, she would just have to do her best.
She touched her medicine bag that was always around her neck for luck, but didn't release her spirit guides. They might distract her. Especially since Squirrel went straight for Jae any time he was in the room. Turning to her neighbor on her right, she asked, "Want to be my partner?"
YAY! We get to practice dueling spells! TAG!
by Hikaru Kasuragi
Hikaru stepped into the classroom with a feeling of excitment and terror. The ominously powerful vampire-like professor, Drake O'Leary, towered over all other students. The girl who was standing next to him had a strange resemblence to him, but not as much. Hikaru stepped over and sat in a seat near the front of the class. He wanted to have a front row seat to whatever the Professor was about to teach them.
Hikaru blinked a few times as the Professor explained the mechanics of the Disarming Charm. It was indeed powerful, as his uncle had used him for a practice dummy once when he had spray painted some Muggles car with black supposedly 'satanic' runes on the car. Okay, so he had written in Latin 'This man has major B.O.' in the scrawling script of kanji. BIG DEAL! It wasn't like he had turned his daughter into a toad. Although on one occasion he had accidently hit her with one of the fake spells that wizards use in their first stages. It had also made her face green for a week. His uncles friends from the Obliviators apartment had had to erase her memory.
Hikaru then listened to the description of the Shield Charm. Well, now I can block unfriendly spells, sweet! He turned to the person next to him and smiled. "Do you wanna practice with me?"
0Hikaru KasuragiYAY! We get to practice dueling spells! TAG!0Hikaru Kasuragi05
Ebony entered the Defence classroom with some amount of trepidation. Thanks to her Grandmother and her bullying ways, Ebony found attacking somebody to be stressful. Professor O'Leary entered the classroom and Ebony was surprised when a girl with red hair followed him in and up to the front of the class.
'They had to be related.' Ebony thought looking carefully at the facial features. 'It must be nice to have a parent at school ready to help you out if your got stuck.'Ebony had a very close relationship with her parents and part of the problem she had in the first term was that she had nobody to turn to if she was stuck.
Ebony listened carefully when Professor O'Leary began his lecture and demonstration. She was amazed when Briony disarmed her father, but she knew that if her father had been trying to block Briony then she would have had little luck.
Finally the deomonstration was over and taking a deep breath Ebony knew she had to find a partner. Looking around Ebony watched as other students began to pair up. A tap on Ebony's shoulder made her turn around bringing her face to face with another student.
Lucas had arrived early for his defense against the dark arts lesson since being slightly late for the last one and he didn't really wish to get on the wrong side of this teacher: he'd heard rumours about Professor O'Leary.
He was surprised to discover that O'Leary was, in fact, a little delayed and he had brought, what Lucas thought was, a pretty girl with him. 'They must be related' Lucas thought to himself as he took in the redness of the hair, and the fact that the girl was obviously not a student from this class - she must have been in fourth year at least, Lucas decided.
After listening to the lecture, Lucas raised his brow - this lesson was getting close to a duelling class. But still, he had had practise in the expelliamus charm at home with his own father who had tried to teach him a few tricks before he had even joined the school 'just in case', as he was told.
The class had been directed to pair up and, since Lucas didn't really know anybody too well yet, he thought that it wouldn't really matter who he did team up with.
'Let's do this, Lucas.' He thought to himself; he was determined to make some friends, so he would have to be bold this time rather than always letting people come to him. He pushed his fringe from his face and turned to the nearest person and tapped her on the shoulder, hoping this girl wasn't waiting for anyone in particular.
She turned to face him, so he offered her a friendly smile and pushed his fringe from his face once more where it had fallen back into his eye. "Hi." He offered, "Do you have a partner yet?"
Hi, do you have a partner yet?' Ebony smiled at the boy in front of her and shook her head.
"No. Can I be yours?" Ebony asked shyly. "I'm not very good at attacking people with spells, but I can generally block okay." Ebony thought back to all of the times her cousins, following her grandmother's example, had chased her around the family estate. She had never fought back against them she just defended herself so she was never seriously hurt.
Ebony flicked her hair over her shoulder, dispelling the sad memories and pulled out a ribbon from the sleeve of her robe, before proceeding to tie her waist length hair back out of the way. Once she had finished she turned back to the boy.
"Do you want to go first at blocking or do you want to start attacking?" Ebony asked, not sure she really ever wanted to attack somebody. Looking around Ebony realised there wasn't much space around them so she swished and flicked her wand at her desk hovering it out of the way to gve them more room.
Looking back at her partner, Ebony frowned.
"I apologise. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ebony Green. I would appreciate it if you would call me Ebony."
Oliver dragged his feet all the way to his defence against the dark arts class. He was merely bored; he still had no fast friends, he wasn’t particularly good at anything lesson-related, and okay so he was on the Quidditch team, but only as a reserve – he’d never get to play. Probably not until the Captain finished school (he didn’t imagine any of the players were likely to leave the team) and that would be another whole year and a half.
The main problem was that he feared Sonora wasn’t what he had been expecting after all. He had hoped it would be like his last school, but more interesting, because of the magic. It had several important differences, though; the most important being that there was only was school sports team. As long as he could remember Oliver had played for at least two teams at the same time; soccer, baseball, basketball, the relay team and the swim team, even the polo team had all seen Oliver as a prominent member at one point or another. Then there were the other groups he’d frequented, including choir, string quartet, jazz band, the poetry society – where were all these places at Sonora? They were all there at Julian’s high school, and Oliver felt like he was missing out. Okay, so he had a wand and could make potions and fly a broomstick, he supposed they were bonuses. But if he wasn’t having fun then what was the point, really? The only thing that kept Oliver going was the knowledge that he had set out to prove to his family that he would make a good wizard. It would be a bit silly to give up after only a few months, so Oliver ploughed on, trying his best not to feel too miserable.
When he reached the classroom, Oliver took a seat and waited for the professor to arrive. When he did so, he brought an older girl with him, who he later introduced as his daughter. He watched as they demonstrated the two spells for the lesson, and a tiny amount of Oliver’s enthusiasm returned to him. This was pretty cool, actually – he was sure that Julian would be jealous of learning duelling spells. Oliver copied down the two spells neatly into his notebook, and looked up at the voice of the girl sitting next to him. “Want to be my partner?” she asked.
“Okay,” Oliver said. He recognised this student from his commons, so she must be in Crotalus. Which meant she had to share a room with Lutece, the poor girl. He’d never spoken to her, though, to his recollection, and couldn’t recall ever having heard her name either. “I’m Oliver,” he said, standing and extending his hand to her. “You’re in Crotalus too, aren’t you?”
Talitha felt her cheeks grow warm. Suddenly she felt a bit shy. She didn’t know why, after all it wasn’t like she was boy crazy or anything. Boys made good buddies, but nothing more. It probably was because if Oliver recognized her, then he saw her at her worst when she was so homesick and scared. Not the best first impression.
At least he didn’t act as if he thought she was stuck up. Even better, he didn’t act stuck up. He’d just used his first name to introduce himself instead of the show offey first and last name thing. Her small smile widened a bit as she nodded.
“Yeah, I’m in Crotalus too. My name’s Talitha.” She found the nerve to meet the fair haired boy’s eyes. They were nice eyes. Maybe a bit sad, but friendly. Glancing around at the other students, Talitha saw that they were getting ready to do the exercise, they’d better do the same thing. She started to get up from her desk.
“You know, I’ve never been told by a grown up before to attack someone on purpose.” Talitha said. “This feels kinda weird, you know? What do you want to do? Be the attacker or the defender first?”
Which seems to be one of your fortes
by Hyana Kamiya
Hyana was a little nervous going to DADA, but after the midterm she had gone through, she could stand O'Leary. Anyway, she knew she had no room to complain. She had heard what had happened to Stephen, and she wished she knew the guy so she could give him a hug. Those seemed to solve everything...unless you still hurt. Or you didn't like contact. Okay, so maybe hugs didn't solve everything.
