Bubbles, bubbles galore! on Transfiguration

Professor Lilac Brockert

April 13, 2012 10:15 PM

My bubbles! by Professor Lilac Brockert

Time passed. Class was supposed to have started by now. Where was the professor? She had not yet arrived to the early morning class. About seven minutes after the scheduled time, Lilac burst through the doorway. Her grey eyes scanned the first and second years remorsefully as she shut the door behind her. “Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen,” she apologized. “I had some trouble waking up this morning.” She couldn’t wait until she got passed this morning sickness thing, especially since her silly bundle of joy seemed to think “morning” meant “three AM”.

It was the first Transfiguration lesson of the year for the first and second years, and that meant three-fourths of the former hadn’t been acquainted with her yet (the one-fourth being the Teppenpaws, as them she had met). What a terrible first impression; she couldn’t remember ever being late before, and this was her fifth term teaching! “For those of you who know me,” smiled the brunette, “hello again. For those who don’t, welcome to Transfiguration! I’m Professor Lilac Brockert.”

A muttered “Orchideous” aided her as, with the flip of her wrist, yellow flowers sprouted from the tip of her wand. “Transfiguration is often referred to as the most difficult branch of magic, but don’t fret. I’m more than willing to assist you as we go.” The thirty year old removed the flowers from her wand and handed them to a first year sitting in the front row. “Here, have a bouquet.”

“Now,” she grinned, “Unless you’ve all gone wild and destroyed them, there should be a bottle on your desks.” They varied between pastel colors, but the size was generally the same, each containing about eight ounces of a mysterious liquid. A larger one in pastel orange—her private stash—sat on her desk, and she grabbed it, unscrewed the lid, and dug two fingers in the thin lip of the bottle. She retrieved the plastic rod with a ring on the end and blew through that ring. Bubbles lazily rolled through the air.

The professor smiled. “Now, watch closely, because this is the lesson.” She raised the tip of her wand so it was nearly touching one of the larger bubbles.” Igni Sintra.” She jabbed forward into the bubble delicately, but it did not pop. Instead, the inside of the bubble was transfigured to fire. Lilac touched the bubble with her palm. “The inside air of the bubble has been turned to fire.” It bounced from hand to hand. “If you’re cautious, you can touch it. It might be a bit warm, but you won’t be burned. Use your palm. If it hits something pointier like your fingertips, it may pop.”

As she spoke this whole time, notes appeared on the board behind her. Igni Sintra—turns the air in a bubble into fire. To cast, jab want gently into the bubble when incanting. Can be touched gently. May pop off sharp objects. When bubble pops, fire goes out. She didn’t verbally state the last part, but they would find it on their own when they wrote down their notes. “Go ahead and get your little fire bubbles going, and once you and your partner have both produced one, feel free to pass them back and forth or just blow bubbles.” She stirred the bubble rod in the bottle, pulled it out, and blew another bubble. “You know where to find me if you need me.” She’d be at her desk, playing with her own bubble mix as she watched diligently from afar.

OOC: Welcome and welcome back! Let’s see some nice creative posts, two hundred words minimum, don’t godmod for others, all of that good stuff. If you need Lilac, feel free to tag, and a reply will come up as soon as possible. On that note, happy posting!

Subthreads:

How . . . strange by Thad Pierce, Aladren with Cepheus Princeton, Clara Abernathy

All the tiny Bubbles by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus with Aria Yale, Teppenpaw, Gareth

... by Angel Shield - Teppenpaw with Solomon Bensalem, Crotalus, Angel

Bubbles, bubbles galore! by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari with Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw, Waverly , Brielle

Really? More fire? by Sairahiniel Light, Pecari with Arabella Brockert, Pecari, Sayre Light

...Are not working very well by Lucille Carey, Teppenpaw with Evan Brockert, Aladren, Lucille

Bubble, Bubble, Bubble, POP! by Meggie Brownbriar (Teppenpaw)

0 Professor Lilac Brockert My bubbles! 0 Professor Lilac Brockert 1 5

Thad Pierce, Aladren

April 14, 2012 11:13 AM

How . . . strange by Thad Pierce, Aladren

Thad Pierce had checked his schedule twice in the time between when the class was supposed to begin and when Professor ~~Cros~~ Brockert appeared. Both times, the paper had assured him he was in the right place at the right time, and the presence of the other students seemed to support it, unless they had all been given bad information on their time tables. He couldn't remember the Professor ever being late like this last year, and certainly not on the first day, and it made him doubt the class schedule he had received.

She was clearly prepared enough to have set out the bottles of liquid on each desk ahead of time, so maybe Transfiguration was next period, and they were all supposed to be at Charms right now. He fidgeted in his seat and was almost ready to go check in on Professor Light to see if he was baffled by his lack of students when Professor Brockert did hurry into to room, apologizing for her tardiness. Thad relaxed, relieved beyond measure that he wasn't missing class somewhere else.

When he had first arrived, before he started worrying that he wasn't where he was supposed to be, Thaddeus had given the bottle a quick examination. He had opened the top, gave it a sniff (a very shallow one, because deep breaths of unknown substances could kill a person in the magical world, thought he doubted such a substance would be set out on desks without supervision or warning labels on the first day of class) and determined it was some sort of cleaning solution.

He was therefore more than a little surprised when Professor Brockert opened her own bottle, pulled out the little loop-thing Thad had taken for some form of stirrer, agitator, or applicator . . . and blew bubbles with it.

His brows rose further on his forehead as she changed the air inside the bubble into fire.

He honestly couldn't decide if the lesson was more ridiculous, awesome, or terrifying. As he copied down the notes from the board, though, he found himself relieved once again by the knowledge that the fire would just go out if the bubble popped. That left ridiculous and awesome, two words he hadn't ever really expected to be conflicted between.

He opened his own bottle again, fished out the loop thing, and gave a quick huff of air at the soapy film suspended between the circle's edges. It pushed out, then fell back into place. No bubble. He tried again, harder this time, but that only burst the film entirely. Again, no bubble.

Irritated, he addressed the person sitting nearest, and told them, "My loop thing is defective. How am I supposed to try the lesson if I can't make a bubble?"

0 Thad Pierce, Aladren How . . . strange 0 Thad Pierce, Aladren 0 5

Cepheus Princeton

April 17, 2012 4:11 PM

That's an understatement. by Cepheus Princeton

Cepheus walked into class, feeling tired and a bit hungry. He had thought he'd be able to last the morning without breakfast, having woken up too late, and now he was suffering for it. To top it off, he could feel something of a cold coming on. It was nearly unbearable, but he still went to class. If he'd been at home, he would've been pampered by his mother and the house elves at the first sign of sickness. Here, he was alone and had to take care of himself. It was unfortunate. He sat down in transfiguration class, slightly miserable.

However, as the class went on, it seemed more and more interesting. And then she lit the inside of a soap bubble on fire. Well. Playing with fire in a safe environment was always on his list of pastimes. He looked at the soap container, or something, and picked it up curiously. He didn't really know what one was, yet he'd seen bubbles, of course, from baths and the like. Obviously this couldn't be much different. He opened the container and peered inside. It was, obviously again, filled with liquid, and he pulled out the stick. It rounded at the bottom, and he stared at it for a moment before putting it back and copying down the notes from the board. This didn't seem like an overly difficult class. It looked like blowing bubbles would be easy.

He recognised Thad from first year, of course, and watched him attempt to blow bubbles as Cepheus uncapped his own bottle. He couldn't help but smirk at Thad's frustration. "Professor Brockert probably has more. I wonder what wizards would use this for, besides lessons of course." He pulled out the drippy stick and copied what he'd seen his professor do. He blew into the circle where there was some kind of soapy film, but instead blew it out. He blew again, but nothing happened. He attempted once again, softer this time, but it was still too quick and forceful. He tried again, slower, but nothing happened. The film only fluttered and Cepheus frowned. "Perhaps mine's defective too." He looked at Thad. "She made it look so easy. It can't honestly be that difficult, can it?"

40 Cepheus Princeton That's an understatement. 216 Cepheus Princeton 0 5

Clara Abernathy

April 17, 2012 4:20 PM

I can help by Clara Abernathy

Clara had been looking forward to Professor Lilac's class ever since the summer time. Her cousins had talked non stop about what a great teacher Lilac was and how they all adored her. Clara was curious herself to see how well she would at transfiguration. She had arrived a little early for class and had taken a seat in the front row. She had started to worry that maybe she had the wrong class when she walked in and found that the professor was nowhere in sight. She stared curiously at the little bottle of liquid sitting on the desk and picked it up to inspect it. She carefully uncorked it and took a little sniff. It smelled lightly of soap. She pulled out the little wand and smiled awkwardly when she realized she was holding a bottle of bubbles. What in the world are we going to do with bubble? she wondered curiously to herself.

She put the wand back into the bottle and closed the lid replacing the bottle on her desk. A few minutes later Professor Lilac came through the door apologizing for her tardiness. She seems really nice, she thought as she listened to Professor Lilac introduce herself and the class. She smiled half in delight and half in shock when she saw the flowers appear from the end of her wand. When Professor Lilac handed them to her she beamed and said, "Thank you." She sent the flowers gently on her bag and watched with facination as Professor Lilac made her bubble and turned the air inside into fire. WOW! thought. She was happy to find out that the fire would go out if the bubble was popped. Good to know she thought. She was relieved to know that with this one there was no danger of any fire hazard.

