Here for some learning on Potions

Professor Fawcett

September 25, 2010 3:04 PM

Beginners Potions I (1st and 2nd Years) by Professor Fawcett

The early afternoon wasn't, as far as such things went, a bad time for first years. They'd had enough time to wake up fully, had eaten lunch already, and still had a few classes after his, which kept them from being too restless as they thought of their evening leisure time. Or, as most of them were likely beginning to discover, evening homework time. John had found working in the company of his classmates to be a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable form of socialization when he was a child, but he had learned over the years that most people did not look at it from that angle.

If they remained in his class beyond the required five years, they would learn, though, to at least appreciate such activity. Somewhere between growing up as the eldest child of a literature professor, being named after Milton, spending seven years as an Aladren, and having a career, for some years, as the sort of behavioral scientist who spent most of his time analyzing numbers and lecturing to students, John had become an academic through and through, and that was reflected in his classes. He kept it within a Potions framework, making sure it helped teach or reinforce things they were required to know by the CATS or RATS standards, but it was not really a secret that he was also dedicated to the goal of ensuring they could all speak and compose fluently before they entered either college or the real world.

"Good day, everyone," he said once the students had all come in. He noted, between chagrin and amusement, that he had grown so accustomed to large beginner classes that he was still taking a moment each class to realize that this was all they had this time. He had expected that to wear off after the first week. "Time for roll call, you all know the drill by now I hope..."

Once he had verified attendance and put the page into its red folder, he rapped the board with his wand, revealing a list of ingredients and instructions. “And now we’ll get started. Today we’ll be working on a Deflating Draught; it may be somewhat challenging for those of you in first year, but I expect you should find it manageable. It is used primarily as an antidote to the Swelling Solution, though there are several other applications you may research at your leisure.

“The ingredients are, as you can see on the board and page 112 of your textbook, chopped daisy roots, armadillo bile, a runespoor egg, porcupine quills, and an eye of newt. You may work in pairs, and you have the remainder of the class period to complete this potion. Take care with the armadillo bile and the porcupine quills; if you’re too heavy-handed with them, or add them at the wrong points, you may well cause disaster. Begin, and good luck.” He paused, sure he had forgotten something. "Oh, yes. Also remember to hand in your essays over last week's discussion before you leave."

OOC: Standard posting rules apply: 200 word minimums, good spelling and grammar, and keeping your part in the story believable. That said, get posting and have fun!

Subthreads:

Worried by Ryan O'Malley,Crotalus with Sophie Jamison [Pecari]

Here for some learning by Sophia Randolph [Pecari] with Autumn Collins, Sophia

I actually came up with a theory about Professor Fawcett! by Kirstenna Melcher, Teppenpaw with Neal Padrig, Pecari

Trying Not to Yawn - A Losing Battle by Renée Errant with Valentina Bentancourt [Teppenpaw]

0 Professor Fawcett Beginners Potions I (1st and 2nd Years) 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Ryan O'Malley,Crotalus

September 26, 2010 11:01 PM

Worried by Ryan O'Malley,Crotalus

Ryan entered the Potions class with increased anxiety. He was even more anxious about this than he was his other classes. Potions was for smart people and Ryan didn't think he was very smart at all. He would probably fail this class due to being mentally deficient. Then his mother would either laugh at him or yell at him for being so stupid and punish him for his failure.

He really did want to pass too, and not just because he'd be in trouble if he didn't. Ryan wanted to be good at Potions because there were so many that had so many uses. Besides, Ryan wanted to find one for allergies that would not make him sleepy. He doubted he was smart enough to think up one on his own and create a whole new potion but maybe one already existed.

The first year took a seat in similar place to where he'd sat in Transfiguration. Ryan was early because he didn't want to risk being yelled at for being late but didn't want to take one of the more popular sitting places because then his classmates would get mad at him and resent him for taking the seat they wanted. It was kind of a difficult balance that probably caused Ryan more anxiety than was necessary.

Professor Fawcett took roll and began the lesson. As he said it would be challenging for first years, Ryan began to worry. He didn't know if he could handle brewing something difficult.The fact that the professor mentioned disaster only made Ryan more nervous. What if he caused one? He'd forever be known as the kid who wreaked havoc during potions. Everyone would think Ryan was stupid and agree with them , with his mother and sister.

Worse, he could end up hurting someone. The Crotalus would never forgive himself if he ended up doing that. Even if the other person miraculously forgave him. Even if nobody else held it against him. Ryan would hate to cause anyone else pain in any way.

He knew he was probably worried about nothing. His uncle Seth had told him there wasn't any point worrying about stuff that hadn't happened but Ryan couldn't help it. He didn't think his uncle worried about much of anything. Uncle Seth was more of an adventurous and risk-taking sort than Ryan was. Ryan worried about every little thing. With a mom like his, he had to consider every action when it could lead to him being punished.