Hyana had just gotten to her seat when Professor O'Leary walked in. For some odd reason, he didn't scare her this time. He honestly isn't that bad... She thought to herself as a redhaired girl followed the professor. They stood at the front of the room, and while Professor O'Leary spoke, she shifted around nervously. Even if the girl couldn't see her, Hyana gave her a kind smile. There was no need to be nervous at Sonora. Hyana had just learned that herself. Not everything was as bad as people thought.
So they would be learning Expelliarmus and Protego in this lesson. Hyana had read about them, but never tried the spells. Now this was her chance. The red haired girl was to help Professor O'Leary demonstrate the spells, and it turned out that she was his daughter. That was good. O'Leary seemed to need someone to care for him. And Briony seemed like a nice girl. They demonstrated the spells, and O'Leary explained them. The class was supposed to work in pairs. With a sigh, Hyana turned around to see Hikaru speaking to her.
"Do you wanna practice with me?" He asked.
"Ummm...uhhh..." Hyana's words wouldn't get past her tounge! She couldn't say no to Hikaru, he was her friend after all, but...he had no control over the power he used in his spells. He might really hurt her!
"Sure Hikaru," She finally said, "I'd love to work with you." Standing up and pulling her wand out of her pocket, she took the stance both O'Leary and Briony took. "Do you want to go first or should I?" She asked. The only reason Hyana decided to work with Hikaru in this class was the fact that he seemed to think pain was fun. So if she accidentaly hurt him, he wouldn't be mad!
0Hyana KamiyaWhich seems to be one of your fortes0Hyana Kamiya05
Well, what do you expect, I am the Master of Dueling! XP
by Hikaru Kasuragi
Hikaru smiled as Hyana responded to him. She sounded like, well, Hyana at her tone. He reached back to tie his hair into a ponytail when he realized that he had cut his hair short in the past week or so ago. He sighed as he drew his redoak wand and stepped out of his chair.
He wanted to impress the Professor, and yet he didn't want to pull a Hikaru. Which was when everything seemed to be going perfectly well, and he ended up screwing it up. Such as when he was sparring against Caedence, or teaching Riley the hex that he had read about. So, he decided that he would put his all into it, but pay attention and make sure that he wasn't careless.
He stood up as straight as he could and leaned back slightly so his back was arched. He then extended his wand arm and put his other arm in a slight curve so that it hung over his head. Alright Hikaru, the spells are Protego and Expelliarmus; no random counter-curses, hexes, or other such nonsense. Hikaru thought this out carefully as Hyana went into a stance mimicing that of Professor O'Leary, and the girl. "Whenever you are ready...Ms.Kamiya." Hikaru calmly responded.
0Hikaru KasuragiWell, what do you expect, I am the Master of Dueling! XP0Hikaru Kasuragi05
“Yeah, I’m in Crotalus too. My name’s Talitha,” the girl said. Hmm, Talitha was a cool name. Oliver liked unusual names. His own name was quite dull – there were lots of other Olivers. He’d never heard of another Talitha, though. The girl was looking right at Oliver, which was a bit creepy. He noticed that she had lovely dark eyes. Oliver hated his eyes. For a start he couldn’t see much unless he was wearing his glasses, but they were also a bit of a gross watery gray. Oliver blinked and looked away.
Talitha commented that she’d never been told to attack someone before. Oliver offered her a sort of one-sided smile. She had a fair point. That was another tally for Sonora – you got to cast offensive spells on your classmates. “What do you want to do? Be the attacker or the defender first?”
Oliver fell a bit uncomfortable about attacking a girl. He thought maybe he might feel better if she had attacked him first. “I’d like to defend first, if that’s okay,” he said, taking a few steps back from the desk so he was in a relatively clear space. He practiced the spell to himself a couple of times before looking back up at Talitha. “Okay, go whenever you’re ready,” he said.
To her surprise, Hikaru had cut off his ponytail. She thought about commenting about it, but Hyana decided against it. Hikaru had already gotten out of his seat, getting into a dueling stance. He seemed to have a different feeling today, like he was trying not to be himself. That was weird.
"Whenever you are ready...Ms.Kamiya." Hikaru said to her, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Ms. Kamiya...Bryan had called her that as a joke when he and her mother came back from shopping. Just the thought of that man's voice made her body start shaking again. She hated it. Why did she have to be so weak? Caedence wasn't like this! Why did she have to be?!
"Okay." Hyana replied, forcing her voice to be steady. She wasn't anywhere near her home, she was safe. After taking a deep breath, she suddenly found it easier to concentrate, and she stopped trembling. Good, maybe she was getting better at controlling her emotions. Of course, the Ms.Kamiya thing was still burning a hole inside of her head. She was supposed to have a good holiday, not be scared of this person she had never met before.
"Expelliarmus!" Hyana recited fiercly. A jet of colored light came out of her wand, fueled by her anger at herself and her home. And it was heading straight for Hikaru. Hyana hid her face in her hands, what if she hurt Hikaru?! After a minute, she slowly took her hands away from her eyes. "H-hikaru? Are you okay?" She asked. She never saw if she hit him or if he blocked correctly...Hyana just couldn't believe that she used a spell that could hurt someone. She didn't want to hurt anyone...
Talitha cringed. She’d hoped Oliver would choose to attack as she still wasn’t to sure on the pronunciation of the spell. But, she would have to try sooner or later anyway. She shrugged and grinned. She prayed what ever happened, she wouldn’t hurt him or break his glasses. He had such a nice face and the glasses made him look so smart. It touched her too, that he was being a gentleman. So many boys here, no matter how nice they were, tended to steam ahead like they held a quaffle and there was a bludger on their tail.
“Here goes nothing,” Talitha pointed her wand at Oliver. “I’m sorry ahead of time if I mess up.”
She took a deep breath and blew it out, making a stray strand of her brown hair that worked loose from her braid float away from her face. Concentrating with all her might, she met Oliver’s trusting eyes. Oh, please don’t let me hurt him She just couldn’t do it, not looking at him. How horrible it would be if she injured someone who might be willing to become a new friend.
Expelliarmus! she cried, squinching her eyes shut tight at the last second so she wouldn’t have to see what happened next. She felt the familiar sensation of magic moving through her to her wand. Talitha was greatly relieved that she pronounced the word right. Gingerly she let out a sigh and opened her eyes to see what, if anything happened. \n
From what I gather, that's not too hard.
by Oliver
When Talitha apologised in advance for screwing up, Oliver almost laughed. He couldn’t quite decide if she was insecure in her capabilities or just being polite. But then the spell was heading his way, and Oliver found that the amount of time it took for Talitha to cast her spell was only just enough warning for him to prepare his defence. “Protego!” he shouted – he hadn’t meant to shout, but he’d never had a spell directed right towards him before, and it was a tad surprising to say the least. After just a second it was all over, and Oliver still held his wand in his hand, but his usually neat hair was decidedly ruffled due to a gentle but sudden rush of wind that had arrived at the same time Talitha’s spell had.
Oliver looked up to see Talitha looking right back at him again. She apparently had a serious need for eye contact. She looked like she was awaiting the results of a big exam or something. “It’s okay,” Oliver said, to reassure her in case she was as worried as her expression conveyed. “Not much happened but er… I’m not sure whether that was because we both got the spells right or we both got them a bit wrong.” To be fair, it wasn’t as if it was easy to tell whether he was still holding his wand because of a good shield charm or a poor expelliarmus. “No offence,” he added hastily, in case the girl had taken umbridge at his unintentional slight on her spell-casting abilities. He nervously adjusted his glasses, waiting to see Talitha’s reaction to their success/failure dilemma.
