Professor Hawtorne and Professor Brooding
September 02, 2018 11:21 AM
Advanced Students - Let's See Into Your Minds
by Professor Hawtorne and Professor Brooding
Co-written With: Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Tabitha liked her Advanced classes. They were the most interesting for her to teach as she got to delve further into the trickier side of magic which tended to rely more on one’s soul, their emotions and their thoughts, rather than just the correct wand movement or the pronunciation of a spell. Both were important, of course, but there was something truly extraordinary about what a wizard or witch could do when their feelings came into play. Today was of no exception. Having dropped the bombshell of Cleo James being a half-veela the week before, Tabitha had been thinking about magic that involved the mind. Veela enchantments worked by playing on the mind of a victim and one way that could be prevented was developing a good mental defence, protecting it from outside sources. There was, of course, a spell that allowed for this, known as Occlumency. She had suspicions that Veela magic was simply an advanced or a variation on Legilimency, which was something else she was going to teach her students about.
She supposed that it was a bit risky, teaching a bunch of hormonal teenagers how to essentially read each other’s minds. On the other hand, becoming a Legilimens was something that took a lot of work, especially to reach the point where they didn’t require a wand or spell incantation so she doubted that the sixth and seventh years would go around poking into each other’s heads. Also, she hoped that they all had more respect for each other than that. There was only one way to find out.
The lesson that she’d planned was half theory, half practical. She wanted them to first understand the mind and while it was a powerful thing, it was also fragile. Walking through somebody else’s mind was a dangerous business as one foot wrong could destabilise the delicate framework of the brain and send it into a jumbled chaotic mess of memories, feelings and thoughts and essentially send someone insane. It was for this reason that Tabitha was absolutely not going to let the students perform Legilimency on each other and instead, have them focus more on performing Occlumency and building mental barriers - after all, it would be Occlumency that would serve them better in the long run, as extra protection against Cleo’s magic, however accidental it may be.
The practical side of it involved the demonstration that she was going to give. This had been a trickier thing to organise as she doubted many, if any, of the teachers wanted the Defence professor to run rampant through their minds and she did not feel comfortable doing so. It was with these thoughts that she had made the decision to play the part of an Occlumens. She had to admit that she was better at it than being a Legilimens as there were a number of beasts who could perform Legilimency - unicorns, for one. She also remembered that the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, that had declared her a Gryffindor all those years ago, used Legilimency to see into a student’s mind in order to see their character and place them in the right house. As a result of this, she was able to shield her mind rather well and, in order to hide her more private memories, she could push other unimportant ones to the front.
This presented a new and different problem. To let someone into her mind would need a boatload of trust and then some. While she had no problems with any of the teachers at Sonora and was pretty sure that none of them had malicious tendencies or were closet murderers, she knew that there was really only one teacher that she trusted to perform Legilimency on her and that was, of course, none other than Professor Mary Brooding. It was rather lucky that the Potions mistress was not teaching at the same time and Tabitha had thanked her repeatedly for doing something that she was sure Mary wasn’t particularly keen on doing in the first place.
Mary hated the idea. She was particularly embarrassed that she was a skilled Legilimens but a lousy Occlumens, meaning she couldn't even politely offer to switch places with Tabitha. She trusted that Tabitha would not let her into her mind, which was good since Mary didn't want in, but she was a bit concerned about what it meant that she could do one and not the other. What if she could get into Tabitha's mind? What if the effort sent them both insane? There were risks but Mary knew Tabitha was determined and preferred to be involved than watching helplessly for the consequences.
She wore violet that day, a dark rich purple that made her feel dangerous. It was important to want to succeed with Legilimency and she supposed she should look the part when the motivation didn't find itself in her crazy emotions. It was more fitted than usual, sans either ruffles or petticoat, but still not as fitted as might be considered immodest or even out of character. It had a stiff high collar and sleeves that came to a neat pointed trim just past her elbows. It was made for dueling but Mary had never used it for that purpose. She had simply found it easier to extract various potions ingredients when sleeves weren't a concern. She supposed that this class would be its maiden voyage so to speak, just as much as it would be her own.
Mary did her best to be prepared for these things, though, and for her, that meant potions. She arrived to the Defense classroom well-stocked, a suitcase full of Draughts of Peace, Pepperups, and more basic things like fainting salts and sleeping potions. She’d also been running through a list of possibly helpful spells, like obliviate, and been preparing the potions necessary to have a functioning pensieve in her office in case Tabitha wanted to send any of her more distressed students someplace to work through their memories more actively.
“I’m here!” Mary announced, smiling at Tabitha as she walked in. “How are you today, Professor Hawthorne?” And she kissed her, enjoying the stolen intimacy before a busy day of classes.
Tabitha looked up as she heard Mary walk in and automatically smiled, feeling better about her lesson already. She knew that the Potions professor more than likely had her worries and concerns but Tabitha trusted her completely and knew that they would both be fine. Especially after the greeting with a kiss. She hoped she’d get that every day.
“I’m very well, Professor Brooding,” she replied, clearing a space on her desk for Mary’s case of potions. “And yourself? I trust you slept well?”
Mary breathed a sigh of relief that Tabitha had played along with her joking formalities and seemed willing to maintain the professional facade into the class.
“I did,” Mary said. “Very well. I had a lovely book of adventures to keep me company, written by someone very dear to me.” She set her case down on the desk, smiling silent gratitude at Tabitha. “Let me know what to do. I shall stay out of your way and out of your ear as much as possible so you can focus.”
“I wonder who that could possibly be?” Tabitha pretended to think about the author of the ‘book of adventures’ though her smirk gave away that she knew exactly who Mary was talking about (Tabitha herself, of course). “Well, it’s pretty simple. I’m going to do a small lecture on the mind first, then about Legilimency and Occlumency. Then, we’ll do our demonstration. Once that’s done, I’m going to perform Legilimency on the students - lightly, of course, I don’t want to hurt them - which is where your wonderful potions will come in. I imagine that at least one of them is going to be shaken up by the experience. Feel free to take my desk chair, if you’d like to sit. I much prefer standing.”
Mary let out a gust of air as quietly as possible, thanking whatever stars made sure she wouldn’t have to perform Legilimency herself on the students. She nodded, accepting her role.
“Normally I’d prefer to stand,” she agreed, “but I think your desk isn’t quite as high as a potions stand so I’ll sit.” She wondered if she was stepping over the nurse’s role on campus but thought that the woman would probably prefer not to be terribly involved in academic affairs.
Mary threw a look of unashamed adoration at Tabitha before taking a seat, and quickly wiped the look as the first of the advanced level students entered the room. She always felt small around these children because at least half were taller than she was. Still, sitting made that less noticeable.
Tabitha shot one last smile at Mary before she assumed her role of Defence professor. Her back straightened and she pushed the sleeves of her forest green buttoned shirt up to her elbows as she surveyed the students who were coming in and taking their seats, then getting out the materials that they’d need for the lesson. She took a deep breath before she snapped into the role that was quickly becoming more and more natural to her as the days went by.
“Good morning, class!” Tabitha called out, once they were all seated. “I would like to stress the importance of today’s lesson. I need your full attention and concentration. The magic I will be teaching you today, with the assistance of Professor Brooding,” she gestured to Mary behind her, “is not only advanced but also very dangerous. You are not permitted to use it outside of this classroom, without the supervision of a teacher. I hope that I have made myself clear.”
She paused for a moment, looking across the class and letting her words sink in. She did not like being the strict teacher, having to impose restrictions on them but something as powerful as mind magic was not to be trifled with so it needed to be said.
