This Israeli a good group on Potions

Professor Sophie O'Malley

January 05, 2017 4:45 AM

This Israeli a good group by Professor Sophie O'Malley

When she agreed to organize and supervise a fair booth, Sophie had not expected a gaggle of Crotali to assemble beneath her loving, maternal wings. Sawyer Matheson, one of the three first year boys in the group, was the only student who did not hail from the House of the boar. Now, admittedly, one of the others was Kira, who had a very special - and likely mutual - place in Sophie’s heart, but the other four Crotali were a bit surprising. Sophie was a proud Pecari alumna, and Pecari and Crotalus were two Houses that sometimes seemed as different as night and day, so she hadn’t really thought to imagine this many signing up for a group she ran. (Of course, her husband was a Crotalus alum, so obviously some of them found her bearable, opposites attract and whatall. Still.)

She fidgeted with the corner of the page with the list of Israel group-members as she waited for their arrival. Sophie had sent word with decent advanced notice - a major accomplishment for her - to meet now in her classroom. “Hello, hello, ladies and gents,” she beamed after the six had all arrived. “Welcome to the Israel group.”

“Now, I’m told,” the small blonde professor went on, “that this project is entirely your own design and that I’m to keep my nose mostly out of it. So you guys just go ahead and get discussing how you want to tackle this booth. Oh!” Sophie added as an afterthought. “You do have a decent age range here, so maybe begin with some introductions? Just like this. I’m Sophie O’Malley, I’m the professor (you’ll say your year here instead), and I joined this group because I thought Israel sounded interesting. Right, good. Who would like to go first?” She looked expectantly around the room, not settling on any one person for too long. She didn't want to put anyone on the spot per se, but they did need to get the ball rolling.

12 Professor Sophie O'Malley This Israeli a good group 34 Professor Sophie O'Malley 1 5

Caelia Lucan

January 09, 2017 12:56 PM

I raeli don't know any puns... by Caelia Lucan

Normally Caelia would have asked either Kira or Alistair if they wanted to walk over to the fair meeting for Israel together but she had been somewhat banking on neither of her friends joining the group. She felt a little bad because in some ways she was excited to spend time with them but at the same time…for awhile there it was just going to be her and three first year boys. She would have been able to be the smart one, for a change, and now she was going to have to go back to being poor little Caelia who needed her friends to help her complete her homework.

It was unfair to be upset, she realized, because it wasn’t either Kira nor Alistair’s fault that for so long Caelia’s intellectual education had been ignored at home (another thing qhich frustrated the blonde witch her mother and maternal grandparents had been so dedicated to Emrys’). She had overheard Emrys and Mother talking late one night over winter break—those two had always been close, closer than Caelia was with her similar to how Caelia and Father had a bond Emrys would never have with the man, something which had made her begin to question everything she had been brought up to believe.

“You know, I don’t believe Cael really is that stupid,” Emrys was saying as he lounged in a straight-back armchair by the fireplace, his head turned to see the dancing flames so he did not notice his sister hovering in the doorway.

“Mmm,” Mother replied, her head bent low over an old genealogical text, the pages so old and brittle she had to turn them carefully with forceps for fear of pulling them out of the binding.

“I can work on that, Mom,” Emrys offered, looking towards her. “You know I know how…”

“It’s a loan, Em, I’ve offered Olivia Leadbetter your services multiple times but she just goes on and on about preserving the sanctity of the spine, silly bat…” Mother shook her head. Caelia knew Olivia Leadbetter—she was the step-daughter of an old friend of Mother’s parents. She had a vast collection of antique books and had married up presumably to expand her collection. Everyone said she was a bitter hag who didn’t care about anyone or anything except for her library. They whispered about her when she wasn’t there and didn’t bad a bit for her husband because he was also a fearsome wizard who was a little too fond of the hunt. “No, it’s your grandmother Viviane, she saw a pretty face and swooped her up, no one that pretty could have brains she told your father and I and you know Julian…”

Caelia did know her father, he was a lovely, gentle man who loved the finer things and appreciated a pretty little daughter who also did.

“He bends to everything Grandmother asks,” Emrys replied dryly, moving to stand next to Mother so that he could better see what she was doing. “You need more light, you’ll tear a page like this.”