Of course, his mother punished him simply for anything she could come up with at any given time. Or what Carrie could come up with to say that Ryan did that he didn't do.

If he caused a catastrophe and it caused someone to be hurt though, Ryan would deserve the worst his mother could throw at him.

The Crotalus first year turned to the person next to him."Will you work with me on this?" Ryan asked. He thought maybe if another person worked with him, the potion might turn out better and he'd be less increased the chances of him harming someone, but Ryan figured that if the other person helped him out, he'd be less likely to fail. Unfortunately, there was a more likely chance of him harming someone else but Ryan figured if his partner helped him, he'd be less likely to mess up.

Besides, maybe he'd end up with a new friend, like in Transfiguration with Neal.

11 Ryan O'Malley,Crotalus Worried 176 Ryan O'Malley,Crotalus 0 5

Sophie Jamison [Pecari]

September 27, 2010 10:22 PM

Really? I'm not. by Sophie Jamison [Pecari]

Sophie literally skipped to Potions class. Potions was her best --and favorite-- of all of the subjects Sonora offered and/or made mandatory. The pureblood had always been a talented potioneer. Considering that making potions didn’t really require a wand, Serapes had already taught her much on the subject. In fact, it was Sophie’s dream to follow in her godfather’s footsteps and dabble in a career as a potioneer when she grew up, though she had Quidditch as a back-up plan. Then again, her stupid Pureblood relatives wouldn’t like her as a professional Quidditch player. They were barely tolerating her being in the Pecari team.

Speaking of which, that had sure been a surprise! Sophie had been pretty sure she wouldn’t make the team. They already had a Keeper, which was really the only position she was experienced with. Naturally, the team’s Keeper of previous years hadn’t been replaced, but one thing on that list did shock her: she was Chaser! Sophie had only played Chaser in pick-up games with her cousin and his friends when they played because his friends didn’t want a girl Keeping, especially such a lady like her. Boy, had they been surprised by her game.

But now wasn’t Quidditch time; now was Potions time! Hooray! Sophie eagerly took her seat, listening perkily to Professor Fawcett as he spoke. Anyone who was talented in the art of Potions was definitely high up in her book. She found herself nodding along with the professor as he explained the potion the class would be making. Deflating Draught was less than new to her; she had probably made it dozens of times before. This would be no problem for the young blonde.

Gingerly handling her ingredients, Sophie began chopping her daisy roots in a “safe, careful manner” that Serapes had taught her when the boy next to her spoke. “Will you work with me on this?” At first, she didn’t register his words into her brain, but eventually, she realized that she should probably say something back. She paused her chopping and turned to him. “I’d love to!” she said sweetly. Extending a friendly hand to him, Sophie added, “I’m Sophie Jamison.”

“You don’t look like you’ve done a lot of potioneering before today, so I might start telling you what to do,” said the small girl, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Oh, how she loved Potions! “If I start getting too bossy, let me know, okay?” Scanning her ingredients, she wondered what the boy would like to do next.

“Here.” She handed him the daisy roots she had been chopping, along with her chopping utensil. “How about you chop some of the daisy roots?” she asked with a warm grin, sort of sensing that the boy was uncomfortable and quite possibly shy. It had been very awesome of him to ask her to begin with, but if he was shy, then it was a major accomplishment!

Carefully, she began preparing the runespoor egg for the potion, keeping an eye on Ryan just in case he needed her help. “I think ya got it!” she exclaimed happily, her slang piercing her British accent. “You’re doing awesome!” she added as she pulled a hair tie off of her wrist and began tying up her blonde hair. It was just too annoying --and, frankly, dangerous-- to have it down in Potions. Brushing the hairs of her (really nonexistent) bangs that refused to be pulled back out of her face, she asked the boy, “So, where is your family from?”

12 Sophie Jamison [Pecari] Really? I'm not. 34 Sophie Jamison [Pecari] 0 5

Ryan

October 01, 2010 1:26 AM

That explains our respective sortings. by Ryan

Ryan waited with baited breath for the girl's reply. She seemed to be taking an awfully long time to respond to his question about working together. He was so sure she was going to say no and was just trying to find a polite way to say it. (Though the fact that she would be polite was at least an improvement over some people.)

Or she was blatantly ignoring Ryan, which was more what he was used to. Actually, in some cases, it was what he preferred. Ryan would rather be ignored than berated and yelled at any day. In fact, if Ryan was home, he tried to remain beneath his mother's notice though he was rarely sucessful at it. Even if his mother was ignoring him, Carrie would do or say something to make sure Ryan got in trouble when she got bored playing with her multitude of toys.

I’d love to!”