Behind her, Mary stifled a cheer, excited to see Tabitha’s teaching in action. She’d known the woman would do well but seeing her passion come alive in her words and in her precautions was thrilling. Mary was careful not to move a muscle besides a polite smile at her introduction; she definitely did not want to draw attention to herself and thus away from Tabitha.
“Please put away your wands. You will not be needing them,” Tabitha added as a final thought before turning to the chalkboard and, as usual, picked up the chalk she was to write with. “The magic you are learning about today is magic of the mind, specifically Legilimency and Occlumency. Before I go into further detail about those, you must first understand the mind itself. Can anyone tell me exactly what I mean when I say ‘the mind’?”
A few hands went up and she nodded when she got the right answer. “Yes, wonderful. The mind, in a nutshell, is the part of a person - muggle or wizard - that allows them to be aware of the world around them. It allows them to react to their surroundings, to think, to feel. It is where our memories are stored, where all the ideas - good or bad - are generated, where your conscience lives.”
“You might be thinking, ‘well, my brain does all of that’ but you’d be wrong. Your brain and your mind are not the same thing. Your brain is a physical organ, it tells your body what to do and is also a part of your body. Your mind, on the other hand, has no physical presence - it is a separate entity. The evidence for this is like when your body is relaxed, like maybe when you’re lying in bed at night, but your mind is darting around all over the place as you’re still thinking, feeling or perhaps your mind is getting ready to produce dreams - hopefully nice ones!”
She paused to set down her chalk and moved back to around the middle of the front of the room, sending a discreet smile to Mary (Mary did not think it was discreet at all and only barely managed to stifle a blush by pretending to examine a nearby bottle of sleeping potion) before she turned back to the class to continue talking. “So, the mind is very powerful. However, it is also very fragile. You can’t just run rampant through it or you’ll cause damage which can potentially be irreversible - I’m sure you’ll have learned about Obliviate in Charms. Cast it wrong and you can erase someone’s entire mind. So, the greatest care has to be taken to avoid such catastrophes.”
“Which brings me to the magic in today’s lesson - Legilimency and Occlumency,” she enunciated them clearly and gestured to their spellings on the chalkboard. “Legilimency allows the spell caster to enter into somebody else’s mind, navigate the many layers that there are, see their memories, extract information. It is easier to perform the spell when your intended target is relaxed, within close proximity to you and you can maintain direct eye contact with them - the eyes are not the windows to your mind, but rather the doors. Legilimency, at its core, is all about sorting truth from lies, fact from fiction, sincerity from disingenuity.”
She moved back to the chalkboard and wrote the key elements needed to cast Legilimency well on the board. As she did this, she continued talking, “To enter somebody else’s mind, to walk among the memories that are stored there, is a privilege, not a right. Of course, it has been known that Dark Wizards or Witches have forced their way in, to try and extract whatever information they feel they need. This is often painful and can result in insanity. Legilimency should not be used repeatedly on the same mind as you can cause the mind to shatter, very much like glass and cause irreversible damage.”
“So, how can you defend against a Legilimens? Well, there is a method of defence against and unwanted breach into your mind known as Occlumency. There is no spell for this, nor do you need the use of your wand. Occlumency is, in very basic terms, the magical defence of the mind against external forces - a bit like the Shield Charm but exclusively for your mind. To be able to execute a good Occlumency barrier requires concentration. You have to keep your mind clear, your emotions under control. You have to be in complete command of your mind and not let it run wild. By being able to do this, you can do a number of things - block a Legilimens out completely though, if you’re dealing with a Dark Wizard, this could arouse suspicion. My personal preferred method is to simply push less important memories to the forefront of my mind, hiding the others underneath. I picture the inside of my mind like a hallway with many doors, some locked, some not. Those that are locked, the memories inside cannot be accessed. Occlumency is extraordinarily useful not only in resisting the power of a Legilimens but also the effects of Veritaserum and the Imperius Curse. There are other ways in addition to Occlumency that you can repel a Legilimens. If you are able to concentrate enough under such a duress, you can use physical magic cast from a wand to defend yourself and it is also possible that magic can be produced accidentally in times of desperation.”
She wrote bullet points on the board as she talked before setting down her chalk and moving back to the centre of the room. She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled gently. She needed to be reassuring for this next part.
“I have invited Professor Brooding into our lesson today to help me with a demonstration. She is an accomplished Legilimens, with excellent technique and wand movement. She will be trying to access my mind, my thoughts and my memories while I shall try to rebuff her. After this, I will be coming around the classroom and performing Legilimency on you.”
A few murmurs started up at this, some of the students clearly worried about what Tabitha could find in their minds. She quickly cut them off.
“You have no need to panic. I will not be forcing my way in so deeply. I will merely skim the very surface of your mind so all I should find there are your basic thoughts, hopefully about this lesson. I simply want you to get an idea of what Legilimency feels like. It will not hurt, you have my word but it might feel a bit weird and possibly slightly sickening. Professor Brooding has kindly prepared and brought many bottles of various calming draughts for any student who feels they need one. She will be available to pass them out to you, and will be keeping an eye out for any signs of problems.”
With that, she turned to face Mary and gestured to the available space at the front of the classroom. Once Mary was in position, Tabitha took the chair Mary had been sitting on and moved it to in front of the desk and sat down. She could’ve done it standing but it was just a precaution in case she had a bit of a funny turn during the demonstration.
Mary took a deep breath and did her best to feel powerful. She was sure nothing would go wrong; there was no more ideal a situation to participate in Occlumency or Legilimency than with two people who were prepared, expecting it, and not actually wanting to hurt each other. Mary kept this in mind as she stood, pushing her cascades of black hair-- finally left out of its normal braid and instead cinched in a number of silver ribbons-- over her shoulder. She stood opposite Tabitha and locked eyes with the professor. For a moment, she wondered what sort of feelings her face would betray, but she was pretty sure the level of concentration required for Legilimency would keep her looking focused.
“Are you ready?” Mary asked. In a classroom full of students holding their breath, Mary’s low voice seemed very loud. And then, clearing her thoughts and imagining her magic becoming a scalpel or a claw, or some other instrument of penetration, she spoke: “Legilimens.”
Her sight disappeared as Tabitha’s mind filled her vision. The floor beneath her feet, the wand in her hand, the sweat beading on her forehead, and Tabitha. Just Tabitha.
The view from outside the minds of the two teachers was vastly different to what was going on within. In fact, it seemed normal - well, not really. Beads of sweat were gathering on the foreheads of both women, though more seemed to be pouring from Tabitha’s brow, the effort of trying to force Mary out of her mind clearly taking more of a toll. Her features occasionally drew together when she winced, old memories being brought to the surface by Mary’s exploration - it wasn’t truly painful, more like the pain of a stiff limb that was being moved after not doing so for long time. The end of Mary’s wand still glowed with the Legilimens spell, indicating that it was an ongoing effort to maintain.
Suddenly, Tabitha let out a sharp gasp as she managed to overpower Mary’s Legilimency, throwing her successfully from her mind and returning with an abrupt jerk to her classroom and reality. She did feel somewhat queasy, having not had Legilimency performed on her for quite some time. However, she took a moment to gather herself and wipe away the sweat, then she was completely focused on her students. She hoped that she hadn’t freaked them out too much. Watching a demonstration of Legilimency could be uncomfortable and she felt that she just reassure them before she went ahead and started poking around in their minds - though not nearly as deeply as Mary had. On the other hand, they were Advanced students and this was the type of thing that they themselves may one day need to deal with. Her eyes met Mary’s, wanting to make sure that she was okay.