Clara watched the boy near her try to make his first bubble and frown when it didn't work. She watched him try again, blowing harder and it still didn't work. She realized with that second blow he must have popped the soap film that makes the bubble. She was about to say something when he turned to her and said, "My loop thing is defective. How am I supposed to try the lesson if I can't make a bubble?" Clara grinned slightly and replied, "I don't think its defective. It might just be that you're trying to blow into it too hard," she explained, smiling kindly at him. "Let me show you what I mean." She opened her own bottle and pulled out the bubble wand. She then proceeded to gently blow air into the film hole and smiled slightly when a bubble formed and floated away from the wand along the air.

"See," she smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. "You just have to blow gently." She blew another bubble to demonstrate. "You have to be careful though. If you blow to softly it won't work either. Now you try," she suggested. "I'm Clara, by the way. It's nice to meet you." She smiled at her classmate.

0 Clara Abernathy I can help 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Thad Pierce

April 17, 2012 9:30 PM

Hello, Clara and Cepheus by Thad Pierce

OOC: So I'm going to work on the assumption that Cepheus is sitting to Thad's right and Clara to his left, and Thad was not clear on who he spoke to. BIC:

As he lowered the loop thing, he heard the people on either side of him speak up in answer to his complaint. To his right, Cepheus was equally baffled by the soap bubble creation process. To his left, a first year girl he didn't know seemed to have a working loop.

Thad scooted his chair back a little so that Cepheus could hear and see what the girl was saying and doing, since it was information he would need as well. She demonstrated the bubble blowing process, again making it look as easy as Cepheus had already noted Professor Brockert had made it look. It was moderately irritating that a first year could manage it that effortlessly while he and Cepheus, with a whole year's edge on her, couldn't get it to work at all. He still wasn't entirely convinced that their loops weren't defective.

However, nothing was ever learned by a closed mind, so he dipped his loop back into the solution and drew it out with a fresh film suspended within the loop. He let the soap drip a moment, to avoid a mess on his desk, then carefully modulated the strength of his breath to be stronger than his ripple attempt and weaker than his knock-out-the-film attempt.

For a moment, he thought he had a bubble. It was getting bigger and bigger and bigger and then it just . . . popped.

He sat back in irritation. He knew he had been close though. That had almost worked. He felt sure of it. With renewed confidence and determination, he dipped his loop in the soap solution again, and this time gave a breath just a little quicker. And he got a bubble. "Whoo!" he shouted, significantly more out-loud than than he had really intended his triumph to be expressed.

But he had a bubble, and if he had one, he could get another. He grinned at the girl - Clara she had introduced herself - and despite her lack of a last name or a family branch, Thad was happy and grateful toward her, and there was no reason at all to be uncivil. "I am Thaddeus Pierce the Second, of the New Hampshire Pierces," he returned the introduction as was proper for the now highest ranked heir of his generation.

He then looked over to Cepheus, "Is yours working yet?"

Addressing Clara again, he added, curious to know if she was aware what purpose bubbles had, since she seemed to know more about than then either of the second years did. "What do wizards use bubbles for?" he repeated Cepheus' question, hoping she could answer it for him. "Do you know?"

OOC: So we are now part of a three person thread. We'll go in the order of posting: Thad, Cepheus, Clara.

1 Thad Pierce Hello, Clara and Cepheus 213 Thad Pierce 0 5

Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus

April 18, 2012 1:35 AM

All the tiny Bubbles by Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus

Transfiguration wasn’t one of Gareth’s best subjects, but he still found it fascinating. He loved to watch the more impressive feats of Transfiguration, and was sure that after a few years his skill would improve. Thoughts of improvement slowly gave way to a simple question: Where was the Professor? Class should have started all ready, and the students were there, small bottles adorned the desks ready for the lesson, but the Professor was absent.

Gareth shifted in his seat as he wondered what they should do. What if she didn’t show up? Shouldn’t someone go tell…someone? Restless, the young Crotalus began counting the seconds If she isn’t here when I reach two hundred I’ll volunteer to go see what’s going on Gareth thought as he toyed with the small pale blue bottle. At 108, the Professor rushed into the room looking a bit frazzled. She apologized for her lateness, and introduced herself to the new students before moving on to the lesson.

It was soon revealed to the class that the mystery bottles held bubble making fluid. He made careful note about how she pronounced the incantation, seems that was one of the areas he had the most difficulty with, and gave a smile at the sight of fire filling the bubble. Even though it was only a beginner’s transfiguration, it still looked quite impressive in its own way. Now, to see if he could replicate it. Taking a deep breath, Gareth blew into the little ring, and frowned when the film of liquid just popped without producing a single bubble. Again, he dipped it into the liquid, and blew, resulting in the same lack of bubbles. He frowned as he looked back up at the professor, merrily blowing bubbles, and gave it a third try with equally unbubbly results.

“Why isn’t this working?” Gareth asked as he peaked into the bottle as if the answer might be found in the bubble solution. Blowing bubbles wasn’t something the Pureblood had ever done before and it was turning out to be a bit trickier than he thought it would be.

0 Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus All the tiny Bubbles 0 Gareth Whitebriar - Crotalus 0 5

Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

April 18, 2012 11:00 PM

In the tiny classroom? by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Aria was aware that Transfiguration was one of the harder classes that she would be taking. She was always so fascinated by how easily some of the adults to transform an object into something entirely different. It was inspiring sometimes. Other times… not so much. She was also told that potions was somewhat difficult because it was relatively strict, but Aria was the daughter of the Medicine Woman, so she wasn’t as worried about that class.

She sat quietly waiting for the Professor to arrive. Was this customary? To wait for the professor to arrive for this long? Aria did not think this was very polite. At the community, punctuality was rather important. To be on time to an event or meeting was most respectful. Those who did not show up on time or even early were often frowned upon. How rude it was to make people wait or to be interrupted! Now Aria could finally understand why her parents always quietly shook their heads when Mr. Creeves always decided to show up to something important a couple of minutes late.

Finally the professor (her Head of House, no less!) arrived and Aria gave her a reproachful look to show her disappointment at having been kept waiting. But since the professor immediately began the lesson, Aria dropped the look and instead began writing everything. Notes were important to her and so she always kept them neat and in order. If she messed up, she would begin writing the notes again (after class, of course). However, since the lesson was appearing on the board, Aria did not have to rush her writing and thus, did not mess up anything.

The lesson itself did not make any sense to her. Why would they need to put fire into a bubble? Something so delicate would not be much use to them. It could not keep them warm and the moment it touched something sharp, it would burst. It could, perhaps, be used for soft lighting, but fairies or candles would do just as well without the fear of popping. Still, this seemed like a fun lesson. Aria loved bubbles!

Before anything else, Aria took out her bubble wand and let out a soft breathy blow and watched in utter glee as bubbles started sprouting out. She was happily playing with her bubbles when the boy next to her seemed to be having trouble and asked her why it wasn’t working. Aria tucked her crazy blonde curls behind an ear and leaned closer to him. “Bubbles won’t fly if you are too forceful with your air.” She advised him. “Being gentle creates the bubble instead of popping the liquid before it even has a chance to form. See, watch me.”

Puckering her lips, Aria let out a soft flow of air between her lips and watched happily as the bubbles began to form again and fly around them. “See? You try.”

0 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw In the tiny classroom? 0 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw 0 5

Angel Shield - Teppenpaw

April 19, 2012 12:49 AM

... by Angel Shield - Teppenpaw

Angel slipped wrath-like into the full classroom a few minutes late due to a quick run to the restroom when lunch disagreed with his touchy stomach. With his crimson gaze studying the ground directly in front of his feet, the pale boy quickly found his seat. It wasn’t until he was rummaging around in his bag for his text book that Angel realized the Professor wasn’t in the room to scold him for being late. He looked around the room, dropping his gaze whenever it happened to cross another students, but it did appear that the Professor was missing.

There wasn’t much time to wonder where she was because with a flurry of motion Professor Brockert entered the classroom. Angel settled back in his seat to wait for the lesson to begin as she apologized for being late and offered her name and a short description of the class. Seems he was already aware of who she was, and the class she taught, Angel instead turned his attention to the small container on his desk. A soft curious hum vibrated in his throat as he picked up the liquid filled container and gave it an experimental shake. His head tilted slightly when something inside rattled.

It was tempting to open it and see what was inside, but instead he set it in the middle of the desk and folded his hands to keep the temptation at bay. Soon enough, the lesson began and Angel watched with single minded intensity for the few moments that the spell was performed to catch the wand movements and the precise pronunciation of the spell. When the demonstration portion was finished Angel carefully opened the container and fished out the bubble wand. He studied the liquid film covering the opening of the hoop before giving an experimental puff of air. The liquid bowed out slightly but didn’t quite form a bubble. Another soft puff produced a single bubble.

Angel blinked before reaching out to touch the bubble causing it to pop.

0 Angel Shield - Teppenpaw ... 0 Angel Shield - Teppenpaw 0 5

Gareth

April 19, 2012 2:58 AM

In the tiny school? by Gareth

Gareth gave the curious looking girl a studying look. She wasn’t the oddest student he’d ever seen, but she was up there when it came to being different. It looked like her hair had rarely seen the touch of a brush, but it gave the blond haired girl an untamed look that reminded him almost fondly of the Greenbriars. While the rest of the families might scorn the adventurers , Gareth was secretly envious of the twins and all the places they’d been. It made him all the more curious about the odd first year’s background.

Her reply only increased his curiosity as she explained in her roundabout way that he was blowing too hard. After her explanation for why the bubbles wouldn’t work, the girl offered to demonstrate. He watched as she softly blew on the ring, coaxing the bubbles out instead of forcing them as he’d tried to do. Gently he reached out to cup one of the bubbles on the palm of his large hand and frowned slightly when it popped instead of settling the way he remembered the bubbles from his father’s wand working. Those could be popped of course, but it took some force to do it, they weren’t nearly as delicate as these.