0OliverFrom what I gather, that's not too hard.0Oliver05
SO! That doesn't mean much, just that it's big! :P
by Hikaru
Hikaru looked at Hyana curiously as slightly gasped. He hadn't ever heard her do anything like that before. She was almost shaking with anger as she kept looking in different directions.
"Okay." The words were slightly cold when she spoke them and Hikaru probably would have questioned her had they not been practicing. He took a deep breath and remembered the Shield Charm, Protego. He wondered if it was Latin or something. He didn't recognize it as any other language. His wand hand twitched ashe looked at Hyana once more.
"Expelliarmus!" She shouted it in anger and Hikaru almost quavered as the spell came rocketing towards him. He blanked for a minute, not thinking of the incantation in any sense. He cried out as the burst of light smashed into him and sent him into a wall. His breathing hitched for a moment as he got the wind knocked out of him.
"H-hikaru? Are you okay?" This was just Hyana speaking. Not the fiery powerful witch who had just blasted him. "I'm fine Hyana-chan. Don't worry..." His voice cracked slightly as he spoke. Who pissed her off he wondered as he stood again.
0HikaruSO! That doesn't mean much, just that it's big! :P0Hikaru05
Not hard at all...Wait who have you been talking to?
by Talitha
Talitha was relieved that she just didn’t hurt Oliver. “Not much happened but er… I’m not sure whether that was because we both got the spells right or we both got them a bit wrong no offence,” She was too happy to know he was all right to be offended.
Oliver was really a good sport not to accuse her of messing up. After all was said and done, he was right. Who would know if she did a good job and he blocked well or if he did a good job and she messed up? Frowning and rubbing the back of her braid, Talitha thought a bit how to solve the problem.
There was only one solution. They should have to take turns using Expelliarmus without the other defending themselves. Then they could tell what felt right and know if the Protego charm was working right. So they’d have to get up the nerve to let the other one try unarmed. Well, he trusted her, now it was her turn to trust him.
“Why don’t we just take turns using Expelliarmus and then we’ll know if we’re doing it right. Then we can add Protego after we’ve got that down.” Talitha said cautiously. “How about you go first this time?”
\n
0TalithaNot hard at all...Wait who have you been talking to?0Talitha05
Apparently Talitha had been concerned about the effects of the spells, as she appeared to be a lot happier as soon as Oliver said that he was okay. Had she been worried about him? More likely she wanted her spell to go right. Either way her reaction was quite endearing, really, and Oliver found that he was starting to enjoy working with Talitha. He wondered why he hadn’t ever spoken to her before now.
Talitha seemed to agree with Oliver on the issue of whether or not their spells had worked. “Why don’t we just take turns using Expelliarmus and then we’ll know if we’re doing it right. Then we can add Protego after we’ve got that down,” she suggested, which was the solution Oliver had come up with, too. He nodded his approval at her idea.
“Sounds like a plan,” he said, still not smiling but decidedly less grumpy than he had been at the start of the lesson. He wasn’t prepared for Talitha to suggest he tried the spell first, though. She wouldn’t even have the shield charm to protect her like he had. Though on the other hand, it was only a charm to disarm – it wasn’t supposed to hurt in at all. Oliver wasn’t so naïve that he thought that he could cause any serious damage, anyway; he was only in first year, after all.
“Alright,” he reluctantly conceded. “Are you ready?” he asked. Upon her affirmation, Oliver raised his wand and cast the spell. “Expelliarmus!” He didn’t put as much effort into it as he would have perhaps done if Talitha hadn’t been a girl, also in first year, without any conceivable means of defending herself. He rarely got a spell to work first try, but it wasn’t unheard of.
Talitha was glad that Oliver didn’t scoff at her idea the way some others from her house might have. Talitha remembered her confrontation with Lila just before term started. Things were a bit icy in the girl’s dorm since then, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
She had a couple of friends outside of there and was making more everyday. Still, she hoped Oliver didn’t pay attention to gossip as she really wanted to add him to her list of real friends. Mentally she shook herself. She had to concentrate on the here and now or she might end up flying into the book selves like the boy who was working with Hyana.
When Oliver asked if she was ready, she bit her lower lip to keep herself steady and raised her wand shoulder level so that he would have an easier target. Nodding her readiness, she braced herself, not knowing what to expect.
Oliver raised his wand and cast his spell. There was a light that flashed unerringly from his wand to hers. She felt something kinda like a bump against her right hand. Looking down, Talitha saw that her wand, just a second ago pointing at Oliver, was now pointing straight up to the ceiling! It didn’t leave her hand, but he moved it!
“You did it, Oliver, you did it!” Talitha cried, all grins and dimples. She was really beginning to like this exercise! “Now, try it again. This time with feeling!”\n
“You did it, Oliver, you did it!” Talitha cried, grinning like she had just won the lottery or something. Her cheeriness was contagious, though, and Oliver really couldn’t help but grin back at her, despite the fact that he knew his grin made him look even more geeky than he did already. Still, with practically no pigment, a dodgy haircut, and glasses permanently attached to his face, Oliver had never hoped to look anything more than merely acceptable.
“Don’t get over excited,” he told his partner, a wide smile still plastered firmly on his face – he couldn’t seem to shake it. “It didn’t work all that well.” Though it did work a bit, a little voice in his head was saying. Oliver had to admit it was right – it had worked a bit, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
“Try it again,” Talitha encouraged with as much energy as if she’d had about twelve cups of coffee. “This time with feeling.”
Oliver didn’t need telling twice. He pushed his white-blond hair back from his eyes and brandished his wand. When he was sure Talitha was ready, he called “Expelliarmus!” with much more force than the first time. It was so exhilarating sending magic at another person, much more so than trying to trying to make inanimate objects perform unusual feats. Oliver wondered briefly if that made him sadistic, but then quickly decided that he didn’t care.
Dueling...I think I'll be quite good at this.
by Kaleb Heindrich
Kaleb walked into the class; late. Though most teachers would think that he normally would be late just because he happened to be a distraction in class, this was not true. Kaleb felt proud that he defied the stereotype. Today he was late for the first time in awhile and only because he had accidently locked himself in a closet. Of course no one been able to hear him until all the students were in their classes, so he had ended up late.
He hoped noone asked him how he got locked in a closet. Luckily it was a house elf that heard him yelling, so he didn't have to explain. He had been amazed to meet his first house elf. He thought that the house elves might be his new friends. They were so AWESOME!
As he walked into the classroom he blushed, which was not something he did very often, and looking at his feet, he muttered an apology to the Professor.
It was his lucky day though. The lesson was the coolest in the world. Dueling?! YES! It looked so fun and yet, everyone seemed to have a partner. For the first time in his life, he stood there and looked lost. He hated coming to class late.
0Kaleb HeindrichDueling...I think I'll be quite good at this.0Kaleb Heindrich05
This time, Talitha felt no fear. There was something so exhilarating about this kind of magic. She couldn’t wait to see what would happen when Oliver really tried. She didn’t even worry about being a target, this was just way too much fun. She braced herself, held her wand out and nodded her readiness.
In Talitha’s imagination, Oliver looked like a swordsman in a duel as he brandished his wand and cast, no, threw his spell. The light traveling from wand to wand was brighter. Instead of a bump, she felt a jolt that went all the way up her arm. It wasn’t painful though, just a bit of a shock but.
A split second later, Talitha’s wand flew up in the air! Gasping, she followed its spinning course until it hit a wall and clattered to the floor. Her large brown eyes turned to meet Oliver’s, her mouth opened in a surprised ‘oh’ slowly spread into a smile.
“Now, that’s what I called feeling!” she whispered to him, still in shock. “That was awesome!”
She ran to retrieve her wand. Inspecting it, she could see no damage. She shook it a bit and its usual sparks of gold and silver flickered from its tip. It seemed to be in perfect working order. Looking up at Oliver with a mischievous grin, she gave him a salute she saw at a dueling demonstration once.