Mary acknowledged the look with a quiet nod, her mouth set too gravely to be a smile but certainly nothing unfriendly, either. She had a deep respect for the Defense professor and too much to think about right now so she put it aside. She managed to blink and clear her thoughts.
“Professor Hawthorne is indeed a skilled Occlumens,” Mary said, standing up straighter and addressing the students with a comforting smile. “No one has managed to throw me out before.” Her eyes flicked back to Tabitha’s as this comment sunk in. Her skills certainly lay primarily in potions, but it wasn’t her only ability. Her willingness to chase a Wampus cat with the woman was surely less surprising now. “I couldn’t want a better teacher for any of you,” she finished to the students, and then turned away to allow Tabitha to continue her lecture and herself time to collect the potions she suspected she’d most likely need first.
“Okay, class…” Tabitha began, standing up from her chair. The room seemed to spin slightly and she was perhaps slightly unsteady on her feet but was otherwise fine. “As you saw, Legilimency isn’t a short charm. It’s an ongoing effort, something that has to be maintained. It’s hard to do and takes incredible concentration so thank you to Professor Brooding for doing that for me. I know it’s not easy.”
She took a pause for a moment as the sickly feeling returned. It seemed to ebb and flow so Tabitha took a deep breath to sort herself out. “As for Occlumency, I know there wasn’t much to see. It’s very much dependent on what works for you. I want to reassure you that I wasn’t in pain but Legilimency can cause old and forgotten memories to resurface which can feel very odd. I will be coming round but I want you to remember not to panic - I will not be entering as deeply into your minds as Professor Brooding. Find out what kind of defence works for you - maybe a solid brick wall for me to run into will work or pushing an unimportant memory in front of the one that means something. Should you produce some accidental magic to repel me, don’t worry. I am not easily hurt and Professor Brooding is here to help. I am going to take five, ten minutes to prepare with her for our circulation. In the interim and while you are waiting for your turn, I’d like you to start work on your homework which is to discover, research and write about the creatures that use Legilimency. You may begin.”
OOC: Okay! So, from here, Tabitha and Mary are both going to be coming round the room but only Tabitha will be performing Legilimency. As she’s said, it’ll only be performed on you lightly so nothing too dramatic should happen though as it’s being done for the first time, the feelings and sickness could be very present - some accidental magic could be caused if your student really doesn’t want Tabitha in their mind.. It’s up to you. If your student manages to repel Tabitha, she’ll likely say something like ‘well done’ or something equally positive with a smile before moving on. If they don’t, she’ll be reassuring. If you’re unsure about what she’d do in a particular situation, just ask. If anything major happens that requires a bigger input from Tabitha or Mary, just tag either of us. Big thank you to Mary's author for participating in writing this lesson!
Subthreads: On guard! by Jozua Sparks, Teppenpaw with Tabitha Hawthorne
Getting to know me by Ben Pierce, Pecari with Professor Hawthorne
For once, I'm glad I have no talent for music. by Joe Umland, Teppenpaw with Professor Hawthorne and Professor Brooding
Fighting dirty by Kyte Collindale, Pecari with Professor Hawthorne
My defences are horrendous. by Lily Spencer, Pecari with Professor Hawthorne
Do you have to? by Raine Collindale, Teppenpaw
Tacos! by Tasha DuBois, Aladren
Get. Out. by Arianna Tate, Crotalus
20
Professor Hawtorne and Professor Brooding
Advanced Students - Let's See Into Your Minds
1417
Professor Hawtorne and Professor Brooding
1
6
Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Jozua Sparks, Teppenpaw
September 05, 2018 11:15 PM
On guard! by Jozua Sparks, Teppenpaw
When Jozua signed up for his advanced classes, DADA had been the first on his list to take. Not only was it his very best subject and a pre-requisite for the cursebreaking curriculum he wanted to take after he graduated, but he also tended to be a little closer to the DADA professors than the rest of the staff just because they had to work together more to keep the dueling club running smoothly. While he was still getting used to Professor Hawthorne, he saw no reason why that trend wouldn’t continue. At just about a month into the new year, he thought he was already getting on with her better than he ever had with Professor Pye.When she started today’s lesson, her warnings about the dangerous nature of the material just made him sit up with greater interest. Was it a curse? He hoped it was a curse. He was probably a bad Teppenpaw.
It wasn’t a curse. It was better than a curse. It was Legilimency. Well, Occlumency for them, but still. Awesome. And probably the more useful of the two. Protecting your mind was a key skill with a number of creatures and beings, and even some cursed objects. He’d need good mental defenses if he was going to become a professional curse breaker.
He wasn’t entirely sure what the purpose of the demonstration was since there wasn’t really anything to see with occlumency, though he guessed it was good to know that it didn’t look effortless even with experienced adults. Otherwise, it just looked like a staring contest with one of them holding a glowing wand.
Though he had to wonder if the shortcut version of occlumency was to just close your eyes, if they really were the doorway to the mind. Of course, living your life with your eyes closed was impractical, but if you had a good reason to believe someone or something was making a mental attack, was closing your eyes a viable defense? He made a note to ask later.
Soon enough the lecture was over and he opened his textbook to start the homework while he waited for his chance to try it out. He wasn’t too worried about it. He trusted Professor Hawthorne well enough and he had no serious secrets he needed to keep from her. He maybe wasn’t entirely keen on a teacher knowing he and Lily spent the last while of the Ball climbing trees in the Gardens, but that was literally what they’d been doing and she’d see clearly it wasn’t a euphemism, so there were far worse things teenagers sneaking off at night could have been doing, so he doubted he’d get in much trouble for it even if she did see that.
Jozua was making some notes on vampires - he wasn’t sure if their powers could be blocked by occlumency or not, but it was worth looking into further - when the two teachers reached his desk.
“Oh!” he said, putting aside his book and notes for now. “Before we start, I had a question. Is there any reason closing your eyes wouldn’t work to stop a legilimens from reading your mind?”
Once he had an answer, they started. Jozua looked into Professor Hawthorne’s eyes and imagined an empty dueling arena, which looked exactly like the one he created in MARS for the Dueling Club meetings. It was an easy picture to hold as this was how he’d set the Sports room every week for the last four years or so.
After a moment, he heard her cast the spell and he felt a strange foreign presence in his mind. The dueling arena wavered for a moment, then steadied as he imagined Professor Hawthorne in front of him in the arena. This was the foyer of his mind. She was welcome this far. But behind him was the door that in MARS lead to the rest of the school, but in here lead to his memories. He would defend that door. His mental self took a defensive dueling stance.
He wasn’t quite sure how to expel her from his mind. Maybe win a duel? But how did that even work when they were both just mental fragments? He wasn’t even sure if her mental fragment was controlled by herself or if that was his own mental representation of her presence here and it wasn’t even her at all. And he wasn’t living inside the mental fragment of himself either. He saw both figures and the whole room from a greater distance, like he was watching it on a stage. He could control the Jozua figure in the room, but it wasn’t him-him.
But at any rate, he thought he could hold this room indefinitely unless she really tried a deeper probe and she said she wasn’t going to do that today.
So he just waited. Dueling had taught him patience and wisdom not to overextend himself, which would leave openings that could be exploited. It was safest just to hold still and remain on guard. So that was what he did.
1
Jozua Sparks, Teppenpaw
On guard!