Offering her a friendly smile, Gareth dipped the wand again before bringing it to his lips and blowing much softer than he had before. This time a short stream of bubbles flew effortlessly from the tip and he gave a satisfied laugh. “Hey, thanks! I’m Gareth by the way, Gareth Whitebriar of House Blackbrair.” He introduced, his pale blue eyes focused on her as he waited curious for her own introduction.

0 Gareth In the tiny school? 0 Gareth 0 5

Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

April 19, 2012 11:23 AM

Bubbles, bubbles galore! by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

Waverly liked Transfiguration. Liking Transfiguration meant she arrived at class five minutes early instead of rushing in. In Transfiguration, she got to use her wand and she really liked being able to do some real magic. She sat down near the front and waited for their professor. And waited. And waited some more. It looked like her peers had finished trickling in and now it was just the professor they were waiting for. She looked around for a clock and realized that there didn't seem to be one in the classroom. Odd.

Then the professor burst in and everything was normal again. Waverly picked up the pastel green bottle on her desk and recognized its shape immediately. Looking up and seeing Professor Brockert blow bubbles confirmed her assumption. Her green eyes lit up.

Waverly watched Professor Brockert eagerly, unable to wait to blow her own bubbles and light a fire in them. "Wow," she breathed softly, and didn't bother looking at the board as she uncapped her bottle. The bubble wand was drippy as it always was, and Waverly was reminded of summer days blowing bubbles and playing with her younger sister. She couldn't wait till Wendy came to school with her! She gently blew a whole bunch of bubbles in one breath and smiled proudly. She loved bubbles.

They seemed to be floating and surrounding her desk partner, and she gasped when one popped on their head. "Sorry!" she squeaked. "I didn't mean for them to all attack you. If bubbles could attack." She smiled apologetically. She blew bubbles again, this time trying not to accidentally aim them at her partner's face. "I just love bubbles," she sighed, and looked over at her partner again. "Don't you?"

0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari Bubbles, bubbles galore! 0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Aria

April 19, 2012 9:25 PM

On this tiny land? by Aria

The smile that decorated Aria’s face due to being able to play with bubbles widened ever so slightly when he was willing to give her suggestion a try. She watched in barely contained eagerness as he prepared the bubble wand and brought it to his lips. Having taken her words without question, Aria was excited to see his slow exhalation that produced the long awaited bubbles he had been wanting.

Aria let out a giggle when the boy let out a laugh. She was happy to see that her advice had been rewarding for both of them. Of course, they weren’t really supposed to only be blowing bubbles for the entire lesson (what would they have learned if that were the case?), but rather, filling the bubbles with useless fire. Still, Aria wasn’t quite ready to stop blowing bubbles around as she did when she was still within the community.

For a moment, Aria was hit with a twinge of home sickness. She knew that at some point, it would come to her. Something would make her cry for home. She just hadn’t expected it so soon and over bubbles. Her days back home had been spent outside in the sun (although, one would never be able to tell with her pale skin), with other children her age. They ran around, blew bubbles, caught frogs and released them, chased butterflies, and collected herbs for her mother. That was her life for so long. Free and fun. But now she was in school and life was all about work and fitting in.

Aria stopped blowing her bubbles when the boy introduced himself to her. Her blue eyes looked curiously over to him. He was much larger than she was and it made her wonder how he was in her class… of course, maybe he was part giant! That would make sense and totally be cool. Her blonde head of curls tilted as she thought over his introduction. His was different than the others, but she felt like she liked it more. The House of Blackbriar sounded almost scary. As though they lived in an old creepy castle in the middle of a dying wood where people enter but never leave.

“I am Aria Yale of the Spiritual Community of New Mexico.” She greeted, deciding to add where she was from so that people got over their whatever it was they felt towards her quicker than they would if she didn’t say it. “And, you are welcome.” She added, still smiling. “Are you ready to try the fire?”

0 Aria On this tiny land? 0 Aria 0 5

Clara Abernathy

April 20, 2012 7:26 PM

How can I explain bubbles? Hmm... by Clara Abernathy

Clara watched the boy who had introduced himself as Thaddeus follow her instructions on bubble blowing. She was excited for him when he almost had the first one. That would have been a big one she thought to herself rather proudly. If only it hadn't popped. She waited while he tried again, silently encouraging the bubble to form. When it sprang forth from the end of his bubble wand she smiled delighted for him and then wondered if he had ever played with bubbles before. She covered her mouth slightly when he let out an excited Whoo! trying not to giggle. It had been after that successful bubble that he had introduced himself as he grinned at Clara. Clara noted the formal way with which he introduced himself and she could not remember if she had been equally polite. She decided it was time to rectify that error if she hadn't.

"Its wonderful to meet you Thaddeus," she told him cheerfully. "I'm Clara Abernathy of the Napa Valley Abernathys," she smiled brightly, her freckles turning a little darker it felt. Having corrected her slip in etiquette, she returned her focus to the question he had asked. Her forehead wrinkled slightly as she thought of how best to answer his question. Honestly she didn't have the slightest idea what a wizard would use bubbles for, but she certainly knew what children used them for. "To be perfectly honest I have no idea what a wizard would want bubble for," she answered honestly. "They're mostly used to entertain small children. Outside of turning the air inside them into fire, which is the coolest thing I have ever seen, by the way, I can't think of any logical reason why a wizard would need them. Maybe they like playing with them just as much as we do," she explained about as seriously as any 11 year old could.

"Haven't you ever played with bubbles?" she asked Thaddeus innocently, her big blue eyes gazing at him curiously.

0 Clara Abernathy How can I explain bubbles? Hmm... 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Cepheus

April 21, 2012 12:29 AM

Yes, please explain. by Cepheus

OOC: Okay, I guess it'll be Thad, Clara, and Cepheus then.

BIC:

Cepheus felt a little incompetent when his bubble thing wasn't working, but he felt a little better knowing that Thad couldn't really do it either. Another girl, one he wasn't familiar with, was seated with them and Cepheus was glad at least someone knew how to work these things. He had half a mind to transfigure it into something else with his wand. Something useful, anyhow.

He tried to blow a good bubble once more and failed once again. He shook his head in response to Thad's question. "No," he said, discouraged. He attempted to use Clara's advice and blow gentler, but it still wasn't working very well. How difficult was it to blow a bunch of blooming bubbles? He frowned, growing annoyed. Clara was obviously ignoring him too, which only added to his irritation. He almost glared at her but caught himself in time. Father would have frowned at him for glaring. And anyway, she sounded like she came from an important family. Until she finished her last sentence. Muggle-born. Cepheus felt his pale nose wrinkle.

Clara directing her question to Thad was the last straw. Cepheus was used to having attention and he was not used to being ignored by his classmates, muggle-born or not. "We haven't been introduced," he said before Thad could say anything. "I'm Cepheus Princeton of the Surrey Princetons." He was clearly English, strong accent and all, and one emotion was clear on his pale, boyish face: annoyed. He was annoyed he was being ignored by a muggle-born, annoyed that a muggle-born knew something he didn't, and especially annoyed because he couldn't get these blasted bubbles to form.

"Excuse me for being upset, but how, in Merlin's name, do you get these blasted bubbles out of here?" he asked, tapping his wand against the mouth of the bottle. "Sorry for interrupting your little tête-à-tête, too." Twelve years old and still acting like a child, he could hear his father say. Well, Father never had to blow bubbles himself, did he? Especially since it was such a muggle activity. He had to wonder why in the world they were learning how to blow bubbles in the first place. "This is ridiculous anyway," he muttered under his breath.

0 Cepheus Yes, please explain. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Gareth

April 21, 2012 2:40 AM

Surrounded by the tiny ocean? by Gareth

Her introduction added yet another layer of mystery over the blond girl Aria. It was a unique name, as unique as where she said she was from. What was a Spiritual Community? Gareth had never heard an introduction quite like hers before. It was interesting, not just the normal sort of location designation, or even branch designation such as his introduction. He wanted to ask more, but felt that it would be rude to pry when they’d only just met. Perhaps when we know each other better Gareth thought as he watched her happily blowing bubbles.

The first stream of bubbles he’d blown had already popped. “They don’t last long.” He observed after blowing some more bubbles, which popped before he could get his wand up to try the spell. Most had popped from hitting the desk due to the too low angle he’d used when blowing, so this time he carefully angled the wand up ward and started to blow a new batch of bubbles when a drop of the bubble solution fell in his puckered lips. Gareth made a face at the soapy taste. “Blegh!”

A bright blush tinged his cheeks as he wiped his lips. “Right…Let’s just…try that again, yeah?” Gareth said, his Welsh accent thickening with embarrassment for having made a fool of himself. Who knew that blowing bubbles could be such a tricky venture? This time he got the angle just right and blew a nice field of bubbles to choose from. He prodded one of the bubbles with his wand, but before he could attempt the spell it popped. Gareth gave a soft exasperated sigh.

0 Gareth Surrounded by the tiny ocean? 0 Gareth 0 5

Aria

April 22, 2012 6:46 PM

Filled with tiny sea creatures? by Aria

The way Gareth was trying the bubbles, Aria had to wonder what it was like for others to grow up and never know the experience blowing them really was like. Having them for a lesson wasn’t anything compared to really being outside with friends and dancing within the bubbles. It was such a childhood memory, how could one not have ever been exposed to it? Wasn’t it a rite of passage for a child to do this? That’s what she had to think. The more time Aria spent with these others, the more she began to realize how wonderful her community was. They might have believed different and run in a different way, but they seemed to have freedoms that no one here had. Well, no one that Aria had yet to meet except for maybe her roommate, Brielle.