The Crotalus breathed a sigh of relief. Ryan had been worried that this girl already disliked him even though they'd never met before. He took her offered hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Sophie. I'm Ryan O'Malley." He rarely ever gave his last name but did because she had. Not because he was ashamed. If anything, Ryan was proud of his family name and didn't feel he was worthy of it. The O'Malleys were good people. His great-grandparents had a pub in Boston and a whiskey distillery. Ryan's father had an important job within the Western branch in Colorado. Sophie might have heard of them if she followed pureblood families (which Ryan did not, though he thought there was a Jamison family) or her parents drank a lot.

There was also the fact that Ryan was afraid people, if they liked him, would only like him because he was pureblood and had a fair amount of money. His mom, who had been a Brockert herself, one of the most influential families in the west, had told him that his name and money was all he had going for him, because Ryan himself was worthless and stupid. He didn't really want to be friends with people who only cared about money and blood. Ryan wanted to be liked for who he was but he had his doubts that he would be.

Furthermore, Ryan didn't want to be resented for his name and money either, the way his mom resented his uncles for what she thought was his grandpa's favortism. Favortism that Ryan knew not to exist. Yet, his mother blatantly and obviously favored Carrie over him. This was what Aunt Jana told Ryan was called hypocrisy. His aunt was very smart. She had been an Aladren.

The Crotalus shook his head. "No, not really." Ryan was considered too young to do potions by everyone but Aunt Jane who had been more concerned with teaching Ryan the basics. She had taught him some magical theories last year and Ryan had just ate it up. Still, his pre-Sonora education had been sort of erratic.

He accepted the daisy roots from Sophie. "That's okay. You probably know what to do better than I do." Ryan replied. Everyone did, but he couldn't let her know this. She might decide not to work with him after all because he was incompetant.

Ryan set to work on chopping the daisy roots. Suddenly, Sophie spoke again, telling him what a good job he was doing. Ryan beamed. "Thanks!" He loved praise and when he got a rare compliment he would soak it up like a sponge. "I'm from Colorado," Ryan answered Sophie's question. "You?"

11 Ryan That explains our respective sortings. 176 Ryan 0 5

Sophia Randolph [Pecari]

October 01, 2010 4:45 PM

Here for some learning by Sophia Randolph [Pecari]

As far as it went, Sophia was having a pretty good term. She had friends, had more or less good grades, and her parents had already sent her a few care packages filled with awesome stuff. The second-year was content with how her life was going, she would not change a thing about it. Well, maybe she would change one thing, but that was out of her reach. She would have to win the lottery to have some extra galleons to spend on things she wanted, but couldn’t have. The lack of money in her family was something that the Pecari had learned to live with, it would be close to a miracle the day her parents had money to spend on luxuries, and Sophia was used to that reality of her life. It really didn’t bother her that much, she had seen families torn apart for money, and her family was the thing that she loved above everything else. Her parents were everything to her.

The dark-haired girl was ready for her Potions class, it wasn’t one of her favourite subjects, but she didn’t dislike it. It was still early to decide whether she would pursue the class after the required five years. She would have to see how everything went, she couldn’t make rash decisions without more knowledge, CoMC was another story, she would drop that class as soon as possible.

She entered the classroom, sat down, and waited for the thing to begin. As she did so, she took out the material she would need for it. Her book, parchment, ink, quills and potions kit were neatly organized on her desk. The Professor started speaking, and Sophia began taking notes. Potions, was kind of a dangerous subject and she didn’t want to cause havoc by having her potion explode or something like that. Sophia grabbed the required ingredients from her kit, and opened her book to page 112. So far, so good. Excellent. Now, she just had to find a partner to work with. In her opinion, that was the easy part, the second-year Pecari had always been good in the friends department, she liked socializing.

Before starting on her potion, she looked over the person next to her. She smiled brightly, “Would you like to work with me?” Her green eyes shining with friendliness, working with someone was usually better than working alone. It was true what people said, two heads were better than one. She just hoped the person next to her was friendly and a good student. Sophia didn’t want to do all the work alone.

0 Sophia Randolph [Pecari] Here for some learning 0 Sophia Randolph [Pecari] 0 5

Sophie

October 02, 2010 10:21 AM

Or I might just be crazy by Sophie

“Nice to meet you, Sophie. I’m Ryan O’Malley.” Oh! Sophie knew that name, O’Malley. Having such lovely pureblood relatives, Soph had learned --by force!-- most of the pureblood families out there, and O’Malley was definitely one of them. Though she knew the name, she couldn’t place the location. She knew they were an American family, or at least she was pretty sure. As this boy was definitely pureblood, Sophie wondered if he knew and recognized her name, which was a weird thought. Sophie hated being recognized for her family name, whether it was Jamison or her mother’s family, most of whom she hated. “Awesome to meet you, too, Ryan!” the half-English girl said with her slight accent.

Now, if it had been her godfathers she was recognized for, it would have been different. Sophie loved Serapes and Ileum immeasurably and would gladly have traded either one of their last names for her own if she could have. Unfortunately, even if she had either of their last names, she probably wouldn’t be recognized at all as they were both halfbloods.