348
Jozua Sparks, Teppenpaw
0
5
Ben Pierce, Pecari
September 06, 2018 12:00 PM
Getting to know me by Ben Pierce, Pecari
Benjamin Hippocrates Pierce was a seventh year. Aside from ‘marry Tess’ (a plan he assumed she knew about given how he had messed up asking her out that first time) and probably coaching a kids sports team, he had no real idea what he wanted to do with his life. He had given serious consideration to “run off and join Kyte’s circus” but wasn’t sure he had any skills that would lend themselves to big top performances. Also, he wasn’t sure Tess would approve of that plan either.He figured he’d probably go to college somewhere - he’d need to ask Tess soon if she had any plans in that direction - which gave him some extra time to really decide, but then there was the problem of what to study there. ‘Quidditch’ generally wasn’t one of the academic options nevermind ‘Baseball’ so his favorite subjects were already out.
He’d found Charms the most useful through intermediates, but now that he’d been in RATS classes a year, the theory was getting terrifying, so he wasn’t sure he wanted to study that too much further. Creatures were always fun, but he kind of wanted to keep living in Boston, and there were too many muggles about to do anything with magical creatures professionally there.
So that left Potions and DADA. His aunt was an auror, but he was pretty sure he didn’t want to do that, and he wasn’t sure what else DADA was good for, career wise, but he couldn’t really see himself standing over a cauldron for the rest of his life either.
In short, Ben had eliminated all the options and didn’t know where that left him. So he was just taking his four RATS classes and hoping for inspiration from at least one of them. Ideally before Christmas so he could get his applications out for next year.
He became intrigued by today’s DADA prologue. Dangerous was good. A creature, maybe? Vampires? No, probably not. There wouldn’t be an opportunity to do anything with vampires without adult supervision so she wouldn’t be warning them against that. Same went for most other dark creatures. Ben deflated.
Yep. Mind magic. No good. Ben preferred physical stuff to mental. It made him uncomfortable watching the demonstration and he didn’t even know why. They were just looking at each other, not even doing anything. But he felt oddly relieved when it was over.
He set to the homework while the professors conversed and started doing the thing on his peers. Ben felt nervous about his upcoming turn, though he didn’t really have anything to hide. Mostly.
When Professor Hawthorne got to him and cast the spell, he realized he was wrong.
*flash*
“Can I copy your homework this term? I’ll change it, and make it bad enough that it looks like mine,” Kyte promised at the returning feast several years prior. “I really need to do loads extra circus stuff if I want to be properly in the summer tour with my family. Like, my mum said multiple hours a day.”
“Well, what if I read the assignments out loud to you while you practice?" Ben counter proposed. "Then I can truthfully tell anyone who asks that we did study together."
“You’d be happy doing that?” Kyte asked. “I mean… I’ll be practising. It’s not the most sociable thing. Like… I can’t promise I’d exactly be giving your lectures much attention,” he admitted as Ben’s stomach twisted in guilt that he was showing this to a teacher, but he couldn’t stop it. The memory kept going.
“I'm cool with that," his past self confirmed. "But my mom's a doctor and my uncle is a teacher, so I feel like at least one of them would yell at me if I just let you copy my homework without at least making an effort to help you learn the stuff.”
*flash*
A scene of Raine hanging upside down. Ben is trying not to oogle her and doing a poor job of it.
*flash*
Tess calls out to him in the Pecari Common Room. She’s wearing short pyjama bottoms and a tight looking t-shirt. Ben is clearly doing the oogling thing again. But this time he speaks, too, and what he says is "Will you marry me?"
And he’s pretty sure, from inside his own mind, Professor Hawthorne can probably tell he actually meant it.
“Well, I’m not sure that marrying you is really possible right now,” Tess let him down lightly, as she had then. “Maybe we should try dating first?”
“Er, yeah," his past self agreed. "That's what I meant."
*flash*
They were back in DADA and he was looking into Professor Hawthorne’s too-close face.
“Erm,” he said. He wasn’t sure what else he could say. Except. “I’m guessing that’s a failing grade?”
OOC: References made to This returning feast thread, this mesmerising scene, and This marriage proposal.
1
Ben Pierce, Pecari
Getting to know me
339
Ben Pierce, Pecari
0
5
Joe Umland, Teppenpaw
September 11, 2018 3:27 PM
For once, I'm glad I have no talent for music. by Joe Umland, Teppenpaw
It was a fact universally acknowledged that telling someone not to think of pink elephants was, of course, the exact way to provoke that person into thinking of nothing but pink elephants. It was also, as it turned out, a pretty effective tool to use when the topic not to think about was ‘memories one rather the teacher not see.’I wonder how much trouble I will get into if my surface thoughts are about how much I’d like to hex you for giving us this lesson?
However much it was, though, Joe was pretty sure that it couldn’t be worse than her seeing any of the thoughts which had actually bubbled to the top of his mind the moment she had told them not to worry about their deepest thoughts being exposed. The fact he wanted to commit any number of sins with girls was just embarrassing – acutely embarrassing, horrifying to even contemplate anyone else knowing about, but not actually criminal – but there were…other things, too, in his head, and they were flashing through his head at a lightning pace, now –
The first time (that he could remember, anyway) he had ever laid eyes on his biological mother.
Said biological mother standing in the back garden, by the apple tree, telling him that John’s biological father had been criminally insane and that she thought his brother had inherited said tendencies.
Said brother’s Muggle best friend pointing a gun at Mom – quite possibly the same one, if not the same user, responsible for the fact that said brother had been doing his level best to bleed to death at the time.
Another Muggle, tied up and Stunned, in the floor in front of the back door. Joanie in the kitchen, dumping piles of sugar into her tea in case he had drugged it with something which would be rendered useless by sugar. Joanie telling him that she knew what he was. Julian barging into the house at the exact moment Joe suffered from a probably non-hereditary moment of temporary insanity and kissed Joanie –
Effing pink elephants. Think about anything but that. Think about actual effing pink elephants – anything but that. Think about Professor Brooding taking the ribbons out of her hair and tying Professor Hawthorne up with them – anything but that -
He took a deep breath. Okay, it would be weird to think about the professors doing that, however great an inexplicable similarity Professor Brooding bore to the mythical version of Lady Godiva. He had to think about something, though. Anything. Anything but – all of that.
His hands obediently picked up his book and opened it when they were told to research while they were waiting, but he made no real effort to begin doing his homework. All of his attention was on keeping a straight face, on looking unconcerned and slightly bored – a job he was not, unbeknownst to him, doing very well. He was visibly less than pleased to see Professor Hawthorne by the time she appeared at his desk, nervous and tense even as he made an effort to fake a smile and make a joke with the professor about doing her worst.
He had, however, by that time, settled on a defense: Frere Jacques. His instruction in French had effectively ended the day he had enrolled in Sonora, but Mom had done her best to get all her children at least to the point of being able to get around in Quebec if they ever needed to visit the home of Canada’s second official language, and he had early memories of everyone learning to sing that stupid little song in both English and French. It had gotten annoying, too – none of them, him and his siblings, had any real gift for singing, and so all of them singing Frere Jacques off-key at slightly different times was a discordant racket which ought to drown out anything else she might notice. Legilimency did, after all, from what he had read before class – all never imagining they would have a practical lesson in this - have something to do with her ability to notice and interpret scraps of information, and making that racket in his head ought to keep her from concentrating too well on anything else.
Frere-Jacques, Frere-Jacques, dormez-vous? Dormez-vous? Sonnalaya - he had over time forgotten exactly where a couple of words separated - matin, sonnalaya matin, ding-dang-dong, ding-dang-dong.