Aria was rereading the notes on the board as she blew her bubbles, remembering what the Professor had said about the spell when Gareth spoke again. “Bubbles are wonderful things when you’re out in a field letting the wind take them. The sun bounces off of them and make all sorts of fun colors.” She looked over just in time to see the soap fall onto his lips and saw the face he made as a result. Unintentionally, Aria laughed at his reaction. She tried to stop when she noticed his blush, but she couldn’t help it. Eventually, they did subside though and she was able to focus again.

“I like your accent, Gareth of the House of Blackbriar. Where are you from?” She asked. Aria only knew a couple of people from the community that were outside of the United States, but they were from Mexico, having crossed the border and becoming citizens before Aria was born. He did not have a Mexican accent.

Trying the lesson at hand, Aria found it difficult to get the wand into the bubble in order to actually make the fire. Wands were pointy and bubbles did not like pointy things. Every time Aria went to try to do the spell, the bubble popped. She could completely understand the sigh Gareth made. This wasn’t fun at all. “This is not a very good lesson.” Aria said quietly to Gareth, “If the bubbles pop when our wand touches them, how are we supposed to learn the spell? We should have been able to try in something else first.”

Aria gave a thoughtful look for a moment before brightening, “How about, one of us takes turns blowing the bubbles while the other one tries to get the fire lit inside them? That way, we don’t have to blow bubbles and then rush to get our wand up to one in time! Does that sound good?”

0 Aria Filled with tiny sea creatures? 0 Aria 0 5

Gareth

April 23, 2012 11:32 AM

And sailed by tiny ships? by Gareth

Gareth smiled at her view on the fun of bubbles out side. They probably would last longer if they weren’t in an enclosed classroom full of stuff ready to pop them. Even though he was too old for such things now, his little sister still begged their father to make her bubbles to play with from time to time even though she was starting to out grow such childish things as well. The multi-colored bubbles that flowed so easily from his father’s wand tip were fun to chase, and they too looked rather radiant with sunlight streaming though them making them light up like tiny balls of stained glass. They always floated at just the right height for small children to chase after, even when the wind tried to sweep them away.

He didn’t begrudge her her laughter, though it did make his cheeks flush an even brighter shade of red. Soon the joyful sound faded and she asked where he was from. “I live near the town of Glynneth in Wales.” Gareth replied as he prodded another bubble with his wand, and again failed to do so without popping the delicate thing. While it wasn’t really his place to judge the lesson plans of his professors, Gareth had to agree with Aria that this particular lesson wasn’t the greatest. “Yeah, how are we supposed to practice the spell if we keep popping the bubbles?” He wondered out loud. The professor had made it look so easy, but that was hardly the case.

Her voice interrupted his continued struggle with the bubbles. Gareth had switched the bubble wand to his left so he could use his wand with his right, and nearly ended up knocking over the bubble solution bottle when he tried to awkwardly dip the wand with his less coordinated hand. “That’s a brilliant idea!” Gareth said as he quickly dropped the bubble wand into the solution and carefully did up the cap so he wouldn’t end up spilling the stuff everywhere. “How about you blow the bubbles first?” He asked, hesitating a bit over the words. If she wanted to try the spell first he would blow the bubbles, but she’d already proven to be the better bubble blower.

0 Gareth And sailed by tiny ships? 0 Gareth 0 5

Thad Pierce

April 23, 2012 8:53 PM

Fire and Bubbles by Thad Pierce

Thad was a little surprised when Clara corrected her introduction into the proper form. Either she was mimicking him, or she was like Derry had been - good blood but less than thorough etiquette. Sonora offered a deceptive freedom from the close observation of parents and other family influences. Some purebloods allowed their manners slip when they arrived. If that was Clara's situation, she may not yet have realized that there were other routes besides direct observation for their parents to learn what they were doing here.

One of those routes might include what Cepheus told his parents, and she wasn't winning any favors by addressing mostly Thad, judging by Cepheus's irritated introduction. Thad gave the Crotalus a sympathetic grimace as he admitted he was still having trouble with the bubble making. Thad was starting to get the trick of it, but it had taken him long enough to create his own first bubble that he'd made a terrible kerfuffle when he'd finally managed it.

He was disappointed that grown wizards didn't have a use for bubbles, but not horribly surprised. That they had no purpose beyond entertaining children explained why he hadn't run across them before. The Pierces didn't hold with toys much. The nearest thing he and Derry had been allowed were child-sized brooms. Otherwise, it was all books. Children's books, certainly, especially when they were very young, but mostly books. He vaguely recalled the Anns having dolls, but they were girls and weren't allowed brooms. Girls had to learn how to carry babies anyway.

He blew another bubble, modulating his breath to the same speed he'd used to make the previous one, and this time got his wand up before it drifted too far away for him to try the spell. "Igni Sintra," he cast and lightly inserted the wand's point into the bubble. The fire that ignited inside the soapy bubble was more of a little flame puddle at the bottom of the sphere, but there was fire and there was a bubble, so he counted it as a partial success.

Turning briefly to Cepheus, he suggested, "Try to blow about as hard as you would to scatter the seeds of a dandelion puff." He wasn't sure if England had dandelion puffs but he wasn't sure how else to describe the breath strength.

Addressing Clara again, he answered, "No, my parents tended to provide me with more practical things to entertain myself with."

1 Thad Pierce Fire and Bubbles 213 Thad Pierce 0 5

Aria

April 23, 2012 10:44 PM

With the tiny little Pirates! by Aria

“Wales, really?” Aria had read about other countries back in her community schooling. Their knowledge was limited and Aria doubted that she would ever have a chance to visit such places that they learned, but it was fun to find out that she was speaking to someone from Europe. Aria one day hoped to travel around and see all these wonderfully exotic places. Places where she’d seen pictures of water falls and giant rainforests or beautiful mountain ranges. She didn’t know exactly how she would do it, especially if she was bound to replace her mother in the community, but she wanted to know the world before she settled down again.

Sonora was something so different that it was both exciting and terrifying to her, but she wanted to continue this journal and see where the spirits guided her.

“Gareth, do you mind if I ask you why your family decided to have you come to Sonora instead of a school closer to your home?” Aria inquired, her blue eyes looking at him with curiosity. She had never met so many different people, but he was the first foreigner not from Mexico that she had come across and she found it rather intriguing that he was here at Sonora instead of somewhere in Europe. “My parents had a terrible time having me come to Sonora and my home is just a state away.” She commented lightly. “Of course, they were more concerned about being contaminated by non-believers than anything else, but that’s not really an issue.” She was rambling, she knew. It was the homesick feeling she was having. “Do you miss home? Does it get easier?” She was probing him… that might not be a very polite thing to do. Oh well, she really did want to know.

Aria grinned happily when Gareth agreed with her plan. She felt that this would make things a little easier, especially after having nearly witnessed a catastrophe between him and his bubble bottle. Aria had no idea how the rest of the class was fairing, but she couldn’t imagine any of them doing any better than the two of them were. “Alright, I’ll blow and blow and blow until you can manage at least one. It’ll take some time, but if you have enough bubbles to practice one, you have to get at least one, right?” She was being positive with this. After all, it’s all life experience. “Alright, here we go.” Putting the bubble wand up, Aria puckered her lips once again and began to make the bubbles dance around them once more.

0 Aria With the tiny little Pirates! 0 Aria 0 5

Sairahiniel Light, Pecari

April 24, 2012 9:40 PM

Really? More fire? by Sairahiniel Light, Pecari

Sairahiniel was grateful that she wasn't the only one late to class. Only about a second after she burst through the classroom door, so did the professor, looking disheveled, but eager. Sayre quickly jumped into a seat, looking for all the world like she'd been impatiently waiting like the rest of the class. There was something wrong with the school, she thought. Trick hallways or something. Because, truly, she was running out of excuses for being so late to all of her classes. First Potions, now this!

Sayre took out a sheet of parchment, ready to pretend to be a good student like all the rest, but she got distracted when the teacher released bubbles into the air. Bubbles. She loved bubbles. The professor lazily lifted her wand into the air and stabbed the poor bubble, babbling some nonsensical words that meant nothing to Sayre. At least, not until the bubble burst into flame. Only on the inside, but still. It was all Sayre could do to keep herself from snatching up the bubble solution and start rambling in gibberish - although last time she'd done that, a teacher had ended up on the roof. Sayre smiled to herself. Good times.

Sayre snatched the solution as soon as the professor had given them leave, crazily blowing bubbles all over the place. Some of them popped all over her black hair, leaving it wet and sticky. Sayre had let it down into its customary place, hiding the left half of her face, after Potions. Then what Professor Brockert had said set in. Sayre put the bubble wand down, turning to the student next to her, who now no doubt thought that she had the mentality of a four-year-old.

"Oi, sorry about that." Sayre said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, her accent thickening as her embarrassment grew. "I kinda got excited. I swear, I'm not usually such a spaz." She extended a slightly sticky hand. "Sairahiniel Light. Want to light these babies up?" Sayre smiled, hoping the student didn't think that she was a loser, or some kind of pyromaniac-child-person.