Hyana was kind of impressed on what she had done. She had just slammed someone into a wall with magic. It felt kind of good. For a second Hyana felt weak, it was just so overwhelming, but she remembered her fight with Caedence. Then she straightened up. She couldn't act like that stupid, weak little girl...but that didn't mean she couldn't be nice, right?
"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked as he stood up. His voice cracked slightly. Hyana really hoped that she hadn't hurt him. But he seemed okay as he stood up. She gave him a second to feel better.
"Ummmm...H-Hikaru..." She said. Why did she have to stutter?! Well, it wasn't like Caedence was around to punish her...she could be herself. "Do you want to try the sheild charm again...or do you want to attack me?" She twirled her wand around in her fingers. "It's your choice."
0HyanaI never said it was a bad thing *winks*0Hyana05
Oliver was astonished by what he had managed to accomplish. His spell had sent Talitha’s wand flying right up and out of her hand. It was wicked! Talitha seemed to think so, too, though she had looked a little shocked at first. She retrieved her wand and inspected it. Apparently it hadn’t been damaged any, which pleased Oliver. Talitha seemed like a nice enough girl and he wouldn’t have liked it if he’d just broken her wand. She had an unusual wand – Oliver hadn’t gotten close enough to see it properly, but it looked like it was carved or something. Maybe he would ask her about it later.
“My turn!” Talitha called with another grin. She might not know it but she was steadily climbing higher in Oliver’s estimation with every word she uttered.
“Yes, m’lady,” Oliver said, bowing and grinning back. The bad mood he had been in at the start of class had completely vanished, replaced instead by good humour that was almost entirely due to Talitha’s influence. Oliver was still regretting not having spoken to her before now. He stood and readied himself for her return spell. “Don’t hold back, okay?” he reminded her. “With feeling!” He stood with his wand raised, as she had, and waited for the impact of the spell.
Hikaru notcied as Hyana straightened up. He smiled as she asked him if he was okay. "I'm fine Hyana-chan, don't worry about." She had looked alot like Caedence when she had performed the spell. Her long hair, it's golden blonde color. The way she grins when. Hikaru stopped suddenly and twitched trying to prevent himself from injuring well, himself. I don't like Caedence! She is an evil nasty witch! Bad Hikaru! BAD!
Hikaru watched the odd movements of Hyana as she twirled her wand around her finger. "Yeah, I'll try the Sheild Charm again, I want to get better at it." He stood in a ready postition and focused on that simple word. Protego! He repeated it over and over. Ready for Hyana to fire back when needed.
0HikaruOh, thanks! *winks back and grins*0Hikaru05
So Hikaru wanted to practice the Protego spell again. Hyana held her wand in one hand and twirled some of her black hair around her index finger. She didn't want to hurt Hikaru again...well, he said he wasn't hurt. But what if he was lying about it? She did that often. Especially after spending time with her mother.
She let out a sigh and stopped her fidgeting. Hikaru was probably getting the wrong idea about her nervousness. Hyana made sure that Hikaru was ready, and went back into the dueling stance. She held her wand out, brown eyes focusing on Hikaru. Hyana didn't want him to feel bad...but she had to do the spell. She couldn't hold back. It was just so weird, attacking another student.
"Expelliarmus." She said, pretty much holding back. Hyana saw the weak jet of light fly at Hikaru. At least he can block it... She thought to herself. Then maybe she could try the spell. If only Hikaru wouldn't notice how she didn't feel the spell...
When Oliver bowed and called her M’lady, Talitha couldn’t help but giggle self-consciously, she didn’t know why, but the way he said it just tickled her- all knight in shining armor and all. Cheeks pinking a bit, she played along and curtsied. “Why thank you, kind Sir.” she said and giggled again.
How cool was it when an ordinary class exercise could be so much fun? Oh, she was sure that Professor O’Leary would firmly remind them that this was serious business and not a game and she’d never admit it out loud in his presence, but that’s exactly what it felt like, a really fun game.
When Oliver was ready and told her to follow her own advice, with feeling, she laughed out loud. It looked like he was having as much fun as she was. Clasping her free hand over her mouth to stifle the sound, she thanked her stars that there was way too much commotion in the room to be noticed by their teacher.
Talitha settled down to pay attention to the task at hand, but her eyes still danced merrily. She couldn’t resist saluting Oliver like she had seen in a dueling demonstration once and then assumed the proper stance. “Okay, here goes. Just brace yourself ‘cause if I do it right, this spell’s got a kick like an abraxan! Ready? Expelliarmus!
Talitha was amusing. The way she laughed and blushed and smiled reminded Oliver of Charlie, but he didn’t want to think about her right now. Since he had come to Sonora Oliver knew things would be different at home, but he hadn’t anticipated quite how different they had become. Only since the beginning of the year Julian and Charlotte had become a lot closer than they had been before, and neither of them were as close to Oliver. He should have expected it, really – after all, they still saw each other every day and he only got to see them during the holidays. But still, he had liked being both the younger brother and the older brother, and now it seemed like he was neither, but rather the brother that wasn’t there any more. He hadn’t told anyone about this stuff – who would he tell anyway? It didn’t matter. At least he had found someone to cheer him up. Right now said someone was aiming a wand right at him, and Oliver found it a little intimidating. If she hadn’t been giggling just a moment before then Oliver might even have been a little bit afraid.
As the spell shot from Talitha’s wand, Oliver tensed up in a moment of anticipation before it made impact. The spell was strong – Oliver felt a jolt through his arm and his wand was suddenly no longer in his hand but soared in an arc towards Talitha and landed with a clatter on the floor between them.
“Hey, that was really good,” he said, impressed. “How’d you get it to come the right way? Mine went over there,” he said, gesticulating in the general direction Talitha’s wand had flown at his spell. He picked up his wand and glanced briefly at it before deducing no harm had been done.
“Well I think we can do that one,” Oliver said, grinning. “Let’s try it with the defence now, okay?” He raised his wand in preparation. “You do the expelliarmus again.”
Hikaru watched as she twirled some of her hair around her index finger. That is really annoying! Hikaru was oh, so glad that he didn't have long hair anymore. At least this was manageable. Hikaru watched as Hyana stopped fidgeting and slowly slid into her dueling stance. What the heck? Last time she was all up and ready to blast me and now this?
Hikaru glowered as the spell came towards him. "Protego!" The sheild formed around him and the weak spell disapated. "Hyana, don't let up on me! I want you to hit me with everything you've got!" He aimed his wand and shouted the incantation. "Expelliarmus!" A red rocket of light tore free of his wand and went towards her. If she was going to let up on him, then he sure as hell wouldn't let up on her!
He cringed as the spell made impact and tried not to look up. "Are you okay Hyana?" He asked carefully; not knowing her status.
0Hikaru KasuragiWell, fine! Be that!0Hikaru Kasuragi05
Talitha loved the feeling of power that coursed through her as she cast her spell. It was fun to make things happen on purpose. Before, during her sad time, all of her efforts were half-hearted causing mediocre results. But since break when she became herself once more, the joy of just living returned and with it, it seemed her very life.
The more Talitha allowed herself to risk, to dare, the greater the rewards. Sometimes, like right now, she felt like she could burst and she wanted to shout it to the world. She settled instead for channeling that energy into her class work and today, it was paying off.
Then there Oliver, someone else Talitha could call a new friend. Bonus! He was so much fun once he started to relax. Talitha imagined them, tearing up the common room, practicing their newly learned spells. She could picture them dodging behind the wing-backed chairs, crawling under the sofas, leaping over the tables in a kind of Auror/Dark Wizard game. On second thought, perhaps Professor Powell would prefer they take the game out to the gardens, it would be more fun there any way. Hiding in bushes and shrubs was far more adventurous than under a sofa.
When Oliver asked her how she managed to get his wand to go in the right direction, she frowned a bit, confused. “I didn’t know there was right way for it to go.” Talitha shrugged. “It just happened that way.”
