Professor Marlowe

February 11, 2006 11:10 PM
Well, Lina, this is it, she thought as the bell rang, beginning the class, and she looked around the assembled first years. Merlin, they looked small. Her two eldest nieces, Christine and Ophelia, were ten and nine, and they looked considerably bigger in memory than any of these eleven-year-olds. It was probably a question of familiarity. They'd start looking more in-proportion when she was used to them. With that in mind, she gave the class a brief, businesslike smile and began the opening statements she had spent most of the previous night preparing.

"Good morning," she said, long since past noticing any but the most drastic reactions to an accent that was half Boston and half Britain. "I am Professor Marlowe, and, as should be apparent, your instructor in the field of Transfiguration." Using her wand as a pointer, she indicated the name written to the left of the board behind her. She'd never manage Tabitha Newton's easygoing charm, but she had never aspired to be her old Arithmancy teacher. "This isn't a subject to be taken lightly. The smallest error has the potential to cause large amounts of damage." She rounded the desk to face them more directly. "I would advise you to discard anything you think you already know about this subject now. I can tell you from experience that it'll save you time and effort." Enough in that vein. It was time to move on to the lesson.

"Today's spell is a relatively simple one involving objects similar in size and, though less closely, appearance. You'll each be issued a match - I've charmed them not to ignite, so be kind enough to not try to set my room on fire - and will attempt to Transfigure it into a needle." She tried not to remember the day she had been taught this particular spell and had been scolded by the teacher, one Professor Writworth, when she argued that a needle looked absolutely nothing like a match. "The incantation for this is Myxanti Nere. Watch, please." She lifted a match from the small box of them resting on her desk and held it up for their inspection, then pointed her wand directly at it. As she pronounced the incantation, she moved her wand in a straight downward diagonal motion finished with a flick that returned it to the original position. She didn't attempt to deny being internally relieved when it worked correctly. Having a beginner's spell go wrong because of nerves would be the exact opposite of the start she hoped to make.

"Focus and precision of pronunciation and wand movement are essential to success with this spell," she told the class, carefully placing the needle beside the container holding the matches. "Your instructions are written to the right of the board, as I'm sure some of you have noticed. I'd strongly advise copying them into your notes for future reference. We'll practice the wand movement and then the pronunciation of the spell before you attempt the Transfiguration." A few minutes later, everyone seemed to have gotten first the motion and then the spell, each performed without the other to prevent any accidents, and she deemed it safe to send out the matches.

"Try not to become impatient if the spell doesn't come easily at first," she said, making her tone a little softer than it had been. Newton had always done that, and it was effective in causing fractional lowering of anxiety levels in most cases. Selina's had never been one such case - she had been known as a perfectionist and all-around geek by midterm of her first year - but others had said that it worked. "Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. You may begin." \n\n
Subthreads:
0 Professor Marlowe Lesson One, First Years 0 Professor Marlowe 1 5


Allie St.Martin

February 26, 2006 5:24 PM
Please ignore me, please ignore me, please pretend I don't exist, please ignore me - Allie's train of thought was abruptly ended when Professor Marlowe did the exact opposite of what she wanted her to do and approached her for answers about what had just happened. She wanted very badly to hide under her desk and never come out, but she couldn't do that. Lila wouldn't want her to do that. She had to try to be a good representative of the St.Martins and Lila, not a weepy mess lacking the ability to speak coherently. If she was going out, she could at least do it with a little dignity, or at least that was what Daddy always said. She clasped her hands together to try to stop their trembling, took a deep breath, and, feeling oddly calm, looked directly at the professor for about ten seconds before her eyes slid back to her white-knuckled fingers.

"I - It was an accident, Professor," she said softly, willing this woman to understand, to not throw her out. She couldn't disappoint them all that far. "I didn't mean to. I was trying to Transfigure the match like you said, but I got so nervous because Lila - that's my sister - was watching me and I didn't want to mess up in front of her. I, um, sort of said the words wrong, and my hand, um, slipped - " She chanced another glance at the professor. "Is Lila going to be all right?"

That was her first concern. They could expel her if they wanted to, so long as they told her her sister was all right first. Allie's mishaps had been known to cause injury to herself and others before, but never to Lila. That part of that could have been because Lila routinely attempted to avoid situations that could lead to Allie having injury-inducing accidents never occurred to her. All she could think about was that she had just hurt the one person she felt she really knew she could count on. Or could she? Lila would drop her like a sack of rocks if the people at Sonora's hospital were unable to return her hand to its former state. This was the worst day ever.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to - am I going to be - Is Lila all right?" Her ability to think clearly was going. She was stumbing over words and sentances again. Professor Marlowe was either going to think she was someone who could try to set fire to her own twin sister or that she was mental. She should have never left home. She should have just stayed at Magnolia Grove and been shut up in some out-of-the-way room like the other Aunts said Aunt Lorena was. She should have made a bolt for it the moment she realized Marlowe was heading in her general direction. \n\n
16 Allie St.Martin So much for being enrolled. 76 Allie St.Martin 0 5


Professor Marlowe

March 04, 2006 4:46 PM
Selina observed the twin in mild exasperation. She could understand being worried about a sister - Merlin, between Melinda's health and the things Genevieve got up to, she could more than understand the sentiment - but the girl's repeated insistence that she didn't mean to and requests to know if Lila, as the other's name apparently was, would be all right seemed out of proportion to the severity of the accident. She searched for a name, trying to recall any Lilas and same-surnames off the roster, before answering.

"I'm quite sure she will be, Miss St.Martin," she said, hoping she'd gotten it right. "Her injury hardly seemed life-threatening. Accidents happen when you study magic." She paused, debating the best way to put the next bit. "You might want to review the theory before making another attempt, though," she suggested finally. She'd rather not have to deal with two fires in one day, not to mention the facts that the girl would most likely panic even more if she set herself alight and her parents would have an excuse to sue Selina twice if she did. She'd heard the surname St.Martin before. Old, snot-nosed purebloods, they were, the sort she didn't want to tango with if she could help it.

"Focus is the key, Miss St.Martin. You have talent, or you wouldn't be here. Focus on the goal and believe that it'll work. Transfiguration's a hard subject. I don't ask that you be perfect, only that you put a sustained effort into it." She gave the girl a brief, but hopefully reassuring, smile. "Keep at it, Miss St.Martin, while I go handle another situation that's arisen. I'll be following your progress." That would have been encouraging in her world, anyway. \n\n
0 Professor Marlowe So much for being certain what I'm about. 0 Professor Marlowe 0 5