Sophie smiled when Ryan said she wasn’t getting too bossy. “Okay, good,” she replied perkily, beaming. “I get really involved in my potion making --one of my godfathers taught me a whole bunch about potioneering-- and sometimes I get really bossy or annoying. Like I said, if I do, just let me know!” Not really having any friends yet, Sophie really wanted to befriend this kid. He was pureblood like her, but he seemed really nice.

She didn’t argue when Ryan stated that she probably knew more than he did, because that was all-together very likely. The small blonde liked to consider herself a sort of potions expert, or at least compared to most other kids her age. Serapes knew potions like the back of his hand, and he was passing on his expertise to her. By this time, she could probably make potions that alluded third years while she was blindfolded. Well, that might have been a stretch, but Sophie definitely had talent.

It surprised her a little bit when Ryan thanked her for the compliment. It wasn’t really that he thanked her, a lot of people did that when complimented, but he seemed almost surprised that she was complimenting him. It was kind of like he wasn’t used to being complimented. Weird. Her own father put so much effort into being around --even though he often wasn’t-- that he praised her for things as simple as dressing herself sometimes.

“I’m from Colorado.” Ah ha! Sophie had been right about him being American. Now she was glad she had asked. “You?” She smiled. “I live in California,” the blue-eyed girl replied happily. “Well, part of the time. My dad takes me to our other houses in Germany and England a lot, but we stay in California a lot. Dad really likes the states.” Personally, of their houses, Sophie liked the Germany home best, but there were more people she knew and loved in England. Living primarily from California was all her dad’s choice.

12 Sophie Or I might just be crazy 34 Sophie 0 5

Autumn Collins

October 03, 2010 4:09 AM

Me too by Autumn Collins

Like most things, Potions made Autumn slightly nervous. It could be quite a dangerous subject and the last thing the curly haired second year wanted to do was cause a castastrophe. She could get in trouble or hurt someone and Autumn didn't want to do either.

However, Autumn's naturally cautious behavior worked to her advantage in this class. Potions was a subject that favored those who were more careful, not those who took chances like in DADA. In fact, most subjects seemed to work in Autumn's favor which was why she tended to do very well in school.

Well, that and the fact that she had a tendency to be sort of a perfectionist. She didn't know why, but Autumn was very driven to get everything right. It wasn't as if she was under any sort of pressure from her family, beyond the fact that Lily had done well in school and Autumn wanted to be like her older sister-aside from more artistic and less violent-and the fact that Autumn was representing the Collins family here at Sonora and she wanted to be a credit to her family name.

Not that her parents ever put such pressures on her. Autumn knew that her parents would love her and be proud of her as long as she tried her best. However, she didn't feel she was doing her best if she didn't do everything right. Autumn had a tendency to be harder on herself than anyone else was on her.

As soon as Professor Fawcett finished the lecture, Autumn looked around for one of her friends. However, before she could find one of them, the girl next to her asked to be her partner. "Sure." Autumn agreed. The girl, whose name was Sophia had always seemed nice and a good student so Autumn was happy to work with her.

11 Autumn Collins Me too 164 Autumn Collins 0 5

Kirstenna Melcher, Teppenpaw

October 03, 2010 5:37 AM

I actually came up with a theory about Professor Fawcett! by Kirstenna Melcher, Teppenpaw

Potions was never one of Kirstenna's favorite classes. In fact, it was probably her least favorite. She just found it so boring. All those instructions made her head spin, especially lately. Kirstenna, never the most attentive to detail, was having an even harder time focusing. She just felt so... sad , with Brian gone and all. Kirstenna felt all hollow inside, like something crucial was gone that she would never get back, never be able to fill that hollow place inside her ever again.

She sincerely believed that every friend someone made was always a part of them. Someone had once told Kirstenna that friends were the family one chose for themselves and that was often the case with her. Aside from Quentin and her parents, Kirstenna wholeheartedly felt that her circus friends and Sophia were more her family than most of her biological relatives and Brian had been in that category too. She missed him terribly.

In fact, Kirstenna wasn't even sure she wanted more close friends right now. She was already worried for the safety of both Quentin and Sophia in case the Beetle Lady really was the Impostor. Or in case that crazy lady knew the Teppenpaw was onto her like the last crazy lady had. Kirstenna was pretty sure Brian had been kidnapped and she didn't want anything like that happening to anyone else. She wasn't even sure Brian was still alive.

Kirstenna sighed to herself as she attempted to listen to Professor Fawcett. She found it near impossible to pay attention in this class which she knew was bad for her grades, but she couldn't help it. It was like Professor Fawcett's voice was a sleeping potion itself.