Her grin returned when he said he thought they were ready for the next step. She thought so too. He said he wanted to try doingProtego first. No problem. She loved doing Expelliarmus now.
“Okay,” Talitha said teasingly and tapping the tip of her wand on the side of her chin and if thinking wicked thoughts. “I think I’ll go easy on you this time.” She made sure he was ready and whipped her wand around crying, “Expelliarmus! \n
At least Paul Tarwater wasn't in this class, that was the best thing it had going for it. DADA was... well, last class Brett didn't find a partner so he wasn't expecting much today. He listened and watched the demo, but didn't write anything down since it hadn't occured to him to take out his notebook today. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't.
Dueling with swords would have been wicked cool. Especially with like chainmail and stuff. Dueling with wands was sort of okay-cool, but not really as exciting. Getting your head lopped off or stabbed in the heart was serious business, but in a wizards duel usually people just ended up growing warts and stuff. There was nothing noble or satisfying about growing warts.
The groups started forming up instantaneously and Brett stood up and looked around. He was working with him; she was working with her, she-number-two was working with him-number-two. Ah, there! On the other side of the room some kid was sneaking in late. Unpartnered. Brett launched himself between the groups, ducking around people, almost loosing his wand once by walking into an expelleramus. He reached the other kid from behind and tapped him on the shoulder.
"En guarde?" Brett asked with an almost smirk, jokingly holding up his wand more like a dagger than anything else. He put it down almost immediately, figuring it probably wasn't really safe, or at least that O'Dreary might think it wasn't. Besides, he didn't know this kid so you never knew who might get all offended and weird over something dumb. Take Paul Tarwater for instance. Brett was so going to show him. So show him. Hopefully this kid was cool.
0Brett HodgesI don't know if I will.0Brett Hodges05
Hyana began to congratulate Hikaru when he blocked her spell when he pretty much snapped at her. She found herself flinching. She was only trying to help. "G-gomen..." She whispered.
"Expelliarmus!" Hikaru cried suddenly. He had given her no warning, nothing. He just shot the spell at the poor girl. Hyana clutched her wand tightly. What was the shield incantation? Pro...po...
"P-protego!" She gasped. She produced a very weak sheild, which would do nothing for the small Hyana. The shield dissappeared, Hyana really didn't have any effort or force. The spell hit her back as she turned to run. Her wand flew out of her hand, and Hyana stood there, trying to stop her trembling. She was beginning to hate this class. She was really beginning to hate this class.
"Are you okay Hyana?" Hikaru asked her. She turned back to face him after retrieving her wand. "Yeah...you just startled me. That's all. C-can we...try again?" She looked at Hikaru hopefully. "I can do it...I know I can."
Apparently his wand going towards Talitha was just fluke, but Oliver wasn’t so sure. Maybe it was lucky this time, but he thought that the better you got at a spell, the better it would work for you. So if you practised expelliarmus enough then maybe you could get your opponent’s wand to fly right into your hand. That would be awesome!
“I think I’ll go easy on you this time,” Talitha teased as they got ready to cast the spells again.
Oliver tried to think of a witty reply but none came to him. “You do that,” he said instead, in as mocking a tone as he could manage. But he wasn’t laughing when Talitha sent her spell – that girl had some power behind it. She had definitely been lying about going easy.
With barely time to think, Oliver rapidly cast protego, shouting again, although he still didn’t mean to. It was just that there was a spell coming towards you, and you didn’t really have time to think to defend yourself. It was just like instinct, trying to protect yourself. It gave Oliver a bit of a rush, and he loved it. His shield charm worked well; he felt a bit of a buzzing in his arm, which he suspected was Talitha’s spell, but he retained a firm hold of his wand. He thought maybe the panic to protect himself had something to do with the shield working so well, but that was something he definitely wasn’t going to admit out loud.
“Yeah, we did it!” he said instead, grinning at Talitha. He put his glasses back straight, having knocked them askew in his enthusiasm. “We’re the best, we are totally the best,” he said, before he managed to regain control of himself. Trying to keep a straight(er) face, he readied himself to do the spell again.
“Okay, you can try protego now,” he said. He thought he sounded a little bossy, and promptly flushed at the prospect, but nevertheless he didn’t think Talitha would mind too much. She could always hex him if she felt offended, and that thought was disconcerting to say the least.
Hikaru cringed as he looked up at Hyana. The spell had only managed to knock away her wand after all. The charm she had ateempted had helped block most of the force; bu it still wasn't very strong. He stepped towards her stopped suddenly. He had just blatantly attacked her for no reason whatsoever. Am I becoming like...him? He thought to himself as Hyana spoke again.
"I apologize for being such an arse. It wasn't your fault when I attacked you. All the blood just rushed to my head." He laughed at the last part as he imagined himself becoming red and popping like a baloon. "Yeah, we can try it again. Just don't hold back." He finished his last sentance with a bright smile. Hikaru knew that Hyana was just trying her best at that last attempt. At least she wasn't going psycho-ninja on him. Hyana would be scary if she was a pyscho-ninja. Hikaru thought as he went back into his dueling stance. "I hope you're ready Hyana..." Hikaru spoke seriously as he focused in on her. "Expelliarmus!" The red rocket of blazing fury tore from his wand and went spiralling towards her.
“Yeah, we did it! We’re the best, we are totally the best,” Talitha couldn’t agree more. She almost ran over and gave him a bear hug, but Oliver being a boy and her a girl, it would be, well creepy.
Honestly, she sorta felt a bit guilty, throwing that spell at him like she did, for a second. Oliver looked honestly scared for a moment. But that all change when he repelled it with no trouble. The next thing she knew, they were celebrating like a bunch of crazy monkeys, jumping up and down and hollering without a care in the world what anybody thought of them.
When Oliver told her it was her turn to try Protego, Talitha whole heartedly agreed. She had no doubt in the world that she could do it. She couldn’t wait to show of her newly discovered skills. She pictured Oliver’s spell coming at her and just bouncing harmlessly away like hers did with him.
“Go ahead,” Talitha said, a little bit cocky. “Give me your best shot.” \n
"N-no, it's okay. Really..." Hyana touched her two index fingers together, nervous about Hikaru's movements. He seemed...what? Scared? Nervous? Whatever he was feeling, it just wasn't like Hikaru. She didn't like it. Had she done something wrong?
"I hope you're ready Hyana..." Hikaru said to her. "Yes...I'm ready." She replied. She didn't add that she would be better at defending, seeing what her life was like at home. She automatically went back into her stance.
Hikaru shot the spell at her. Her body shook, but only for a second. I can do this. She reminded herself, brown eyes focusing. "Protego!" She cried. A sheild formed in front of her and successfully deflected Hikaru's spell.
"I...I did it!" She exclaimed, looking at Hikaru with a bright smile. "I actually did it!" She remembered his movements moments ago, and frowned at her friend. "Is there something wrong Hikaru-kun?" She asked. He was japanese, so she knew he wouldn't mind the suffix. "I mean earlier...you were just..." She stopped. It wasn't like it was her business...
[OOC : Sorry for such a late reply, it's all this revision and exams and argh! So yeah, sorry!]
So the girl didn't have a partner, great! She asked if she could be his, so he nodded with a smile. She seemed alright... polite, a little shy but not really a problem, really long hair. Yeah, she seemed alright.
As Lucas was debating with himself whether she was alright for a partner and potential friend or not, the girl was talking about something. Something that Lucas completely missed. He felt a little bit guilty and felt his cheeks reddening slightly - he really ought to listen to people when they talk. He hoped he hadn't missed her name, that would be awkward.
The girl tied her hair back and turned back to face him fully. "Do you want to go first at blocking or do you want to start attacking?" she asked, to which Lucas shrugged. Maybe if he had listened to what she had said before, he may have had a clue what to say. The girl seemed quite shy though, so maybe she would rather start with blocking? Lucas hoped he had figured it out right.