When he felt as though something were pushing on the inside of his head, he tried to imagine it was pushing his memories out of his head, leaving nothing but the song. This, though, did involve a few flashes around the edges – the Incident with Headmaster Brockert – no, he did not want her seeing that, either, or Joanie on a bench in the park, or Julian dropping the happy domestic act while bouncing the baby on her knee in her gardens –
His textbook, without his hands going anywhere near it, abruptly moved, flying at Professor Hawthorne. Joe snapped out of his half-trance, shutting his eyes as his mouth twisted with nausea. “Sorry Professor,” he gasped. “I didn’t – sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Sorry.” The distinctly Canadian quirks of speech which he normally avoided thickened in his voice, until the last ‘sorry’ sounded more like ‘soiree’ as pronounced by someone with no functioning knowledge of French. Sore – ee. Sore – that was a good word. That was how his brain felt now. Hopefully it was not how his teacher felt now. “And about the lousy quality of my mental singing,” he added, deflecting as best he could.
Smooth, Umland, very smooth. Great. Maybe she hadn’t noticed. Or she had just seen…a quabble with a brother that got out of hand, a girl in a park. The last a thing that anyone might have preferred their teacher not see – right? And both of those were things that just kind of happened, nothing special, nothing interesting - and Joe, at least, thought it seemed perfectly normal, nothing like inherently suspicious, not to want someone in one's head. He thought he had been a fairly private person even when his life had been blessedly uninteresting - whenever that last had been.
16
Joe Umland, Teppenpaw
For once, I'm glad I have no talent for music.
329
Joe Umland, Teppenpaw
0
5
Kyte Collindale, Pecari
September 12, 2018 12:37 AM
Fighting dirty by Kyte Collindale, Pecari
‘Put away your wands, you will not be needing them’ was always a danger sign. Defence Against the Dark Arts was the one class he had fully passed, which meant he was technically required to try the theory here too. Still, he didn’t get his quill out yet, in spite of the danger sign, because all Professor Hawthorne had said was ‘put your wands away’ and not ‘get out your quills,’ and Kyte was very good at following instructions. When they suited him. To the point of being passive aggressive and bloody minded.About five minutes into class, he still wasn’t really sure what was going on. He didn’t recognise the fancy names for the types of magic that they were using and then Professor Hawthorne asked them ‘What is the mind?’ She probably thought there was a right or a wrong answer to that but it sounded awfully lot like the kind of thing he and his cousins talked about when they’d been smoking. Professor Nash had definitely not been a fan of Kyte’s contributions to class, which were surprisingly frequent for someone who had no clue what the subject was most of the time, because Kyte had literally no shame and no filters. Frequently his contributions were loud and accidental, as he simply blurted out whatever thought had occurred to him at a volume which was intended for just Ben but frequently missed, but occasionally he tried making what he considered to be a relevant point. This seemed like a suitable opportunity to attempt that, and he managed, this time, to get as far as raising his hand rather than just starting to talk, taking advantage of the fact that the new teacher probably didn’t know better than to call on him, or was at least willing to give him some kind of benefit of the doubt, regardless of what Professor Nash had told her about him.
“The mind is like….” he began, not having actually fully formed any kind of thought before wading into the discussion, “Like… the essence of the self. I mean, there’s the soul as well. So, like the mind is the thinking part of the self, whilst the soul is the feeling part.” He was pretty sure that saying something similar to this had had a girl vigorously jamming her tongue into his mouth and then dragging him back to her tent during a festival they’d been flyering at over the summer. He was a little hazy on the details, but it had definitely been something along those lines. It had sounded better out in the sun, surrounded by live music and a vague feeling of floating. He doubted it was going to have the same effect on Professor Hawthorne, but hopefully she thought it was just a good a point in spite of (presumably) not being intoxicated.
Apparently, it was - it seemed he was more or less right, in Professor Hawthorne’s book, or at least not actively wrong, because he was not being sternly told ‘No, that is not the point.’ Was seventh year finally the point where magic got so wibbly that all the really Deep Stuff he thought about was actually finally worth some credit? That would be awesome. It also turned out that the fancy words meant mind reading and… anti-mind reading. Get out of my head. Which was cool. Kinda. Kyte couldn’t really imagine this being a thing that happened too often in his life but it was at least weird and interesting. It would be a total trip to wander around someone else’s mind but it didn’t seem like something anyone would allow him to do ever, seeing as it required care and precision. He would just have to settle for other forms of loosening people’s thoughts, and listening to the ramblings that followed them. That felt like being in someone else’s head and was a lot easier.
The demonstration was… weird. It should have been boring because basically nothing was happening, but it was equally kind of intense. Kyte wondered what it felt like having someone walk around your mind, like… all the way in. Part of him still wanted to try it, because it sounded like a trip, and Kyte was all about Interesting Experiences. But he had to admit, it seemed less fun that he had imagined, watching the two professors.
Then Professor Brooding said she would go around skimming the surface of their minds. And he was supposed to defend. He considered not bothering, and just… seeing what it felt like. Kyte was not a particularly private person but he thought he might get in trouble for a few things that were in there. He supposed it would be pretty bad if Professor Brooding found out about him smoking out the Pecari dorm windows. He wondered if his parents would get in trouble for letting him drink underage if she found any of those memories. He wondered what kind of view she took of how often he thought of other people naked. Those weren’t memories, so much as dreams and fantasies, but they were all within his mind, and presumably accessible. He suspected she didn’t want to see those things, and it might actually be quite a good defence to get her to leave his head alone quickly. He felt vaguely bad about that, because so far Professor Hawthorne seemed much more chill than Professor Nash. Admittedly, that was not difficult, but he took slightly less pleasure in the thought of deliberately freaking her out than he would have done with his old teacher. He tried to work out who she would least like to see in a compromising position, other than herself - he decided that she should be spared at least that. It was probably most creepy for him to think about Professor Taransay, but he also couldn’t imagine that many people would find the sight of him with his shirt off inherently repellent. It was probably a pretty good sight. Was it creepier for her, as a teacher, to know that he thought about his teachers that way, or was it worse if he was thinking about his fellow students that way because, as a staff member, she definitely wasn’t meant to see them like that?
Deciding that the latter was better, he practised his mental showreel a few times whilst he waited, which was a fairly good distraction from his homework, though admittedly not that different to how he usually passed the time in class. As Professor Hawthorne came over and looked into his eyes, he firmly settled on a mental image of Nevaeh Reed slowly and seductively taking her clothes off. It would probably be clear to the teacher that the image was not a real memory - it was shimmery and blurred, there was not enough substance to the room, and Nevaeh’s assets had been somewhat enhanced by Kyte’s imagination. Which Professor Hawthorne was going to get a very graphic view of pretty soon, if she didn’t back out of Kyte’s brain.
13
Kyte Collindale, Pecari
Fighting dirty
335
Kyte Collindale, Pecari
0
5
Lily Spencer, Pecari
September 13, 2018 9:55 PM
My defences are horrendous. by Lily Spencer, Pecari
This past summer had been an interesting one. Her former fling, Alex, had announced he was gay, which was strange since she remembered him being very interested in her chest during their snogging sessions. She’d met and become fast friends with Freddie, the younger brother of her sister’s friend. Her cousin Cepheus now had a baby, and it was extraordinarily peculiar to see him holding an infant that was his own.But over everything that had happened this summer, a conversation between her and Freddie lingered in her mind. He’d gone off about his dreams after school: he wanted to work in the Department of International Relations like her brother, wanted to get married after finding a job at the Ministry and live outside of the city and travel with his wife. He wanted to attend the Quidditch World Cup, have three dogs, 2 children, get divorced for alimony, quit his job and become the next Casanova or Don Juan, etcetera. She was quite certain he was mostly being cheeky, but it made her think of her own future, as far away as it seemed. She’d never thought of what life would look like after graduating, and she’d only got two years left.