“Don’t get me started—Olivia refuses to let a single candle within five feet of her precious manuscripts. Says she’ll ‘know’ if it happens,” Mother sighed and Caelia almost felt bad for her.

The door to the Potions room creaked open and Caelia found herself a seat, head still swimming with doubt. It made sense, her whole life she had been told that it was okay to not be smart, that it was okay she didn’t pick up on things. Was it possible that she’d had the same potential as Emrys? Certainly her friendship with Jack had awakened a part of Caelia she hadn’t known she’d had, was it possible then that all her little blunders over the years were a self-fulfilling prophecy? Certainly so.

But until she found some sort of proof, she’d have to stay quiet about it. She couldn’t risk anyone thinking she’d ever thought she might have been smart. How embarrassing it would be if it all turned out to be some ridiculous delusions brought on by wanting to further understand books she was too silly, too stupid to read anyway. At least Professor O’Malley was going to start off the meeting with introductions. That was easy, something Caelia knew how to do and something that she knew she was supposed to know how to do.

“I’m Caelia Lucan,” she said, not bothering to add on the formal pureblood etiquette since both Kira and Alistair knew already and she wasn’t trying to make a formal acquaintance of the first year wizards. “I’m a fifth year and I joined because my brother Emrys is in training to be an archaeologist and one of his projects was on Israel and it sounded interesting to me.” Having not been one to take interest in things outside her comfort zone for most of her life, Caelia was feeling a bit bashful to branch out like this—especially in front of two friends who knew her well.

10 Caelia Lucan I raeli don't know any puns... 307 Caelia Lucan 0 5

Winston Pierce

January 18, 2017 1:10 PM

I am in pain by Winston Pierce

Winston arrived in the potions room right on time. His Quidditch captain was in his group so he didn't want to leave the older boy waiting on him. That would be disrespectful. The Lucan girl was also of a respectable family as were Kira and Simon, and even Sawyer was acceptable enough company, so he had been quite lucky with his group really. He didn't want to keep any of them waiting on him.

Caelia introduced herself first, and Winston nodded approvingly even as he worried that his reason for selecting Israel as his fair booth was deeply inferior.

Not wanting to mention that some of the other group compositions had intimidated him or that liking Professor O'Malley as a teacher had played a part in his decision, he defaulted to the one factor that actually involved Israel itself.

"Hello, I am Winston Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces." Miss Lucan had not used a formal greeting, but he felt it important that she and Kira know they did have the right kind of Pierce in their group, particularly since they were both closer in age to inferior Pierce stock. It was best to distance himself from those personages as much as possible.

"I studied Israel a bit in my history lessons, so I found it was the one I was most comfortable studying further."

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Simon Mordue

January 22, 2017 10:37 PM

I am telling a lie. by Simon Mordue

Most of the Israel group was made up of Crotali and none of it came from what he had rapidly gathered was Sonora’s ‘rough’ House, so normally, Simon thought he might have felt at least semi-confident in entering it. Unfortunately, though, two of the Crotali in it were Alistair and Winston, his Quidditch captain and his roommate. Simon liked the latter personally, but also felt in direct competition with him, and Alistair was an authority figure he found more than a little intimidating. If they had not been in the group, Simon would have been content with not looking like a fool, but since they were, he knew he had to be completely and totally on top of his game so he did not lose face.

He supposed he should look at that as a good thing and tried to do so as they all gathered and Professor O’Malley welcomed them. He knew her first name was Sophia, but hearing her say she was “Sophie O’Malley” instead of “Professor O’Malley” was deeply disconcerting. It was like telling someone what one of his parents’ first name was, something a little…unnatural. It was not in his role to use their first names or even think of them very much.

Caelia Lucan did not introduce herself formally, but Winston did, so Simon copied his roommate’s example. “I am Simon Mordue, of the Oregon Mordues,” he said, adding his usual silent hope that there weren’t some other Mordues of a disreputable character out there for his family to be confused with. He could only imagine how difficult it was for Winston to have some of the surname-sharing people Simon had heard about at his mother’s tea parties. “I’m here for the same reason Winston is,” he added. This was not really true – he had just thought it sounded interesting when looking at the board – but it sounded better than admitting that and so he said it, even though it made him uncomfortable as he thought of what Father would say. Over the holidays, Father had talked a good deal about how a proper wizard was honorable and just and dependable, and lying about something this simple didn’t make Simon think he looked like any of those things.

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