"I'll... attack first, if that's alright with you?" He suggested as the girl moved a desk out of the way to give them more space. She then turned back to him with a frown - had he said the wrong thing?
"I apologise. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Ebony Green. I would appreciate it if you would call me Ebony."
Lucas raised his brow, he wasn't so sure it was something to apologise over... In fact, he was relieved. This introduction meant he hadn't missed her name when he was having his internal debate a couple of minutes ago. He grinned, brushing his fringe from his eye. "Lucas Smythe, you can call me Lucas."
"Hi Lucas." Ebony smiles. After finishing moving the desk out of there way she turns back so she is facing her new friend Lucas and reluctantly pulls out her wand. Ebony glances around quickly and notices that others have already started. Turning back to Lucas she smiles and raises her wand.
"Okay, I'm ready." Ebony says taking a deep breath and expelling it slowly. This was going to be one of the only times she had had somebody fire a spell at her that didn't have the intention of hurting her. One day she was going to have to pay her grandmother back for attacking her as a child.
Camren walked into her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class and was surprised to see other first year students there, but not the professor. 'I hope the professor is okay...' Camren thought to herself.
No sooner had she thought that, a man walked into the room. A young girl trailed behind him. Camren wondered who the girl was, and if she was a new first year too. Maybe the professor was helping her find the room. But she looked too tall to be another firstie like Cam was. He spoke as he walked to the front of the room.
“Welcome back, class. Before midterm, we were working on the Point Me spell. The first part of defense is to get away as fast as possible and not to get lost doing so.”
Camren's eyes widened. She hadn't done that spell yet... What if she failed because her old school hadn't taught her the spell before this one? What if she would never be any good? Camren was worried now. She didn't want to fail her mother, and Caden and her soon to be born twin siblings would look up to her. If she failed now, what good would she be to them?
She wouldn't be...
Camren tried to stop worrying, and turned to watch the girl who had followed the professor in. She was shifting her weight around, almost like she was nervous. Maybe she could even be another friend to Camren... She seemed a lot like her from what Cam noticed.
“Today, we are going to begin working on two spells that can be immensely useful if you can't reach safety right away, Expelliarmus and Protego. This is my daughter, Briony. She is here to help me demonstrate these spells.”
'That explains that...' Camren thought as he turned to her to ask her if she was ready. Camren wondered what his name was, he hadn't said it...
His daughter took her spot across from him, pulled out her wand pointing it at him. He pointed his back at her. Camren wondered if this professor did this to his daughter like her father had hurt her... She hoped not. With all her heart she hoped not.
“Expelliarmus,” Briony shouted, as a shot came from her wand.
The professor didn't do anything, he just stood there. He let it hit him, knocking his wand a few feet away. He spoke to the rest of the class as he went to retrieve his wand.
“This spell is designed to knock the wand from your opponent's hand. It is a very useful spell. The more practiced and powerful you become, the more likely it is that you can also knock your opponent off their feet with the spell. Of course, remember, your opponent can also try to use the spell on you. In which, case, you then want to use Protego. This is the shield charm and will create a magical shield to deflect minor to moderate spells. Ready?”
'Maybe he's not hurting her...' Camren thought as Briony nodded and performed the Expelliarmus spell.
“Expelliarmus!”
The professor responded this time with “Protego!”
The spell didn't work this time. The professor still had his wand in his hand. That was really cool!
“Now, then, I want you to work in groups of two, practicing Expelliarmus and Protego. The spells may not be very strong to begin with, but with practice, they'll become more powerful. You may begin.”
Camren would try her best. She hoped that she could do it. She looked around for her friends, but they all seemed like they had partners already. Maybe someone would join her... She hoped so.
Camren felt like a little lost sheep. Who would help her find her way?
0Camren ChristiansonA little shy (okay, and a little late...)0Camren Christianson05
"N-no, it's okay. Really..." As Hyana said those words, Hikaru inwardly sighed. 'At least I didn't hurt her.' Hikaru thought as Hyana touched her two index fingers together. Hikaru still didn't get why Hyana did that particular motion. 'Is she nervous or something? I don't know, but there's nothing I can do about it.'
Hikaru slid back into his stance and took in a deep calming breath. He watched as Hyana deflected his spell with little effort. "Great job Hyana! That was an awesome deflection!"
"I...I did it! I actually did it!" Hyana exclaimed as the spells died down. He beamed at her and slid his wand back into the holster on his belt. He dusted his hands off and plopped into the chair nearest him.
"Is there something wrong Hikaru-kun? I mean earlier...you were just..." Hikarus eyes widened at the question. 'I was totally distracted when I was thinking about Caedence!' He realized as he sighed.
"Hyana-chan? have you ever liked someone?" Hikaru asked while looking at the ground. "I mean, at first you kinda hated them, but them after a while, you start to enjoy their company, and after that, it just goes from there..." Hikaru knew he was being vauge, but Hyana was smart. She could figure something like this out.
Hyana felt a little better. Hikaru looked like he was feeling a little better. He didn't hurt her, and that probably gave him a big wave of relief. "Great job Hyana! That was an awesome deflection!" He praised her after she correctly performed Protego.
"Thanks Hikaru-kun!" She said happily, a blush spreading across her face. She just wasn't used to praise. Not used to it at all. But the slight red faded away quickly. And he decided to tell her what was wrong. That was a plus, at the very least.
"Hyana-chan? have you ever liked someone?" Hikaru asked her while looking at the ground. Her blush came back with a vengence. Her face turned really red, and she let her hair fall in front of it to try and hide her burning cheeks.
"I'm...not too sure..." She replied quietly. Josiah was somewhere in the room, she knew it. But she didn't like him. That was wrong. They were friends, nothing more. And they were only first years. But...the dress, the comb. Hikaru continued to speak, giving her time to let the blush fade away for the second time.
"W-well..." She thought out loud. "I haven't really. But you have a crush on someone don't you? Who?" She asked, pushing the black hair out of her eyes. "I won't tell, promise."
0HyanaNI? I feel stupid...but what's that?0Hyana05
NI! Why are you not rolling on the ground in pain!
by Hikaru
Hikaru watched as a blush spread across Hyana's cheek after his praise. He had to suppress the urge to giggle like crazy. Hyana was hilarious when she was embaressed. It's not like he was trying to be mean in his teasing, but he still thought that it was funny.
He watched after his offhanded question as she blushed furiously and stared at the ground. He didn't supress a fit of giggles as her hair fell down over her face. he didn;t laugh, because she must like someone! If that question embaressed her that much she either liked someone or was a prude. "I'm...not too sure..." She replied and glanced around the room. Oh yeah, Hikaru was right. Hyana had a major crush on someone.
"W-well...I haven't really. But you have a crush on someone don't you? Who? I promise that I won't tell anyone." Hikaru felt that her insistence was genuine and he should trust her. Well, as much as he could. This was going to be very hard to say. He looked around for signs of a person who knew Caedence. He sighed and turned to face Hyana.
"Well, Hyana..." He started off, his face getting steadily more and more red. "I-I like...CAEDENCE!!!" Hikaru screamed as his face turned the brightest shape of red that had ever been created. He promptly fell to the ground; out cold before he even hit.
0HikaruNI! Why are you not rolling on the ground in pain!0Hikaru05
His best shot? Well he certainly could do that. Oliver didn’t feel bad about casting attacking spells on Talitha anymore, it was apparent that she could take it, and dish it back out, too. “Okay, get ready for it then,” Oliver said, waving his wand in highly exaggerated flourishes.
He wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like if Julian had gone to Sonora first. Then all of this wouldn’t have been new to him, because he would have heard all about it from his brother first. Perhaps it was better this way after all, even if it did further separate Oliver from his family.