She didn't want to believe the man was inherently boring. No, Kirstenna instead thought it was some kind of power the man had. Instead of being a siren-like the actor who played Will on Glee, whom the blonde was convinced was indeed part siren-she thought maybe Professor Fawcett was a similar creature whose voice had the power to put people to sleep. Kirstenna was going to have to start taking some sort of potion, or drinking caffeine before this class.

Brushing a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun-Kirstenna had waist length hair-out of her eyes, she turned to the person next to her and asked "Will you work with me on this?" She didn't want to be a burden, and she knew she was in potions, but Kirstenna knew she couldn't do this potion-or any potion-alone. Hopefully, the person wasn't too concerned with their grades.

11 Kirstenna Melcher, Teppenpaw I actually came up with a theory about Professor Fawcett! 161 Kirstenna Melcher, Teppenpaw 0 5

Neal Padrig, Pecari

October 04, 2010 9:55 PM

Where do you come up with this stuff? by Neal Padrig, Pecari

Neal’s worst subject by far had to be Transfigurations, even though he put nothing less than his best effort into it. If he were to magically (hah) start to excel in that, than Potions would probably end up his worse subject instead. It’s not that it was hard, it was just rather dull. For as much work as he put forth in the other courses, he couldn’t say that he put much into this class. The subject was interesting, sure, and what they made was equally so, but he was too impatient to sit around and mix things. Before he went to every class he made sure he a notebook and pencil with him to doodle, or a book to read, or anything else that could make the class go by just a bit faster.

Sitting through role call was already making Neal wish he was sick and in the Hospital Wing with a bad case of something-or-other. Professor Fawcett wasn’t so bad, so maybe he’d just have to wait out the boring stuff before they got to cooler potions in later years. Because, seriously, Deflating Draught didn’t sound like fun to him.

Getting the essay he had managed to scrape together out along with his textbook, Neal idly flicked to the page before starting to set his stuff up for the potion. The sooner her got through this, the better his day would be. At least, he was hoping that was how it would work.

Hearing a girl speak up, Neal looked away from his potions to a girl in his year who was on the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. “Oh, yeah, no problem. I’ll use any help I can get. This stuff is boring to do alone.” His face sort of fell then. His favorite time in potions had been when he worked with Mariana, that hadn’t been boring at all. Trying not to be glum as he met someone new, he held out his hand and smiled. “I think you’re in my year, right? I’m Neal.”

0 Neal Padrig, Pecari Where do you come up with this stuff? 0 Neal Padrig, Pecari 0 5

Renée Errant

October 04, 2010 10:20 PM

Trying Not to Yawn - A Losing Battle by Renée Errant

With a groan, Renée let her chin fall down on her desk with a dull thud, her head wobbling before it rolled over on her side. Beneath her dark brown eyes were black bags over her tanned skin, clearly indicating the lack of sleep she had gotten that night. It wasn't really her fault though. By a chance glance out her window, she had been convinced that there was some great big flying mass in the dimming sky. She had sat there so sure, her eyes fanatically forced open all night as she tried to catch a glimpse of what she was sure was a thestral or a flying unicorn... possibly a dragon. It wasn't until streams of blue, pink, and orange began to paint the morning sky that she was forced to give up. Later on it occurred to her that it wouldn't have been a thestral anyway since she had never seen death.

In any case, she was dead tired and had no energy for potions. Yet potions was what she had. Weakly raising her hand to indicate her presence in class, with great effort she managed to straighten her posture to face the person next to her. "Partners?" She asked, fighting to keep the yawn out of her voice. "I'm Renée."

Despite her disinterest in the subject, she wasn't so bad at it. It was all about following directions and it was simple. Normally she wouldn't have felt a need for a partner but since she was in the condition she was in, she felt it would be wise. She just hoped her partner wasn't incompetent, she was barely able to keep it together herself.

Opening her mouth to say something else, she finally lost the battle and let loose a yawn. Her vision grew dizzy but she shook her head to clear it. "Sorry about that." She apologized, though her manner was casual and uncaring. She began to gather the ingredients around her and stared at the cauldron.

0 Renée Errant Trying Not to Yawn - A Losing Battle 0 Renée Errant 0 5

Sophia

October 05, 2010 2:54 AM

Then we can learn together! by Sophia

“Awesome,” Sophia responded in excitement to the girl she recognized as Autumn. The Pecari second-year had never worked with her before, it had to be the first time they even talked, which was weird because they were on the same year, and had every class together. No matter, Sophia was always up to make new friends! Kirstenna was awesome and all, but it never hurt to have more friends she could hang out with. The green-eyed girl was of the idea that more the merrier. Sophia was an only child, so she liked having friends, it was sort of like having extended siblings or something. She briefly wondered why her parents had just had her. Then again, she had come late in life.