0 Sairahiniel Light, Pecari Really? More fire? 0 Sairahiniel Light, Pecari 0 5

Solomon Bensalem, Crotalus

April 28, 2012 2:06 AM

...AHHH!... by Solomon Bensalem, Crotalus

After the little problem in the Library earlier on in the week, Solomon had been terrified to leave his room to do anything. He supposed he’d have to eat, so he went into the Hall either really early or really late in the hopes that there wouldn’t be many people there to bother him. But now it was time for class. Do I have to? he thought to himself as the voice of his grandfather popped out of nowhere and the boy heard the well recognized voice remind him of his obligations and respect of himself and others. Solomon sighed and knew he must go to class regardless of what happened in the Library.

He knew what time class started and he snuck into the room just as it hit that time. There was no teacher. Does that mean this is cancelled? he thought as he looked around at the other students in the class. Strictly speaking he didn’t want anyone to look at him so seconds after he started looking around he stared at the desk in front of him instead of at his classmates.

Suddenly the door burst open and Solomon’s eyes widened to see the Professor come into the room. She apologized right off the bat and the boy looked at her sympathetically. He hoped that she was alright. He’d not had any problems with the young lady. He actually liked her, which was nice. The young woman didn’t frighten the boy either, which was even better.

She introduced herself and welcomed them to class. There was something about this woman that was calming and the boy wasn’t sure what that was. Who am I to question it? he thought to himself as he shrugged.

With a flip of her wrist and an odd word starting with the letter O that he’d never heard of before in his life, came tumbling out of her mouth, yellow flowers came out the tip of her wand. Wow… he thought to himself. With a lack of other seats, he’d ended up in the front seat near a girl with bright blue eyes who was handed the pretty flowers by their teacher. Professor Brockert went on to tell them about the bottles on their desks. He looked at the one on his. It was a soft blue color and for some reason it fascinated the boy. Professor Lilac dipped her hand into her large orange bottle and pulled out a bit of what looked like plastic to the boy. She blew through the end of it and something came out of the end and flew through the air. What in the gods world is that? he thought as she kept talking. Raising the tip of her wand she said,

“Igni Sintra.” and jabbed forward into the sphere. Suddenly the sphere was filled with fire! His mouth opened wide in surprise and wasn’t sure what to think about that or if he’d be able to reproduce what she’d done. He wasn’t even sure what was even in the little bottle in front of him! Something pointy may pop it? he thought to himself as he moved his hands away from the light blue bottle on his desk and moved his chair further away from the desk itself. He wasn’t sure what pop meant, but he was sure it wasn’t good.

Words appeared on the board behind her and his eyes widened to the size of large saucers. He’d never seen anything like that before and he was scared out of his wits! He took his notes in his book, but in truth wanted nothing to do with the fire inside what she called the bubble.

He turned around, wondering if he could maybe run, when he saw the boy from the Library behind him. The boy had opened his bottle and managed to make that funny sphere that the notes on the board had called a bubble. His nerves were tearing him apart on the inside. Something was right behind him that could pop and maybe hurt him?!

Angel reached out and touched the bubble-thing. Solomon covered his eyes and screeched, hiding underneath his desk.

0 Solomon Bensalem, Crotalus ...AHHH!... 0 Solomon Bensalem, Crotalus 0 5

Angel

April 28, 2012 12:27 PM

... by Angel

The bubble popped at the touch of a single bone colored finger. Just before he’d touched the bubble, the darkly shaded boy in front of him turned around, ebony shaded eyes seemed too wide to be normal causing Angel’s fingers tingle with the want of his pencil and sketch pad to draw the curious look. But before he could gather his art supplies the boy leapt under his desk with a loud, almost painful sound. Red eyes blinked in confusion at the strange behavior, nothing like this happened last term. What to do? The albino wondered as he stared openly at the cowering boy.

Even though Angel needed a lot of guidance though classes and what was expected of him, and was obedient to the will of all around him, he was also unused to actually relying on adults for anything outside of the tasks they required of him. This created a curious sort of dependant, independence in the overly Pureblooded boy. As a result, Angel didn’t seek the Professor when it became clear that the dark boy was distressed. Instead he pushed his chair back and dropped slowly to his hands and knees to crawl under his own desk.

Twin rubies peaked out from ash white bangs as Angel crawled forward until he reached his frightened class mate. Unsure of what to do now that he reached the dark skinned boy, Angel reached out and softly trailed pale finger tips down the back of the boy’s hand, his startling whiteness creating a sharp contrast against dark skin. “Why down?” The soft Georgian flavored words conveyed the pale boy’s concern.

0 Angel ... 0 Angel 0 5

Gareth

April 28, 2012 4:32 PM

And their tiny little parrots! by Gareth

Her question paused his bubble making attempts and Gareth gave her a thoughtful look. Last term, no one had questioned why he or his cousin Meggs were here and not at Hogwarts, well he and his roommate talked about it but that was more because they were in a similar situation. “Hm, well Grandfather decided that the lines were well represented in Hogwards so at the reunion two summers ago he spoke to the head of each family and it was decided that any children who were not yet attending Hogwarts would go to one of the two most prominent schools in America.”

Aria asked if he ever got home sick. “I was in the beginning, but then classes really get started, and I start making friends, and eventually got caught up in school life. Before I know it midterm was here and I was home again.” Gareth answered truthfully. Some boys might balk at actually admitting they missed home, but he was willing to endure a little embarrassment to insure her that she wouldn’t be sad for too long. And seems she had begun the questioning Gareth felt free to return the favor. “So…what is the Spiritual Community of New Mexico?” He asked, giving in to his curiosity. What did they believe that would make them worry about contamination of non-believers?

He gave a pleased smile when she agreed to take the bubble end of the operation. Bringing his wand up he waited until the bubbles began to fly and started the difficult task of trying to stab one without popping it. The first seven attempts failed miserably, but the eighth his wand actually slipped past the soapy surface without causing the bubble to burst. “Hey! Look it worked!” In his excitement, Gareth forgot to actually try the spell and the bubble popped when his wand jittered slightly. He wanted to curse his pale complexion when he felt another blush color his cheeks. It was so embarrassing to know that even the slightest blush could be seen on his fair skin.

“Sorry.” He murmured, before trying to get another bubble. Three more popped before he landed another on the tip of his wand. “Igni Sintra!” The bubble popped just as he cast the spell, resulting in a tiny belch of fire that disappeared as soon as it left the tip of his wand. Still, it caused the large boy to jump back in surprise and nearly fall out of his chair. Another blush filled his face as he cleared his throat. “Um…maybe I should blow bubbles for a while?” He offered.

0 Gareth And their tiny little parrots! 0 Gareth 0 5

Clara Abernathy

April 28, 2012 4:52 PM

Mine Fizzled... by Clara Abernathy

Clara began to realize her error when she heard Cepheus irritably introduce himself shortly after she answered Thad's question. She felt her cheeks color as she became slightly embarrassed by her lack of etiquette. She had never meant to ignore Cepheus and worried that she may have insulted him by accident by addressing only Thad at that moment. "Please forgive my terrible manners," she smiled at Cepheus apologetically. I can't believe I bombed that soo badly she mentally kicked herself. She almost smacked herself in the forehead and just barely stopped herself. She would not do that here no matter how frustrated with herself she was. She only hoped she hadn't completely ruined her chances of making friends with Thad and Cepheus.

"I sometimes have a bad habit of letting my manners slip right into the toilet, which they seem to have already done," she found herself explaining to them both; her expression still apologetic. Clara had never been one to feel awkward, but this seemed to be the exception situation. She could almost hear her dad sigh heavily in her mind at her faux pas. Dad was patient with the 11 year old, but even he had little tolerance for rudeness. She focused on Cepheus's question on how in Merlin's name you made the bubbles come out and found herself agreeing completely with Thad's explanation. It would have the one she herself would have given if she hadn't been soo flustered. Flustered...there was another emotion that the plucky 11 year old was not familiar with. Usually Clara was very sure of herself even if her attempts blew up in her face (so to speak), but here at Sonora she felt a little overwhelmed and in very unfamiliar territory. She put aside her unfamiliar feeling and attempted to show Cepheus what Thad meant. Addressing Cepheus she tried to demonstrate blowing another bubble and making an attempt of her own at the spell. “Igni Sintra,” she cast gently inserting the tip of her wand into the bubble. The air inside puffed briefly into flame, but seemed to fizzle out quickly. She half frowned, but didn't let it stop her from continuing. As for Thad's remark about more practical things to entertain himself with, Clara couldn't hide her curiousity as to what he may have meant by that.

She turned her gaze to Thad and asked curiously, “Not to be rude at all, but what kinds of things?”

0 Clara Abernathy Mine Fizzled... 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Cepheus

April 29, 2012 12:50 AM

For Pureblood's Sake... by Cepheus

Cepheus was surprised that Clara had admitted to her fault. He was used to faults being brushed under the carpets, so to speak, especially in public. Perhaps her etiquette lessons--if she'd had any--hadn't been taught well. Or something of the like. In any case, his grudge against her lessened slightly, though he still didn't think highly of her at this point. She was still just a first year after all.

He ignored her apology at the moment, focusing on blowing the perfect bubble. He nodded at Thad's comment, then watched Clara carefully as she enacted it. His blue eyes focused on his stick, then he dipped the round end once again into the soapy water and then blew into it the way he would a dandelion puff. It worked slightly better, though the bubble popped before it fully got out of the circle. Frustrated, but slightly less so than before, he tried once again.

This time, the bubble got out of its circular cage and floated freely. A handsome smile broke out on the blonde boy's face, and he lifted his wand to the bubble. "Igni Sintra," he said, watching a tiny fire burst inside the bubble. His face brightened at his success, looking at his peers for commendation, and then back to his fiery bubble. "Brilliant," he sighed. And then the bubble popped.