When he was sure that Talitha was ready, Oliver took a deep breath and sent his most forceful expelliarmus at Talitha yet. He even surprised himself by the strength he felt in his spell as it left his wand. Of course if it had been a harmful spell he wouldn’t have sent such a strong one until he was sure that Talitha could get the shield working, but since it was only to disarm he didn’t think it would do any damage. Still, the short second while he waited to see if Talitha had cast her spell successfully was slightly unnerving.
Because I don't know what it is!!!!! TAG: Professor O'Lea
by Hyana
Hyana was so happy that Hikaru could trust her. It was a new thing for her. She didn't trust people very much, and it was nice to be trusted. The only other person who truly trusted her was Camren. And maybe Talitha. Maybe.
"Well, Hyana..." Hikaru started, his face becoming redder by the second. Did he like her? She really didn't want that, she really didn't. She turned to run when Hikaru shouted, "I-I like...CAEDENCE!!!". Then he fainted.
"H-Hikaru?" Hyana squeaked. She had tried to catch him, but little asian girl, fast falling person that might be heavy. Not gonna risk it. She bent down to him once he was on the ground, checked for any bleeding. She was kind of numb. She figured that she was the one that was going to faint. And...Caedence. Who in their right minds would be crushing on Caedence?! There Hyana found her answer. Right mind. Hikaru had a messed up mind.
"P-professor O'Leary!" Hyana called as loudly as she could, one hand waving in the air, one placed on Hikaru's forehead. "Hikaru fainted!"
0HyanaBecause I don't know what it is!!!!! TAG: Professor O'Lea0Hyana05
Talitha remembered a split second before Oliver cast his spell that she hadn’t tried to use the shield charm before and she almost lost her nerve. In a panic, she cried Proetgo almost at the exact same moment he cast his disarming charm. Talitha was not prepared for the force of power behind Oliver’s attack.
She could feel the resistance of her own magic meet his. The jolt to her arm was tremendous. As first, it seemed as though the shield charm would hold, a moment later, Talitha’s wand and feet were flying up in the air. Talitha’s wand fell to the floor between Oliver and her as she landed on her backside, hard-- very hard.
“Ow-w-w-w-w.” Talitha moaned. She wasn’t hurt bad. In fact, her ego was more buised than her backside although it would be very hard to sit in a desk chair for the rest of the day. Talitha truly hoped that Oliver wouldn’t blame himself. After all, if her spell had been as powerful as his, none of this would have happened. Talitha really admired Oliver for two reasons. First, he learned both spell fast and the power behind that last attack was amazing! Most importantly, he treated her like some one who could keep up with him, not a wimpy girlee girl. It was nice for a change.
“I’m okay,” she assured Oliver as she limped over to pick up her wand, resisting the urge to rub her bruised cheeks in front of everyone. When she got back into position, she turned and smiled ruefully at partner. “I guess I’d better try that again.” \n
Oliver watched in horror as Talitha’s shield charm didn’t hold, and she landed on the floor in what looked like a more than slightly painful fashion. He really didn’t mean for that to happen, but even as he rushed over to her to check she was okay, Oliver felt a slightly guilty rush of pleasure at being capable of knocking someone off her feet with his magic. It was shortly forgotten, though, as Talitha got up and winced in pain.
“Sorry,” Oliver said sheepishly. Seeing she was headed towards her wand, he quickly picked it up and handed it to her. He felt bad for hurting her, especially after they had been getting along so well, but she did assure him she was okay. In addition to that, if he was reading her correctly, Oliver guessed that Talitha didn’t want to be fussed over, which was just as well because he wasn’t very good at fussing.
“Yeah,” Oliver said. “I don’t think O’Leary would pass you on that,” he added, grinning, hoping that Talitha could tell he was trying to keep it light. She didn’t look too hurt, after all, which either meant that she wasn’t or that she didn’t want people to think she was. Therefore Oliver certainly wasn’t going to act like it was a big deal. “You ready?” he asked, preparing himself to cast the spell again.
When he was sure his partner was prepared, Oliver hesitated just a moment before casting. He was having a silent battle with himself about whether to send a weaker spell to give Talitha a better chance, or if doing so would insult her. On the one hand Oliver had no desire to cause Talitha further injury if her charm didn’t work again, but on the other her didn’t want to offend her by treating her like she couldn’t manage. In the end he decided that physical wounds would heal faster than psychological ones, and put his full effort - well, almost his full effort - into the spell again. "Expelliarmus!"
Talitha felt bad when she saw the worried look in Oliver’s eyes. It wasn’t his fault after all. If she was going to learn the spell intended to protect her, she would have to deal with the power behind the spell meant to attack her. No dark wizard was going to hold back just because she was a little girl. If there was one thing Professor O’Leary drummed into her head, it was to always be prepared.
This time she braced herself. Nodding her readiness, she cried Protego! just as Oliver attacked. She felt the power of his spell wash over her, but it didn’t knock her to the ground. Her wand, well, her wand slipped from her grip and clattered to the floor. At least it didn’t go flying this time.
A bit disappointed at her lack of ability, she tried to grin at Oliver but it was more of a grimace. “Well, at least that was a bit better,” Talitha said shrugging. \n
Law was not the smartest kid in the world; he would be the first to admit that. But he liked to consider himself to at least be observant. And then a random new girl came into Teppenpaw. At first, he had thought that maybe she had been there all along, and he hadn't noticed her. That really bothered the large boy- he was a friendly kid and hated to overlook anyone. As he mulled over the dilemma, he realized the girl could possibly be a transfer, although he was kind of afraid to ask. What if she wasn't a transfer, and he upset her? Law hated when people were upset, he just wanted everyone to be happy. Was that so wrong?
So he had decided today was the day to introduce himself to the girl. If he was lucky, she might say something about being a transfer or not. If he wasn't lucky, well, then he was going to have to be brave and ask her himself.
Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to pay attention. Law Cooper would not be Law Cooper if he didn't at least put his best efforts into every class. Even if he didn't always do well, he knew he had to try. Today was an especially important day to pay attention, as it seemed they would be learning multiple spells. He tried to take notes, but the teacher spoke to quickly for him, and his words ended up looking like chicken scratch. The Teppenpaw hoped that he would be able to read them later on. Otherwise, he didn't know what he would do.
Law had never been very good at school, even primary school. His teachers had always been reluctant to give him bad grades, because it was so rare that a student would put as much effort as he did, and still not succeed, but Law didn’t mind. He was a hard worker, this was true, but he was far from an ambitious boy. The brown-eyed boy simply wanted to do his best and have some fun on the way. That was enough to ask for, in his opinion.
As soon as the teacher let them go work on their own, Law picked up his wands and his notes (sure they were messy, but they could still come in handy), making sure his book bag was securely placed on his seat. Law was a trusting guy, and didn’t think anyone would try to steal anything. Besides, he had nothing of great monetary value to steal.
He also left his green Sonora robes left folded neatly on his seat. He was sure the professor would understand that Law felt that it was much too hot in this room. Besides, Law thought his button down flannel shirt and baggy jeans were perfectly acceptable.
Once that was all settled, he made a beeline towards the new girl. The boy hoped she hadn’t found a partner yet; he was really curious and wanted to meet her.
“Hi,” he said, sticking his wand behind his right ear in order to free his hand, probably not one of his better ideas, “I’m Lawrence, but people call me Law,” he held a hand out to shake, “You’re in Teppenpaw too, right? Wanna work together?”
Drake had been in the middle of helping someone when the shout came that a student had fainted. Making his way through the throng of students, he reached Hikaru and Hyana.
"What happened? What caused him to faint?" He asked the girl, as he checked the boy for vital signs.
They seemed to be in check, so why had he fainted? Had one of the spells gone wrong? The last time he had been by them, they had been performing them beautifully, but then they were first years, so their magic was unpredictable.
It was also the reason that it never failed that something dramatic would happen with the first year class. The other years had more control and tended to go more smoothly. But it was better to have these things happen now, rather than later, when it might be more important.