She got out the ingredients they would need, and lit the fire underneath the cauldron. She looked at her book to see what ingredient went first. Sophia began evenly chopping the daisy roots, “I think we haven’t been properly introduced,” she smiled at the other girl. “I am Sophia Randolph. You are Autumn right?” it was better to have some basic information about the girl she was working with. It would make the whole making-a-friend process easier. Finishing with the daisy roots, she left them in a neat pile alongside the other ingredients, the water needed to be the right temperature for the potion to work. It said so in her book. In classes like this one, it was better to follow instructions.

The dark-haired girl smiled at her working partner, “which house are you in? I feel awful about not knowing anything about you. We are in the same year after all, how about we share some basics?” she hoped she hadn’t come to strong, some people were uncomfortable with forwardness, but at this point it was better to do things quickly. No need for slow processes. Sophia was already excited about the prospect of having a new friend. Friends were awesome, and Autumn seemed to be nice enough. Thankfully she hadn’t encountered someone that was bad or horrible to her, and she hoped it stayed that way. “I’ll start. Like I said, my name is Sophia, I am in Pecari, and an only child!”

0 Sophia Then we can learn together! 0 Sophia 0 5

Ryan

October 06, 2010 11:47 AM

Good crazy or bad crazy? by Ryan

Ryan listened as Sophie talked about her godfathers. He didn't have godfathers himself, but he had aunts, uncles and grandparents. And his dad of course, but his dad was often away on business trips. Ryan's mother naturally said it was because his father couldn't stand to be around him. This was one thing Ryan knew not to be true-and Aunt Jana said that his dad probably took those trips because he didn't want to be around Ryan's mother.

"They sound really great," he replied. "My aunt only taught me a bit of theory." Ryan didn't think he was anything special at it though. Especially considering that some of the time he was at home, and he didn't learn anything there. Carrie now had a tutor who came to teach her the basics but Ryan had naturally not been allowed to attend. His sister wouldn't have it and what Carrie wanted, Carrie got.

Of course, it hadn't really come up, whether or not his sister was okay with him being there. His mother had forbid him from attending. The tutor had asked about it but Ryan's mom had told him that Ryan was mentally deficient and that there was no point to it. If it wasn't for Aunt Jana-his grandfather was legendarily cheap and wouldn't hire someone for him, though it wasn't personal in this case-Ryan might be even more behind. He might not even be able to read very well.

Ryan nodded. "You have houses all over the world?" He asked, in awe. Of course, the Brockert family owned quite a bit of land and pretty much most of magical Colorado but he didn't think they had houses in Germany. Well, his grandparents didn't, Ryan thought the patriarch might and he knew there was a cabin in the mountains. He had gone on vacation there with Arabella, Uncle Tim and Aunt Lisa before Serena was born. That had been a lot of fun, other than the nosebleed he'd gotten from being in such high altitudes. It had been the only vacation Ryan had ever gone on.

Still, Grandpa Otis thought multiple houses were silly and unnecessary expense and so he certainly didn't own houses in Europe. Grandpa was the type to hoard his money, which even split eight ways, his kids were going to come into a lot of money someday, though he said Ryan's mother's share was going straight to Ryan.

"I've never even left Colorado until I came here, except a few times when I went to Boston to visit my dad's family." Ryan told Sophie. "Though my dad travels a lot, but mostly in the United States." He could relate to living in multiple places but he didn't want to tell Sophie that, as he didn't want to explain that the reason was that his mother seemed unable to stand the sight of him.

11 Ryan Good crazy or bad crazy? 176 Ryan 0 5

Valentina Bentancourt [Teppenpaw]

October 06, 2010 8:40 PM

Trying not to blow something up by Valentina Bentancourt [Teppenpaw]

Valentina Bentancourt was torn between being happy or jealous. She had never been the jealous type when it came to her parent’s attention, they had always been fair, and given Alex and her, the same amount of it. But now Alex was betrothed and she wasn’t. In normal circumstances, she wouldn’t care, but her dad was not around, and the fact that he had arranged this for Alex made her angry…she also deserved his attention. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t. The toughest thing was being away from the comforting arms of her mother, she really needed to feel her love. It was tough to lead the life she did, without a constant father figure in her life. At eleven years old, she couldn’t understand why he didn’t live with them, it was confusing to see her friends with their fathers, when she hardly ever saw hers.

She sighed. The reality was that she was at Sonora, away from what she loved. It was the first time she felt home-sick, but she hadn’t taken the news well. For the most part, she was happy for Alex, he seemed to be happy and the way he talked about Emmy made her think that she was nice. Valentina was sort of curious about her, she always wanted a sister. Still, she envied him.

Before going to class she wrote a letter to her mother expressing what she was feeling. It had felt good talking -or in this case writing - about what she was feeling, now she just needed to wait for an answer and for midterm. Merlin, she wanted to go home and cuddle with her mother.