Cepheus could relate to Thad's upbringing. He didn't see any purpose for these bubbles besides using them for class as they were. Even then, it would only be for entertainment that way. He'd played with figurines that moved on their own, playing out the scenes he wanted them to and doing what he told them, toy brooms, elementary potions kits for children, and loads of other toys. He'd played a lot with his figurines, passing them onto his brothers when he started school. Books, of course, were a necessity. His mother had forced reading time on her children, and Cepheus had remembered loathing reading in the beginning, always choosing picture books with entertaining images, but he appreciated it now.

"Practical things like books, miniature potions kits, toy brooms, and the like," he said, answering Clara's question. "I used to have moving toy figures as well. Did you ever have those, Thad?" He turned to Clara after. "What sort of toys did you have to entertain yourself with? Unpractical things?" The last part of his question hadn't been added to sound rude, but he wondered what exactly a girl like Clara would play with that would be considered "unpractical." He was blunt and had been brought up to be blunt.

0 Cepheus For Pureblood's Sake... 0 Cepheus 0 5

Aria

April 29, 2012 12:59 PM

With their little crackers! by Aria

Aria listened with interest as Gareth explained his family’s reasoning for sending him to Sonora instead of to Hogwarts. She couldn’t exactly state that she understand what his family intentions were. Why a line needed to be formed and be well represented was beyond her, but Aria was understanding more and more how important a family name is and apparently, making said name known to everyone else was equally important. Aria was a halfblood and her parents never really told her that their name was or needed to be important. No one thought themselves better, so there was no need to make their names known. Besides, there were people who ended up changing their names once they became part of the community because they wanted to shed their old ways. Aria was starting to understand why her parents felt the way they did about the world outside the walls of the community. Everyone’s priorities were skewed.

“I don’t really understand you all.” Aria said pleasantly. “Why does it matter if people know your name?” She asked of him. She probably could have asked her roommates, but they still seemed so stiff that she was afraid of offended them in some way. Gareth, at least, seemed opened to the questions that she didn’t feel too out of place for asking them to begin with.

Aria was happy to know that the homesick feeling would eventually go away. He was right, keeping busy would help with everything. She had seen the baking club notices and vaguely wondered it that would be a good idea to join. In the end, she had thought against it because she wasn’t sure how difficult the lessons would be or if she would be swamped with homework. If she finds that she has extra time and is still feeling lonely, she’ll join then. For now, she’ll just have to adapt to the school on her own.

Aria perked at the question about her home, “It’s a community of magical being who gather together to live in harmony with Nature and with each other. They left the world of materialism and instead, choose a life of simplicity and balance.” Aria explained matter of factly. “Basically, a group formed long ago when they felt that the world couldn’t give them the peace that they wanted and they felt the world was weighing them down with demands. So, they formed a group who shred the world and instead, lived off the land.”

She loved her home. Loved it. Even though this world here was full of interesting and intriguing things, Aria didn’t think she could ever truly leave it. “I used to wonder what things were like outside of the wall, how people were and how they lived.” Aria told him, expressing herself for the first time. “We do everything ourselves and everyone has a purpose or a job where I am from. We live together, make our own food, keep our lands free, our bodies healthy and all of that, to keep everything in balance. Mother and the Elders said that people outside the walls aren’t like us. I always wanted to know why that was.”

She was still on hold about what to think of things, but she knew for sure that they were quite different.

Aria watched in fascination while Gareth dealt with the bubbles. She was quite happy that he had managed to get his wand tip into a bubble, but not surprised when it popped before he could say the spell. His second attempt, however, surprised her. Not the fire, but his reaction to it. His sudden jerk startled her and she nearly spilled the bubble solution all over herself. Thankfully, she caught it and nothing spilled. She started laughing though because it had been funny.

“Sure.” She exclaimed, giving him the bubbles and lifting her wand to prepare herself for the spell. “Ready when you are.”

0 Aria With their little crackers! 0 Aria 0 5

Arabella Brockert, Pecari

April 30, 2012 1:31 AM

Yup. Fun huh? by Arabella Brockert, Pecari

It was kind of odd to be in a class that was taught by her aunt. Uncle Seth was one thing, he was the groundskeeper not an actual teacher. Plus, well, Arabella had always called him Uncle Seth and was not expected to change that. In fact, her uncle didn't mind if any of the students called him by his first name, because he was related to so darn many of them and it felt weird to call someone you were related to Mr, Miss, Mrs or Professor. Even Carrie didn't expect Arabella to call her Miss O'Malley.

Speaking of which, the Pecari still couldn't believe that dreadful girl was in Crotalus. She knew that Ryan was taking it really hard too and she hadn't really seen much of him since the Opening Feast. Arabella figured that he was probably hiding in his room, only coming out to go to class and eat. He'd told her that was how things had always been at home and now, unfortunately, they were the same at school.

She wanted to do something to help Ryan but what could she do? Physical violence hadn't done the trick. All that had done was get Arabella in trouble with her parents for being unladylike. She'd also been warned that she could get in even bigger trouble if she beat the younger girl up or hexed her at school. The Pecari wanted to stop her cousin, but she didn't want to get expelled. Learning magic was important even if Arabella wasn't the most academically inclined person around. Being expelled was something that could leave her completely useless as a witch and it would be a huge embarrassment for a Brockert to live like a muggle. Nor would anyone want to be betrothed to her.

Much as Carrie needed to be stopped, Arabella was not letting her have that satisfaction. Still, things could not go on this way. Maybe Sophie would have some ideas of how to help Ryan. The second year made a mental note to talk to the older Pecari later.

She waited with the rest of the class for Aunt Lilac to show up. Arabella wondered if it had something to do with being pregnant and she hoped her aunt was all right. She could remember when her mother was pregnant with her siblings. Maybe Aunt Lilac was having morning sickness? Gross but understandable.

Finally, her aunt arrived and began the lesson. Bubbles? Well, this could be fun. Not the most practical thing ever, but then practical was kind of boring. Arabella preferred to do things that were enjoyable to things that were necessities. She really wasn't looking forward to growing up and being a part of adult society. Fancy parties and such just didn't seem all that much fun and being a lady was difficult enough as it was. Arabella would take any chance to be a kid while she still could. Before she knew it, she would probably have to forget about that kind of stuff altogether.

The Pecari was just about to go look for a partner when the girl next to her spoke. It turned out to be the girl that had worked with Carrie in Potions. Arabella was a bit surprised to hear a Light introduce herself so casually. Then again, the way their Charms professor behaved wasn't exactly normal either so maybe their family was a bit lax when it came to propriety. Besides, this girl had dumped bugs all over Carrie, so she couldn't be too bad.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Light." Arabella responded. Even if the other girl was going to act improper, she still wasn't. If Sairahiniel wanted to get in trouble with her family, that was her own problem. The second year knew though, that if she acted that way, Carrie was sure to rat her out and Arabella didn't want that. If she was going to get in trouble due to her cousin, she wanted to make it worth it and not waste it by slipping up in something so basic. "I am Arabella Brockert, of the Colorado Brockerts. You may call me Arabella."

11 Arabella Brockert, Pecari Yup. Fun huh? 217 Arabella Brockert, Pecari 0 5

Solomon

April 30, 2012 1:48 PM

...Imagining home... by Solomon

Solomon was terrified! The boy shook underneath his desk at the popping of the bubble. He honestly thought that the bubble would hurt, maim or even kill him and his heart pounded inside his chest. Solomon closed his caramel coffee colored eyes with the green specks and imagined himself back home to the Island, even with the snake that scared him so much.

Tib’s whiskers brushed his face and his eyes opened wider than dinner plates. “Oh gods… I thought your whiskers were bubbles Tib!” he whispered into his kitten’s ears. “I thought they were going to kill me!” he added as he pulled his kitten closer to him and shook in a terrifying fear almost akin to what happened when he saw an Angel Island Spotted Rattlesnake.

Moments later, he wasn’t alone with his kitten under the desk anymore. Suddenly the lighter boy was underneath with him. Is he scared too? Or did it hit him when it popped? Is he under here because he’s dying? he thought, his mind rolling faster and farther away from reality.

Angel’s red eyes peaked out from underneath his white bangs as the lighter boy crawled closer to Solomon. Angel reached his pale hand towards Solomon’s and his softer colored ones trailed atop the first year’s darker one. Solomon had seen the contrast of their colors, but when he felt the boy’s touch, his body tensed.

“Why down?”

The lighter boy’s soft accent and words showed the darker Islander that he hadn’t been harmed, nor did he want to harm Solomon.

“Bubbles pop… could hurt…” he whispered to the boy. He was quiet enough so that only Angel could hear his words. Still Solomon shook in his grandfather’s old moccasins. The shoes fell off in his shaking and Solomon didn’t hurry to put them back on either. He hated shoes. He felt restricted in them.

0 Solomon ...Imagining home... 0 Solomon 0 5

Sayre Light

April 30, 2012 10:02 PM

Pyromania usually is. by Sayre Light

Sayre was beginning to think that she was cursed or something. Three classes in a row and she got saddled with Family kids every time! Was there some kind of neon sign over her head that said "Muggle-Born, please antagonize!"? Goodness. The girl introduced herself as Arabella Brockert of the Colorado Brockerts. Colorado seemed to be a popular place for the Families. First snooty Carrie in Potions and now this girl. At least she'd oh-so-kindly given Sayre permission to use her first name. And it was a very pretty name, Sayre had to admit.