0Professor O'LearyIt never fails0Professor O'Leary05
Well, at least you can guess the next move
by Hyana
Hyana let out a sigh of relief when Professor O'Leary made his way over to her and Hikaru. She wasn't really panicking, it wasn't such a big deal. Hikaru hadn't fainted because she did something wrong. But the professor didn't know that.
"What happened? What caused him to faint?" He asked. Hyana bit her lip. How to explain this. "Uh...well..." She paused. She couldn't exactly say why he fainted. She wasn't too sure herself. Was it because of his little crush confession, or was he faking it just to scare her?
"He...He was telling me something, and then he fainted. I don't really know why. He was..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "He said that he liked Caedence Redoak, then he fainted. Don't tell anyone, please!" She looked at O'Leary, practically begging. She didn't want Hikaru to be mad at her, but she just couldn't lie to a professor!
"Is he going to be okay?" She asked in a normal voice. "He doesn't look like he's hurt, does he?"
0HyanaWell, at least you can guess the next move0Hyana05
Drake grasped the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. He fainted over a crush? And why was it felt necessary to tell him who and not to tell? He didn't care about the romances of first-years. In fact, he didn't care about the romances of any of his students, as long as they stayed away from his daughter.
With no reply, Drake stalked to his storage cabinets to get out the smelling salts. Best used in cases such as this when the actual cause was unclear. He couldn't believe a student would faint for saying they had a crush. Really, now.
Salts in hand, he made his way back and hunched next to Hikaru, putting them under his nose. He should wake up soon. If not, then Drake would have to take him to the hospital wing for a more thorough examination.
Camren looked around the room. She hoped that one of the people she had met hadn't found partners yet, but it didn't look that way. Camren was nervous. What if nobody wanted to partner with her? Camren bit her bottom lip and continued looking around the room. She continued listening to the professor and taking notes as she searched little by little to no avail for a friend.
Finally the professor stopped speaking and allowed them to work on the spells. Camren searched frantically for ANYONE to work with her. But all of her friends still looked they had partners already...
A taller boy walked closer to her. He was wearing a flannel shirt and baggy jeans, she noticed as he walked closer. 'Did he want to be my partner?' Camren thought to herself as he walked up to her. Camren bit her lip, HARD as he spoke.
“Hi,”
Cam tried to smile at the boy as he stuck his wand behind his ear and continued speaking.
“I’m Lawrence, but people call me Law,” he held a hand out to shake, “You’re in Teppenpaw too, right? Wanna work together?”
"Uh..." Camren stuttered. "Sure..." Cam swallowed the saliva that built up in her mouth and continued. "I'm Camren. Camren Kateri Christianson..." 'Should I tell him I'm new?' Camren thought to herself. 'Or did he already know that? Others had...? Should I assume...? No...'
"I'm new here..." Cam said to him. "It's um... Nice to meet you..." She said softly. 'Is he a nice boy? Or would he be like Dad?' Camren wondered.
Well, this is certainly awkward now isn't it.
by Hikaru Kasuragi
Hikaru tossed and turned as he had a very disturbing dream encounter with charcters fom Monty Python. Apparently, he was one of the Knights from Camelot. It wasn't fun, traveling with Sir Robin, the not quite so brave as Sir Lancelot. Who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor, who had nearly stood up to the Vicious Chicken of Bristol, and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill. All Hikaru remembered about it vividly was that the 'questioner' at the 'Bridge of Death' was none other than Caedence! (A/N:DUN,DUN,DUN!:End A/N)
"Halt! Before I decide whether to let you cross the Bridge of Death, you must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see. What...is your name?" Hikaru began stammering for a moment before mumbling his name to her. "Hikaru Kasuragi." She nodded and pulled a wand out of her pocket. "What...is your quest?" Hikaru began stammering and finally found the words he was looking for. "To make you notcie me!" She twirled her wand around a few times before asking him the final question. "What...is the capitol of Assyria?" She smirked as he thought of what it might possibly be. "I don't know that!" He shouted and she bgan to grin an evil grin.
She pointed her wand at him and waved it. A flash of blue light came towards him and he was about to scream before he was rudely interrupted by the smeel of cayan peppers!
Hikaru sat up bolt straight and noticed that Hyana and Professor O'Leary stood over him; O'Leary with a jar of smelling salts and Hyana with a worried look on her face.
"Um..." Hikar flushed a deep shade of red and looked at the floor as he spoke.
0Hikaru KasuragiWell, this is certainly awkward now isn't it.0Hikaru Kasuragi05
Camren Kateri Christianson- try saying that five times fast. Yeah, Law was pretty sure he was going to stick with just calling her Camren. Not that there was anything wrong with her full name, but really it was a mouthful.
Law smiled when she said that she was new here, confirming his suspicions. He knew that he wouldn’t have completely overlooked a person in his own year and house! Everything was right in the world again, as far as was concerned.
“Oh well, if you have any questions about anything, feel free to as me,” he offered, “I’m only a first year myself, but I’ve got a pretty good feel for Sonora.” Law prided himself on his sense of direction. Sure, Sonora confused him for the first month or so, but once he got passed that it was as if he had lived at the school all his life.
Ready to try out the new spells, he continued talking, “Right, so it’s Expelliarmus and Protego,” he went over the wand movement of each spell in turn as he said their incantation. He wasn’t exactly sure as to the reasoning behind it, but for some reason he noticed that practicing the wand movement (which he found easy to remember) helped to remember the incantation (which were harder to memorize than collecting all of the chocolate frog wizarding cards in the world) that paired with it. It looked very awkward as his pudgy hand went through the motion without his wand, but he was afraid that if he practiced with his wand before he was ready, he would mess up. And, although Law didn’t like admitting it, he was rather prone to messing things up.
“So, which spell do you want to do first?” he asked, “I don’t really mind, either way.”
Camren looked at Law. She was skeptical. Maybe that was because he was male... Camren had to trust men before she revealed anything about herself, 'Thanks to Father...' Camren thought. She looked deep into Law's face, watched him smile when she said she was new, and saw the sparkle in his eyes.
Camren smiled back to him. If he smiled, he was sure to not be like her father, 'Right?' Camren thought, biting her lip again.
“Oh well, if you have any questions about anything, feel free to as me,” he offered, “I’m only a first year myself, but I’ve got a pretty good feel for Sonora.”
Camren smiled at Law. "Thanks..." 'He couldn't want to hurt me... Could he?'
Law continued speaking, as Camren thought to herself silently if he could really hurt her like her father had...
“Right, so it’s Expelliarmus and Protego,”
Camren gave up on thinking that Law would hurt her and nodded to him, biting her lip slightly. She hadn't learned Protego OR Expelliarmus, and she was scared... What if she hurt him on accident? Would he take it out on her?
Law was going over the wand movements, and Camren tried to follow Law's lead, but she wasn't doing it right. She didn't know what was going on anymore, or what had gotten into her...
“So, which spell do you want to do first?” he asked, “I don’t really mind, either way.”
Camren shrugged. "I... I... I don't care..." Camren bit her lip. She didn't want to hurt him... What if she did?
That was all Lucas needed to prepare him, and so as soon as Ebony had finished speaking, he took a few paces back and raised his wand toward her.
His hand was shaking slightly, though he wasn't entirely sure if he was excited or actually just nervous about using spells to attack and disarm another. He cleared his throat and steadied his hand, fixing his gaze on the girl in front of him. She certainly looked ready like she had said, so Lucas was ready too.
"Expelliamus!" he practically shouted, watching Ebony closely to see the effect of the spell. If it worked alright, Lucas knew that this was one to remember for when his cousins came to stay - that is, provided he didn't accidentally teach it to them as well.
He could feel his dark wood wand vibrating in his hand and a slightly sadistic smirk spread across his face. The thought of having this power against his cousins was overwhelming - from now on, he wouldn't hold back.