It scared her. She didn’t want to go to university, didn’t want to work at the Princeton Hospital in London with her family members – in fact, she really didn’t want to work at all. At least, there was no career that made her particularly excited. She knew there was something wrong with her, but she couldn’t tell anyone for fear they’d simply think she was lazy or unmotivated.
Lily sat down in DADA, for the first time wishing school would last forever, and hoped they were doing something active today, like duelling, to keep her mind occupied. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the professors were going to examine their thoughts and memories. It didn’t seem like a very ethical sort of lesson, but Lily didn’t know anything different. She’d rather a professor use Legilimency on her rather than a peer anyway.
Researching magical creatures didn’t seem like an appropriate subject for this class, but she went to find something that would help her. The only creature mentioned in their DADA textbook that used Legilimency was the Wampus cat. Lily scribbled down the name on a piece of parchment.
Wampus cat:
-- lives in Appalachian Mountains
-- has yellow eyes
-- can walk on hind legs
-- native to US
She stifled a yawn just as Professor Hawthorne came to her. Lily took a deep breath, and then stiffened as Hawthorne entered her mind. The foreign presence in her mind felt uncomfortable, and everything around her seemed to fade away. ‘Use Occlumency,’ she told herself. But where did one begin with that?
Memories sprung up easily:
Cepheus’s new daughter was the cutest little thing, an infant with dark tufts of hair and large brown eyes. Lily didn’t know Cepheus well, but she had never seen him interact with children before. She hoped Rosalia would grow up well.
‘Oh, I hope my nail paint doesn’t chip during the ball,’ said Freddie mockingly, and they both exploded into laughter. Charlotte and Freddie’s sister both glared at them, but said nothing. Freddie leant against her and snickered against her shoulder. He understood her like no one but Jozua had, and for a fleeting moment Lily tried to imagine kissing him, but she couldn’t imagine kissing anyone but Jozua. She really wanted to –
Lily pushed past that memory, embarrassment giving her temporary strength to push another memory forward instead.
The first time she met Jozua at orientation, she clasped her hands together in excitement. “You like wizard duels? I think they’re great! I listen to them occasionally on the wireless, but I’ve never seen a match before. And you play pretend too?” Her smile couldn’t possibly grow any bigger. “I do too! I used to pretend to hunt monsters and baddies in the gardens with my siblings when I was younger. I didn’t think I was the only one, but I imagined no one here would admit to it.”
Lily was too distracted reliving these memories to even notice Hawthorne there. Rather than a corridor with doors and windows, her mind was like an open field that she had no control over. She was jarred back to reality when Professor Hawthorne left her mind. Her shoulders sagged and she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Sorry, I must be distracted.” Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment, knowing what her professor had seen. “I don’t think I really understand Occlumency very well.”
OOC: Wampus cat taken from Harry Potter Wiki here.
40
Lily Spencer, Pecari
My defences are horrendous.
357
Lily Spencer, Pecari
0
5
Tabitha Hawthorne
September 15, 2018 1:20 PM
Very good! by Tabitha Hawthorne
Tabitha smiled as she approached Jozua's desk. She quite liked the young wizard, despite all the negative things that she'd heard from other teachers and her predecessor about his explosive and fiery tendencies. As of the moment, she'd seen nothing of the sort within her classroom which indicated that he was either finally managing to control himself and his fiery streak or that she was simply very lucky. Either way, Tabitha was thankful.When she was greeted with a question, she smiled further. It pleased her when her students asked further questions on the subject material, wanting to know more and Jozua's was a good question.
"Closing your eyes wouldn't help just on its own," she responded. "It might help you to shut out any external distraction and focus more on what's going on inside your mind and could, possibly, delay the intrusion of a Legilimens but you will need to learn to clear and focus your mind as well, I'm afraid."
She gave him a slightly apologetic smile as she readied her wand, pointing it directly at the boy. "Are you ready?"
Once he was prepared, she cast the spell and found herself to be quite surprised as to where she'd ended up. She seemed to be in some kind of dueling arena. She saw Jozua opposite her and a door behind him, presumably and logically leading to where his memories were stored. For a moment more, she lingered, seeing if he'd do anything else before she left his mind.
"Very good, Mr Sparks!" she complimented, pleased. "A very good start, indeed. You have demonstrated a very good level of control over your mind. To improve on it and push people back out, there are a number of options given the setting you created. For me, just then, you could have simply pictured yourself using the knockback jinx and that would have worked as I wasn't going to try and access your memories. For a stronger Legilimens, it might be necessary to duel but for now, a very good start."
20
Tabitha Hawthorne
Very good!
1417
Tabitha Hawthorne
0
5
Professor Hawthorne
September 15, 2018 1:46 PM
A poor start which can be improved by Professor Hawthorne
When Tabitha approached Ben's desk, she could tell that he was nervous. In fairness to him, he had a right to be. If she'd been in his place, she probably wouldn't have wanted her teachers poking around in her mind either. In fact, there was only one person she'd willingly let in and that was Mary in that very room during that very demonstration. To try and calm his nerves, she gave him what she hoped was a comforting smile. "All set?"When he was ready, she cast the spell and found that his nerves hadn't faded in the slightest. Snippets of memories scrolled past her vision of another seventh year boy who she recognised as Kyte Collindale and Ben helping the boy cheat and then Kyte's sister, Raine and Ben being entirely focused on the girl. Finally, there was an image of Tess Whittaker and Ben proposing - rather unintentionally, it seemed and yet somehow completely honestly and truthfully - and it was at this point that Tabitha realised that Ben had completely lost control of his mind and abruptly withdrew.
It was clear he felt awkward given the comment of a failing grade he made after they gathered themselves and Tabitha found herself smiling softly. "Occlumency is hard to master, Mr Pierce. I had no expectations and it was simply to get an idea of what Legilimency felt like. Your homework is what will be graded."
She cleared her throat and straightened up, now needing to give him some proper instruction for improvement. "Try to work on actually clearing your mind, perhaps by picturing yourself tidying and organising your memories by putting them in boxes. It might help if you find a quiet spot somewhere in Sonora to meditate so you can focus."
Just as she was about to walk past him to the next student, she paused, "And don't worry about what I saw, Mr Pierce. I had some similar experiences when I was in school."
20
Professor Hawthorne
A poor start which can be improved
1417
Professor Hawthorne
0
5
Professor Hawthorne and Professor Brooding
September 15, 2018 2:38 PM
You can make books fly though! by Professor Hawthorne and Professor Brooding
When Tabitha reached Joe's desk, the unhappiness of his current situation was as plain as day on his face. The smile he gave her was tainted by nervous and tension and the joke he made was awkward and poor. As she had done with the other students she'd already performed Legilimency on, she tried to give him a reassuring smile before asking him if he was ready. When he was, she slipped into his mind.There were a couple of flashes of memories but nothing she could see particularly clearly and she recoiled slightly when she heard Joe's voice singing Frere Jacques loudly and off-key. It made it hard for her to concentrate which, she realised, was rather the point and very effective. She was just about to withdraw to compliment the boy when he seemed to push her out instead, forcefully and rather abruptly and she found herself back in her classroom and surrounded by… bubbles?
Mary had been watching Joe closely for signs of stress. She was, if she was honest, probably more concerned about Tabitha, but more confident that the more experienced woman would be able to work herself out if a problem arose. Such as it did when the first clear signs of stress appeared on Joe's face and his textbook suddenly moved very quickly at the Defense professor's face.