"Pleasure to meet you, Arabella Brockert of the Colorado Brockerts." Sayre said, trying to be nice. Arabella didn't ooze an aura of prissiness, so Sayre figured that she might as well give her a chance. "I know Sairahiniel is kind of a mouthful, so you can call me Sayre." She paused for a moment, then continued. "You wouldn't be related to Carrie O'Malley of the Colorado O'Malleys, would you?" It might've been her imagination, but Sayre thought she might've seen just the slightest hint of similarity in the two girls' features. "And you're clearly a pureblood, so let's get some things straight: I'm Muggle-born, not affiliated with any fancy family in any kind of way." Sayre lifted her hair, showing off her long scar that twisted her face. "I have a scar. But I'm willing to give you a fair shake if you do the same, yes?" Sayre wondered a moment if she sounded too abrasive, or if the girl would think she was being disrespectful and rude. That wasn't the point - she was trying to be polite. If this girl was anything like Carrie then they were going to have some major issues. But Sayre hoped not. She didn't want to make any more enemies today.

0 Sayre Light Pyromania usually is. 0 Sayre Light 0 5

Lucille Carey, Teppenpaw

April 30, 2012 10:41 PM

...Are not working very well by Lucille Carey, Teppenpaw

If there was a class using wands that Lucille was really afraid of, it was Transfiguration. Not only was it the subject with some of the horrific consequences for the smallest mistake, but at Sonora, it was taught by a proper pureblood.

Well…sort of, anyway.

Professor Brockert was one of the teachers Lucille had heard about from her cousins, and though neither of them seemed to really have a problem with her, Lucille just couldn’t get past the incongruity of a married woman from a family, whose husband was also from a family, having a job. Aside from a few tutors, the only working woman Lucille had ever heard of was her branch’s acting matriarch, who was a strange case, and supposed to be not able to get married anyway. In spite of all this, though, Professor Brockert was indisputably a Brockert, and that meant she could tell someone at home, or someone who could pass it along to someone at home, if Lucille was in any way improper in this classroom, if not in the whole school. That was enough to make the woman intimidating.

She took a seat at the front of the room and waited. And waited. She checked her schedule nervously and saw others doing the same thing, but it looked right and no one else got up to leave, so she stayed where she was, beginning to bite her bottom lip.

When the professor came in with an explanation, Lucille found her eyebrows were drifting up a little. She had trouble getting up? Lucille could not imagine anyone in her world being allowed to be late for that reason. Her mother would become furious at the merest suggestion of it. Was this how the Brockerts managed their girls, then? Was this a regular thing? She didn’t know.

She did, though, smile when suddenly, there were flowers. This was a positive example of Transfiguration, for her, since she loved flowers. Mother wouldn’t let her do anything in the gardens around the house, that was for the house-elves to do so that all the grounds would be perfectly pretty for any company they might somehow have, but Lucille still liked to look at them, and sometimes, Mother would let her arrange some in a vase, just to amuse herself until the elves took them away and did it properly.

As the lesson was explained, Lucille picked up the translucent light green bottle on her desk, her eyes never leaving the professor as she tried to remember exactly what the woman had done when she made the bubbles appear, but it didn’t do any good. No sooner than a bubble formed, it fell, something cool falling down on her hands as it failed to hold together. She tried twice more, but couldn’t keep a bubble in the air long enough to pick up her wand.

Lucille could feel her face burning. She was sure everyone was looking at her and mentally snickering about this. They didn’t even see her failing at magic, they saw her not being able to do the thing she had to do before she could do the magic!

So she smiled. “These silly things,” she said. “I can’t imagine why it’s not working right.”

0 Lucille Carey, Teppenpaw ...Are not working very well 0 Lucille Carey, Teppenpaw 0 5

Angel

May 02, 2012 8:27 PM

...up! by Angel

Angel tilted his head slightly to the left as he studied the trembling boy. It took a few minutes for him to understand that for some unknown reason the dark boy was frightened of the bubbles. A soft huff of frustration escaped Angel as he realized that this was going to test his faulty communication skills more so than usual.

While he had never seen bubbles of this particular nature before, he had seen the half spheres that lingered on the surface of the water after he washed his hair. They were fairly harmless, and Angel enjoyed popping them as he’d popped the one that had appeared when he’d blown on the wand.

The problem was attempting to convey this concept to the dark boy in an understandable way. “Bubbles…not bad. They,” Another small huff escaped him as he tried to think of the proper words. “Soap! Bubbles is soap. Not good on eyes. Not bad, not hurt when not eyes.” Thinking for a moment, Angel’s lips jerked up into what he hoped was a reassuring smile, though mostly it just looked creepy seems he hadn’t been smiling a second ago.

The awkward attempt at a smile faded as quickly as it appeared. Again Angel reached out, this time he tugged lightly on the dark boy’s sleeve. “Come, up. Time not for down, now for spell. Yes?” Normally, Angel was quite passive about any situation he found himself in, but he recognized that the Professor wouldn’t be pleased with students hiding under their desks, so in the face of the greater authority, Angel was willing to nudge the dark boy a bit to get him back on course.

0 Angel ...up! 0 Angel 0 5

Gareth

May 02, 2012 9:43 PM

Stolen by tiny little monkeys! by Gareth

Surprise colored Gareth’s features for a moment at her question. Even the muggleborns quickly grasped that families were…well almost everything really. Without the proper name, a good portion of society as inaccessible, and to those with the proper name even the wrong friends could result in expulsion from the family. Though that was pretty extreme, and usually wasn’t done unless a child really overstepped the line.

Gareth was glad that he was apparently the first Pureblood she’d asked that too. It could have been deeply offensive to some of the more touchy families and he was willing to answer her questions without feeling the need to defend his family pride. Gareth’s father had taught him young that it wasn’t proper to take offense against those who knew no different, and while he was talking more about muggleborns, Gareth felt that this was a similar situation.

“Well, it has a lot to do with who’s most important, usually by bloodlines. The longer back you can trace your bloodline the more weight your family name will have in society. Well, as long as the family is still in good standing. Wealth plays a pretty big part too, and what kind of jobs your family is in.” It was more difficult than he thought it would be to try and explain things. He’d never really tried to put it into words before, everyone he knew just knew these things and no explanations were needed. “Anyway, be careful who you talk to about such things. I’ll answer any questions you might have, but some of the families are rather touchy about the whole subject. It isn’t really talked about.” Gareth confided quietly.

Her own explanation left Gareth more than a bit baffled. Leaving his family behind was unimaginable to him, so he couldn’t really imagine what she was talking about. Well, maybe if someone was disowned, they would want to go to such a place? “So…they just leave?” He asked, clearly finding that idea hard to grasp. How could anyone just up and leave the whole life behind? Her description of the Community was also very different from what he was use to. It sounded rather difficult and uncomfortable to live like that. It seemed rather lonely, being trapped behind a big wall. Then again, Aria was here, so maybe they were free to leave if they wanted?

This time, he was better able to create a nice field of bubbles. It was way easier when he wasn’t trying to use his wand at the same time.

0 Gareth Stolen by tiny little monkeys! 0 Gareth 0 5

Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw

May 03, 2012 1:44 AM

Bubbles, Bubbles everywhere, but not a drop to drink! by Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw

Aubrielle was looking forward to going to Transfiguration for a few reasons. The first was because the Professor was her Head of House and her sisters favorite Teacher, Professor Lilac Brockert. The second was because she’d always wanted to learn how to change things into other things. The thespian knew that this could be a big help to her when she finally made it to the Broadway Stages. She left her room and skipped merrily to class almost like she was in the Wizard of Oz.

She got there but there was no teacher. Odd… she thought to herself as she looked around at the others. They were looking at their schedules just as she was, but it wasn’t until minutes after the rest of the class had filed in that Lilac herself came into the room.

Professor Brockert apologized for being late and Brielle looked at her, somehow knowing why she had trouble waking up, but not wanting to say it aloud to the rest of the class or anyone else. B wasn’t sure about if what she thought was true as she hadn’t been told anything so she wouldn’t stress on it. Lilac introduced herself to those who didn’t know her and then saying an incantation made yellow flowers come out of her wand. “Cool!” she said, not caring if anyone heard her or not. Clara received the flowers and Brielle smiled towards her cousin happily.

Brielle had been busied when she walked in by looking at both her classmates and her schedule so she hadn’t seen what was on her desk in front of her. She did however, notice it when Professor Brockert mentioned the bottles. B looked at it and smiled a wide grin. She’d loved bubbles when she was little and she thought that this was a perfect start to welcome new students to the school. The purple pastel jar on her desk was smaller than Lilac’s orange one, but it was the same size as the other students. It made sense to the eleven year old and she waited to see what fun they would be making with the soapy bubbles.

Lilac made a note that this was where the lesson started and B watched carefully. She wanted to be sure not to miss a thing. Professor Brockert raised the tip of her wand and spoke two words, “Igni Sintra” and jabbed her wand into the bubble. It didn’t pop! No way! she thought as she glanced fast around the room, noting that one of the other first years was screaming and underneath his desk. Really? she wondered, but then shrugged and looked back to wards Lilac. The bubble was floating around with the air inside it having turned into flames. “That’s cool!” she said softly to the person sitting next to her, eyes still focused on the bubble in front of Lilac.

Notes appeared on the board behind the Professor and Brielle pulled out her book fast and took her notes down as fast as she could before pulling out her own bubble wand. When they were told to go ahead B smiled and looked to see who her neighbor was.

Aubrielle didn’t recognize the girl right away, but she thought she’d seen her talking to Clara and Amira by the Pecari’s on the first night there. If she was a friend of Amira’s and Clara’s all would be well if she was her partner. B looked on as the girl’s smile seemed to bring more bubbles from her bubble wand.