She entered the Potions classroom and sat down waiting for class to begin. The Spaniard raised her hand when her name was called, and waited a little bit more for the lesson to begin. Attendance was kind of boring. The blue-eyed little girl smiled when it was time to start, as a first-year she was excited for learning, she would grow up to be just like her mother, and it was good that she was liking all of her classes. She took out everything that would be needed for the class, when suddenly the girl beside her asked to be her partner. Valentina looked at her, Renée seemed to be super tired, she widen her eyes at her. “Sure, I am Valentina Bentancourt. Pleasure, how should we start?” She smiled at her.

Renée yawned. It seemed to be a very bad idea to do potions with a girl that was so tired. Merlin knew what could happen. “Are you okay? You look tired.” The concern was clear on her accented voice.

0 Valentina Bentancourt [Teppenpaw] Trying not to blow something up 171 Valentina Bentancourt [Teppenpaw] 0 5

Autumn

October 07, 2010 9:56 AM

Sounds good by Autumn

Autumn smiled nervously back at Sophia. She seemed really nice, and Autumn didn't want to do anything to screw it up.It would be worse to be rejected by someone who was nice because that meant there was something truly awful about her. Mean people tended to be mean to almost everyone, like Chelsea-who mostly ignored Autumn, actually-or Clarette.

Furthermore, Autumn didn't want to really be rejected by anyone. It was not a nice feeling and unlike in her art class, she couldn't leave Sonora. It was her duty to attend and become a good witch and manage her powers like generations of her family before her.

"It's nice to meet you, Sophia." Autumn replied. "I'm Autumn Collins." She didn't add her family branch as it always sounded so stuck-up to do so. She'd do it if she had to, like with people like Raines Bradley, but with she didn't recognize the Randolph name off the bat and Sophia hadn't given a family branch either so Autumn figured she was safe.

She smiled again, less anxiously this time. "I'm in Crotalus, and I have two sisters, one younger, one older." Normally Autumn didn't like to share personal stuff about herself but her house and siblings were basic information, it wasn't as if she were bearing her soul-which she wasn't even ready to do with Jane who was her best friend.

Besides, giving one's name, house and siblings was hardly anything one was going to judge someone on. Well, Autumn could see maybe house. Each house had stereotyps both positive and negative but they were easy to figure out, as their house was designated on their robes. Hopefully, Sophia had no prejudices against Crotali.

11 Autumn Sounds good 164 Autumn 0 5

Kirstenna

October 09, 2010 5:11 PM

I have an overactive imagination by Kirstenna

Kirstenna shrugged. "It's boring to do anyway, but its much better if there's somebody to talk to while you work." She'd never been a fan of any of the tedious things one had to do in life. Things like chores and whatnot. Kirstenna liked having fun and Potions was decidedly not fun. She liked doing magic that used visual displays like she was used to in the circus. Not that the circus was magic the way she was learning at Sonora-aside from her father's act- but it had another kind of magic all it's own.

She didn't even see herself using potions for most things. Kirstenna was a halfblood and she was used to using muggle medications though there were some potions for magical diseases or that worked better for treating the symptoms of regular ones or curing them.Still, Kirstenna would rarely need to actually make them herself.

Unless it was some weird stranded somewhere like a desert island situation. Then Kirstenna might need it but that was unlikely. Though she supposed she might be stranded in a hotel room somewhere like poor Brian. Kirstenna only hoped the Impostor was taking good care of him but she doubted it. People who poisoned Headmistresses and killed people and stashed them under the floorboards hardly seemed the type to make sure a 12 year old boy was fed and cared for properly.

"I'm Kirstenna." She forced a friendly smile at Neal. He looked as glum as she felt on the inside, even though he smiled as he introduced himself. "Are you all right?" Kirstenna asked. "You seem kinda down." She had seen his face fall for a second there. Maybe something had happened. Like there was a pogrebin or dementor nearby but Kirstenna didn't see one of course. Or perhaps he was ill or just plain didn't like Potions.

Or maybe the Impostor had gotten one of his friends too. Kirstenna hoped if that was the case, then his friend was in the room with Brian and they could keep each other company. Assuming they were both alive, that is.

11 Kirstenna I have an overactive imagination 161 Kirstenna 0 5

Sophia

October 13, 2010 8:49 PM

Yes, it does by Sophia

“Nice to meet you, Autumn. Well, to formally meet you, anyway!” she laughed. Autumn, seemed to be shy, but super nice. It was good to find nice people, Sophia was kind of scared about meeting snobby people that would look down on her because she didn’t have money. Her family had enough to live decently but without luxuries, and it was fine by her. Her parents were very good people, and she had learned a lot from them. She didn’t need anything else, the love of her parents was more than enough. This was going quite well. She checked the water, it still needed to get hotter for the potion to work.

“Two sisters? Nice! It has to be awesome to have sisters. I always wanted one.” She smiled again. It was the truth. Sophia always wanted someone she could play with. The village where she lived was full of old people, she had been the youngest. So, she had no one to play with, just an old dog and a cat, it sometimes got boring. She smiled encouragingly at her potions partner, it was sometimes difficult to share things about oneself to a complete stranger, even when it was some basic info.