“Ebublio,” Mary said sharply, aiming at the book. She'd kept her wand ready for just such moments as this but hadn't actually thought to prepare a spell. Tabitha would be so disappointed. Still, the first one that came to mind seemed to work and as the book burst into a spray of bubbles, Mary tried to stifle a giggle. Something about Tabitha's face was just too perfect not to laugh.
Tabitha’s face was twisted with confusion and for a moment, she wondered if the bubbles currently floating around were Joe’s doing when her eyes landed on Mary who had her wand out and aimed directly at where Joe’s textbook had been. The Defence professor probably would’ve settled for the simple shield charm herself but the bubbles spell actually seemed to be proving rather effective though Tabitha couldn’t help but wonder if Mary had actually chosen that particular spell on purpose.
Mary cleared her throat and dropped her wand arm, returning to her more neutral stance. “Sorry about your book, Mr. Umland. I'll be happy to pay for a new one,” she said softly, her eyes sparkling with both guilt and humor as some of the bubbles popped pointedly nearby. She was rather proud of the boy and was still trying not to laugh, although a chuckle did make its way out.
He was gasping out apologies at Tabitha and the Defence professor waved them off. She felt, now, that they were somewhat even given that he’d magically thrown a book at her - accidentally, but still - and that that book was now floating away in bubble form courtesy of Mary. “It’s quite alright, you did very, very well. I’m impressed. An interesting tactic to use your singing voice,” she told him, very pleased with him. He did look rather nauseous though. “Professor Brooding will look after you.”
22
Professor Hawthorne and Professor Brooding
You can make books fly though!
1424
Professor Hawthorne and Professor Brooding
0
5
Professor Hawthorne
September 15, 2018 2:52 PM
Okay, you win. Well done. by Professor Hawthorne
Tabitha was never quite sure what to make of Kyte. He'd done well in her class and was one of her top students but she knew that he was a exception in the school in that he didn't take any theory classes and that, instead of RATS, he'd be offered some kind of special certificate or diploma to confirm that he had, in fact, completed high school. When she approached his desk, she wasn't quite sure what to expect when she entered the boy's mind. He didn't seem particularly phased and Tabitha wasn't sure if that was overconfidence or if he genuinely had nothing to hide. Whatever the case, she had a feeling it would be an experience.The Defence classroom melted away and then she was greeted by the sight of one of her other students Nevaeh... taking her clothes off. For a minute, Tabitha wondered if this was a real memory when she realised, given the blurriness and weird shimmeriness and shininess to it that it was, in fact, Kyte's mental defence. It was effective as Tabitha very quickly backed out before she could witness any more.
She breathed in sharply, unsure what to say. She felt incredibly weird and uncomfortable which, she thought to herself, was a good thing. She should be uncomfortable at watching her students behaving seductively, even if the image wasn't real. She also wasn't really sure what that told her about Kyte and didn't know if she should be just as disturbed by him as she was by his mental defence. On the other hand, the defence was clearly very effective and also unique and original so there was a mixture of pride mixed in with everything else.
She gathered herself and nodded to Kyte. "Well done, Kyte. Very effective defence."
She found herself unable to say much more than that. What else was there to say?
20
Professor Hawthorne
Okay, you win. Well done.
1417
Professor Hawthorne
0
5
Professor Hawthorne
September 15, 2018 3:07 PM
They just need work. by Professor Hawthorne
Tabitha was worried as she approached Lily's desk, catching sight of the girl's yawn. If she was tired then it didn't seem fair to perform such a taxing spell on the girl as it didn't seem to give her a fair chance in defending herself. On the other hand, the class was all about teaching the students how to defend themselves in the real world and if Lily met a Legilimens in the real world, they certainly wouldn't wait for her to be rested and firing on all cylinders before trying to enter her mind. With that thought in mind, though still feeling somewhat guilty, she cast the spell and entered Lily Spencer's mind.Two memories sprang up one after the other with next to no searching from Tabitha, a firm indication that Lily was unable to bring up a mental defence. She only caught a view glimpses of people she didn't know and then a sight of Jozua coupled with various thoughts about him befor she withdrew, not wanting to embarrass the girl further, her sight greeted with Lily's flushed and sweaty face. She frowned slightly, concerned.
"It's quite alright," she murmured in what she hoped was a comforting voice. "Occlumency is hard magic to understand and master. Trying to shield a part of you that you can't see or touch is very hard and I commend you for giving it a go. To improve, I suggest instead of leaving your memories open in a field or a room like that, to try picturing boxes or doors which can be locked and unlocked by your will. If you can sort through your memories, that's a step in the right direction."
She smiled comfortingly at the girl before departing for the next student and letting Mary tend to her.
20
Professor Hawthorne
They just need work.
1417
Professor Hawthorne
0
5
Raine Collindale, Teppenpaw
September 19, 2018 9:01 AM
Do you have to? by Raine Collindale, Teppenpaw
Raine took a seat in Defence Against the Dark Arts, noting with trepidation that they had two professors today. That meant twice the people to judge them. Raine didn’t take advanced potions, so she had little to go on regarding Professor Brooding, other than Kyte’s assessment that she was ‘kinda hot and generally upbeat.’ That didn’t sound like someone terribly intimidating, but whatever they were going to do today was going to be Professor Brooding’s first, if not only, impression of Raine and that added pressure. Either that, or the presence of a second professor meant that they were doing something really, really dangerous. Raine didn’t like either of those options…It turned out more the latter. Professor Brooding mostly seemed to be there for demonstrations. The whole thing just seemed sort of creepy and off though. Unlike her twin, Raine kept almost everything she thought inside. She only ever shared a fraction of what was on her mind, even with people she regarded as her closest friends. She scarcely knew Professor Hawthorne, although she found herself glad that it was not Professor Nash doing this to her. He had been very intimidating, and Raine was sure he had disliked both her and Kyte more than most of their other professors. Professor Hawthorne at least seemed kind, though Raine still would not have voluntarily trusted her with many of her thoughts.
On the whole, Raine was good at finding her focus. It was one of her strengths, even if she didn't recognise it as being particularly special. It was something she was used to doing before performances - clearing her mind, getting ready to step out, and believe that she and the hoop were the only things in the universe. There were doubts she had to push from her mind at those times too. Worries that she wasn't good enough, or thoughts about who was watching and what they were thinking. She absolutely could not think about making mistakes or falling. Just like there were things she didn't want Professor Hawthrone to catch her thinking about. She tried to clear her mind as the professor got to her. But it was like when the MACUSA officials came snooping around, checking up that there was no underage magic or the like going on - on one of their ‘random spot checks.’ It was amazing how often these random checks turned up families like her own, and how rarely it landed officials on the doorsteps of Pureblood families... Even at the times when she had nothing to hide, their presence just made her feel guilty and edgy, and it was a lot harder not to act suspicious.
As the Professor stepped inside Raine's mind, it was unsurprising that it resembled backstage at the circus. There was a constant commotion of movement and noise but it was as if it was muffled by cloth. Raine, and now Professor Hawthorne, who was seeing the scene as if from inside Raine’s head, were tuning it out. Their focus was on the breath rising and falling in their chest. They looked out into the ring, at the hoop suspended above the arena, feeling calm and purposeful. In their peripheral vision, their hand rested on the curtain, flesh toned fabric dotted rhinestones covering their arm.
Don't think about Dallas. Raine told herself. Don't think about hitting on Joe. Don't think about Dallas. Don't think about hitting on Joe. She said she expected to see what we thought of class. I don't like it though. Is it rude to think that? Does anyone like having their mind invaded? Kyte might. He's not exactly a great bench mark for normality though. What if she expects us to be thinking something intelligent? I never think anything intelligent. She’s going to think I don’t deserve to be in this class. Don't think about Dallas. Don't think about hitting on Joe...
And whilst Raine was used to focussing on the hoop, not thinking about falling - so used to doing that, that it was second nature not to - she had nowhere near that level of practise at keeping her anxieties out of her head and away from a visitor. And thus she was consciously having to remind herself not to think about those things. Which meant that Professor Hawthorne, for all she could see the serene image of the circus ring, and feel Raine’s breathing and focus, could also hear everything the seventh year was very firmly telling herself not to think about.
13
Raine Collindale, Teppenpaw
Do you have to?
327
Raine Collindale, Teppenpaw
0
5
Joe
September 24, 2018 6:58 PM
Unfortunately, it seems. by Joe
For a moment, half-stunned and half-sick, Joe thought he might be hallucinating. He knew it was possible he could have produced a stream of bubbles, but thought it highly unlikely – his wand was not out, and conjuring bubbles out the air in a moment of stress was not something he thought he would do. Distracting Professor Hawthorne with bubbles could have worked, of course, but whacking Professor Hawthorne with his textbook would have been a far more effective defense, and that was what he had tried….…Where was his book?
”Sorry about your book, Mr. Umland.”
His eyes focused on Professor Brooding, and he flushed, angry, when he realized she was nearly laughing, assuming she was laughing at him. Her offer to pay for a new one did not help the situation; it was an effort not to glance at his robes or his other things, to see if they really looked that secondhand.
“I – thank you, Professor,” he said, slightly stiltedly, thankfully realizing before he began to speak that going on the defensive would be stupid. His family was perfectly capable of buying him another book, of course, and that wasn’t even the point. Professor Brooding had destroyed something and was not so poor herself, he was guessing (a theory supported by her absurd hair and fancy dresses), that she could not afford to replace it. Therefore, it was proper that she offer and he accept. Writing home for another book, putting his family to inconvenience, especially if he went for the easiest source, which was Julian - that would be vulgar. Her replacing the book wasn’t charitable, it was restitution, and excessive pride was as tasteless as unnecessary sponging.
He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to clear his head and get back on an even keel, thinking instead of reacting. “I’m fine,” he insisted to Professor Brooding, in something approaching his normal manner. “Really. Thank you, though.”
16
Joe
Unfortunately, it seems.
329
Joe
0
5
Tasha DuBois, Aladren
September 24, 2018 6:58 PM
Tacos! by Tasha DuBois, Aladren
In some ways, Tasha was very much looking forward to graduation. She would get to travel again. As much as she enjoyed learning things, sometimes she felt completely cooped up at Sonora, like she was missing out on seeing the world. Even though the Aladren got to go on vacations during the holidays, with only lip service paid to family celebrations-after they'd gone to Ethiopia, Mother had decided traveling was a better way to spend Tasha's school vacations then putting up with family drama-she was missing out on experiences she couldn't get here.'On the other hand, she was worried about leaving Juniper here on her own especially as she couldn't trust Finn now that he'd gone to the ball with someone else. Tasha wasn't happy with him one little bit. She honestly didn't think he understood the ramifications of what had happened. The Aladren knew her cousin was absolutely devastated and she wasn't sure Juniper would ever be the same. Finn had been the one person that the younger girl had been comfortable with outside her own family, and now this!
Juniper,for her part, didn't seem mad at Finn even though she was very hurt by him. Any anger the Teppenpaw had seemed to be directed at Gwen.
Now though was time for an apparently very interesting lecture in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Just the opening line was intriguing and that they were going to be learning all about Occlumency and Legilimency was enough to make Tasha mostly not think about Juniper's troubles, other than briefly wanting to use Legilimency on Finn to find what the hell he'd been thinking asking Gwen to the ball instead of Juniper.
And, in all honesty, she had nothing to hide from Professor Hawthorne's intrusion into her mind, no deep dark secrets. That in itself was comforting. All the professor would find would be a desire to travel, anger at Finn and Gwen and a hankering for a pork stomach taco. Pork stomach tacos were not something readily available at Sonora. They served Mexican but it seemed to be...not exactly Americanized Mexican but not....the weird stuff. And Tasha liked the weird stuff.
She took out her book to begin doing her homework as she awaited her turn. When Professor Hawthorne approached, Tasha focused hard on those tacos, pushing her worries about her cousin aside. The tacos and the research on leglimency would be all the professor should see. Think about tacos. Tacos, tacos, tacos Spicy tacos, laden with sour cream and black olives and taco sauce and yummy yummy pig innards.
11
Tasha DuBois, Aladren
Tacos!
323
Tasha DuBois, Aladren
0
5
Arianna Tate, Crotalus
September 28, 2018 4:55 PM
Get. Out. by Arianna Tate, Crotalus
Arianna had expected her classes to get more interesting this year, to learn more advanced and important magic. However,after being subjected to Professor Wright's physics lecture, she'd been very disappointed. The spell to enlarge things was good one to know and all but she could have done without all that muggle nonsense. They had magic and so they didn't need science, thank you very much.Hopefully, Defense would be better. Arianna had kept up with this subject for two reason. The first was because of the fact that she had been the victim of an attempted kidnapping as a small child. Her mother's first cousin, Fallon had been betrothed to Father. Then he had met Mother and found her much more attractive-understandably since Fallon was excessively overweight, much bigger than Georgia Kirkly's pudge and from all accounts was even larger now-and fallen in love with her instead. They had eloped the night before Father was supposed to marry Fallon. Later, after Arianna was born, Fallon and her mother, Great Aunt Dorthea, had hired some goons to try and kidnap her in retaliation. Fortunately, the hired goons had been seriously incompetant but the whole thing had made the Crotalus realize that Defense was rather important.
The other reason was that Defense Against the Dark Arts would probably contain learning at least a little bit about learning about said Dark Arts, though not how to do them. Arianna found them rather intriguing. She wasn't planning to take over the world or anything on a large scale but to learn better tools to get what she wanted appealed to her.
In addition to Professor Hawthorne, today the new Potions professor was there. Arianna didn't take Potions so didn't have much opinion on her though she had heard around that Professor Brooding was perky and had made the Beginners cook. The sixth year had snickered a bit over her brother having to do that.
Once the lesson began, she perked up herself. Leglimency and Occlumency were right up her alley, though Arianna probably would have preferred the former. She knew Uncle Evan was an Occlumens and her second cousin once removed,Nora was a Leglimens, Nora being the reason her uncle had taken up Occlumency, he didn't want her poking around in his head. Personally, Arianna thought her cousin sounded like she could be interesting but she lived in Wales while the Crotalus lived in Jamaica and Nora wasn't especially close to Mother. There was a rather large age gap both between the two of them and between Mother and Nora's mother, Lucy.
Uncle Evan's advice for combatting Legilimens if you couldn't do Occlumency was to think of something the person performing Legilimency would find boring. Problem was, boring was in the eye of the beholder. For example, Professor Wright found physics interesting and the Crotalus did not. And of course, she had no idea what Professor Hawthorne would find dull.
Still, Arianna wasn't all that worried. She knew she had a strong mind. When Professor Brooding came by, she concentrated hard on a brick wall. She could feel the professor poking around and started wobble, realizing that she didn't like the feeling one bit. So the sixth year focused harder, on that brick wall, but now it was tinged with a strong message to for the professor to get out.
11
Arianna Tate, Crotalus
Get. Out.
353
Arianna Tate, Crotalus
0
5