Checking the water again, she realized it was time to add some of the ingredients, so Sophia dropped the daisy roots. The water changed color. Awesome. Potions was fun! “What are your hobbies?” she liked this sharing information thing, it was always nice to converse with someone new, especially since Autumn was willing to share with her. “Is Crotalus a nice?” Sophia didn’t care much about the stereotypes that came with the houses, she always gave people the benefit of the doubt. It was not fair to judge someone on their house, or their background, or anything else. She preferred to get to know them first, and then pass judgment. It was only fair.

“Hmm. I think it’s time to add the other ingredients.” She added as an afterthought. They were in class, after all, and Sophia liked doing well in class.

0 Sophia Yes, it does 0 Sophia 0 5

Neal

October 17, 2010 3:55 PM

How did you get one? by Neal

There was something to be said about this girl’s perception. She picked up on his low spirits faster than he could wrap them up and pretend they never existed. “Um, yeah, I’m fine. Just remembering something.” Or someone.. Really, with the sort of things she had eluded about her awful home life, Neal wasn’t sure what conclusion to draw from Mariana’s absence from school so far that year. He only hoped she was happy wherever she was. It was, the dark-eyed boy of Welsh decent felt, the only thing he could do.

Hoping to not be a total joy kill since this class was already good at that, Neal tried to get into the potion they had to do and looked at the open pages of his textbook with narrow, bloodshot eyes. “Alright, Deflating Draught… I don’t think I have all the stuff for it though,” he admitted guiltily. “I don’t remember seeing any bile or eggs in my Potions kit anyways, so I hope you don’t mind pulling it out if you have it.”

As he took out his caldron and set it up, thinking that using his and setting it up was the least he could do for not having all the materials for this lesson, he already started to grow bored of it. “Is it just me, or does every Potions class feel like it’s basically the same thing, but with different animal parts?” He was complaining, so sue him, but remembering ~~Mariana~~ something on top of his least favorite class had him feeling testier than he usually was. “I mean, no offense if you like it or anything, I just get sick of it so easily. Compared to Charms or something, there’s no competition what’s more fun.” Nodding at her, he asked, “What about you? What’s your favorite class?” A safe topic change, and it could possibly prove to lead him into a better mood. He was sure Kirstenna wouldn’t want to work with a moody partner.

0 Neal How did you get one? 0 Neal 0 5

Autumn

October 21, 2010 4:48 PM

I like agreeing. by Autumn

"It's nice to meet you too, Sophia." Autumn responded. The Pecari seemed less...restrained than Autumn was. Which actually was very much like their house stereotypes. Still, it didn't really bother her, as Sophia still seemed nice. Actually, aside from Tristan, who didn't seem to be around anymore, the Pecaris in Autumn's year mostly seemed to be pretty nice and not all like the arrogant creatures Lily had described.

She didn't know about the first years yet though. Autumn had a tendency to be cautious, and actually that applied to the first years from all houses, including her own. Though so far, the one person who seemed kind of creepy in the first year class was an Aladren girl.

Here, Autumn smiled. "Yeah, I love my sisters." She hardly ever even fought with them. But then the Crotalus hated fighting or arguing. She would do anything to keep the peace and besides, she looked up to Lily. Sometimes, Autumn wished she could be like her big sister. Lily was tough, strong and brave yet still had a softer side that she tended to display towards her sisters, her best friend Harmony and Kaylie. Lily was protective of them.

And Willow was cute too. Autumn wanted to be a role model for her, someone she could look up to, though Autumn knew she couldn't be the way Lily was. The second year was just not brave enough. "So do you have brothers or are you an only child?" Autumn inquired. She had no idea what it was like to have either.

"Oh, I like art. Painting and drawing mostly." said the Crotalus. She sincerely hoped Sophia would not judge her for this, though she wasn't that worried. Autumn had never really been made fun of for being artistic. Her family was actually quite proud of her art.

Whether or not she was sensitive about actually showing it was another subject. For Autumn, her artwork was like baring her heart and soul, expressing what she normally couldn't in words because of her shyness.

"Crotalus is all right. We have an overall good group in our year. In pretty much all houses, actually." There were very few snobby people in Autumn's class for which she was incredibly grateful. She didn't care much for people who would judge her for things, she especially worried about the type who would look down their noses at her for not being into playing Quidditch, or for not being very outgoing, the way Lily and Nina said Nina's brother Adam had been.

"What about Pecari? Do you like it?" Autumn asked. She hoped Sophia wouldn't brag about what a great house it was or say it was better than Crotalus (or the other two houses for that matter.) All houses had their good and bad points, their students who were nice or not.

11 Autumn I like agreeing. 164 Autumn 0 5