Brielle giggled and with her giggles came even more bubbles! Their desk looked like it was draped in the soapy spheres! One of the girl’s bubbles popped on top of her head and Brielle laughed happily. “It’s fine! Really, my little sisters used to do that to me all the time. I kinda miss it…” she said as she giggled again as one of hers popped on top of the other girl’s shoulder. “I’m sorry too!” she said laughing again as the other girl said she loved bubbles and asked if she did too. “I sure do. I think they’re one of my favorite summer pastimes!” she said to the girl as another one of the many bubbles popped right on the end of her nose. She wiped the soapy feeling off her nose and grinned at the other girl. "Bubbles, bubbles everywhere, but not a drop to drink!" she said, quoting from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory before grinning widely at the girl.

“I’m Aubrielle Reece Thornton. I saw you talking to one of my older sisters and my cousin at the feast, but I’m afraid I don’t know your name!” she said to the girl, hoping that this would not only be a fun pairing, but also the beginning of a wonderful friendship! The other girl looked like she had a lot of energy and Brielle always thrived on energy.

0 Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw Bubbles, Bubbles everywhere, but not a drop to drink! 0 Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Arabella

May 03, 2012 5:27 AM

Burn out the day. by Arabella

Sayre. That...was a good deal easier to say then the girl's full name, though Arabella supposed she would have just called her Miss Light. Still, as she been given permission to use the girl's first name-sort of-she would.

The second year made a face at the mention of Carrie, though truthfully, she should have expected it. They were purebloods from the same state, people would figure there was a relation there. Plus, people would guess by the same last name that Carrie was related to Ryan and people probably knew that Ryan was Arabella's cousin. The first year was also likely to refer to Uncle Seth and Aunt Lilac that way and both were Brockerts. Not to mention that, of course, the expression on Arabella's face at Sayre's question. Pretending Carrie wasn't related to her was probably not an option.

"Unfortunately." Arabella replied, disgust in her voice evident. "She's my cousin." She looked at the other Pecari. "But please don't hold that against me. We're nothing alike." The second year wanted that made very clear to everyone. She was not letting Carrie ruin her social life by association. Honestly, Arabella was downright embarrassed by the younger girl and her behavior. She'd heard about how the Crotalus acted in flying and seen what happened in Potions-and found it very very funny.

The second year blinked in confusion. "Sounds like a deal. There's no need to get defensive." Wow, Carrie must have really done a number on this girl for her to be like this. "We're not all the bad guys just because Carrie is." Okay, maybe Arabella was a little defensive too, but assuming the worst about purebloods was no better than them assuming the worst about the non-purebloods. "And a good portion of the school is pureblood actually." Something Sayre would need to know and accept. If she hated people for being pure, she wasn't going to be very well liked.

She continued. "However, I have no problem working with you." After all, Arabella had been sharing a room with Waverly, and in some ways, found her much easier to deal with than Jade was. The muggleborn girl might have been a bit peppy and a bit dim but at least she didn't seem to walk around like her poo didn't stink.

The second year gave the other girl a big friendly smile. Arabella really did want to get on with her. She'd heard somewhere that thy enemy of thine enemy was one's friend and she was pretty sure that Sayre was Carrie's enemy, just as the older girl was. Plus, Arabella didn't really like fighting with others that much. It was something that she did only when necessary and mostly with her cousin.

"Shall we begin?" The second year took out her jar and blew a bubble. This was such a neat spell but Arabella had never done the fire spell herself. "Would you like to take turns having one of us blow the bubbles and the other doing the fire?" The older Pecari asked.

11 Arabella Burn out the day. 217 Arabella 0 5

Sayre Light

May 03, 2012 3:07 PM

Light up the night by Sayre Light

Sayre realized too late how defensive she must've sounded. Or some kind of pureblood-hater, or something equally petty.

"Wow," Sayre said with a self-deprecating grin. "Did that sound as bad as I thought it did? Please pretend that I didn't sound like some kind of anti-pureblood purist." It was true, too - she and Elijah got on splendidly and he was pure. "I'm just still reeling from my last class....Your cousin is a real piece of work, you know that?" Sairahiniel thought she remembered seeing Arabella in Potions class. "I assume that you saw our little showdown?" She smiled at the older Pecari. "I promise not to throw any bugs on you."

Sayre nodded at Arabella's idea. Both of them shooting fire out of their wands at the same time probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world. Then again, it probably wasn't the worst one she'd ever had in her life, either.

"I don't really trust myself with fire yet," Sayre admitted in a hushed whisper. "My magic is a bit...how you say...unstable. It could just be my wand, though." Shed' heard that cherry wood wands were extremely temperamental, especially combined with a dragon heartstring core. Then again, it could've just been the first year. Sayre had always been a spitfire, which seemed to sometimes translate literally when she was trying to do magic. "Could you have a go at it first and I'll try after? I really want to do this right. And, you know, not light myself on fire. That would be nice too."

Sayre's lips quirked up, trying to smile past her nervousness.

0 Sayre Light Light up the night 0 Sayre Light 0 5

Arabella

May 05, 2012 9:12 AM

Light up the world by Arabella

Arabella relaxed. "Don't worry about it. I mean, I guess it's natural to be more comfortable with others like yourself." It was true, she might not have been especially close to Theresa, for example, but she certainly felt she had more in common with her than with Jade or Waverly. " I suppose I'm just as bad, I'm a bit embarrassed to have her as a relative." The second year doubted that Sayre would be able to blame her for that. She had, after all, met the girl.

She continued. "I know that all too well." Piece of work was an awfully polite way of putting it. Arabella would have used much less kind language, at least mentally. If she said words like that out loud, she would surely get in trouble for unladylike behavior. "Nobody in our family really likes her."

Sayre didn't know the half of it-and Arabella wasn't about to tell her either. It wasn't personal, but the second year would not want say anything that would humiliate her family, especially Ryan personally. Carrie's behavior was awful enough for them all to have to bear, both because it reflected poorly on them and because she made everyone miserable.

The only reason Arabella claimed her at all was because it was unavoidable. Carrie had the same last name as Ryan, and the fifth year would feel bad if Arabella denied him, for one thing. Furthermore, people would figure it out because of them being from the same state the way Sayre had. Besides, she felt it was necessary to warn people against the first year Crotalus, though apparently the younger Pecari had found out for herself.

Arabella laughed, remembering Potions. "Yes, and I found it quite funny." Okay, so, she wasn't really supposed to be amused by anything involving bugs. It wasn't proper or ladylike, but whomever decided that had never met Carrie or probably ever thought there could be anyone so dreadful. Besides, it wasn't as if Arabella had thrown them. "And, I appreciate that."

Though, truth be told, if Sayre had been wanting to throw bugs at the second year and acted on such desires, the elder Pecari probably just would have thrown them back. Which would not have been a good thing, because she would get in quite a bit of trouble. Aunt Lilac might not have told her mother, but on the other hand, Arabella likely would have gotten detention, which her parents would have to find out about or one of the other pureblood students would have told their parents and they might have told hers.

"Well," Arabella said kindly, "that's why we're here. To learn to use our magic and control it." This was why most people in her family basically didn't mind muggleborns attending Sonora or other magical schools. Her adult relatives largely believed that everyone born with magic needed to learn to do so, or they might become a danger to society. "At least initially. Then, as we get older, we get better and learn more interesting things."

"Certainly." Arabella agreed. "You blow the bubble and I'll do the fire part."

11 Arabella Light up the world 217 Arabella 0 5

Waverly

May 05, 2012 5:19 PM

Unless you drink the bubble? by Waverly

Wavery was making a mess of bubbles, but the good thing was was that they didn't pop and splatter everywhere. This unfamiliar girl, whom she assumed was a first-year, was just like her! Waverly and her little sister blew bubbles whenever they got a bottle of them. Her mom still put them into their Christmas stockings on Christmas Eve and it was always so much fun to blow them around the apartment. "Me too!" she said, excited to meet a kindred spirit. At this moment, she really liked first-years. It allowed her to use her older sister/motherly instincts.

"I have a little sister too and we blow bubbles all the time whenever I'm home. How old are your sisters? My sister Wendy is going to be coming to Sonora soon and I'm really excited. My mom said Wendy stole a cupcake just a couple days ago with magic and I was so proud." She giggled.

She even recognized the book that the first-year was quoting from and she beamed. "I love Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! Have you seen the movie and read the book?" She hadn't had much bonding time with other muggle-borns and she wondered if this girl would be the first.

Then she said she was related to Clara and Andrina and Waverly smiled. Maybe the Thorntons weren't muggle-borns, but they did Muggle things which was really cool! And different from the pure-bloods she knew so far. "I'm Waverly Canterbury," she said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you! That's cool that you're related to Andrina and Clara. It must be fun having them around." Overall, the Thornton girls she'd met seemed like a fun bunch. "You should come to my baking club with them! It's going to be in the Potions classroom." It never hurt to get a little publicity. "My mom's a baker so she taught me a bunch of recipes for cookies and cakes and brownies and stuff. And they're easy enough for us to do." She smiled brightly.

"Anyway, I guess we should get started on this lesson." Blowing bubbles was fun in itself, but she guessed she'd better get on with class. "Let's see, what was the incantation again?" She looked at the board to read it carefully. "Igni Sintra," she said. "Okay. Let's try this." She blew a handful of bubbles and resisted the urge to pop them or blow more. Instead, she took out her wand and said the incantation before poking her wand into the bubble. Except she poked it too hard and the bubble popped with a spark or two coming out of her wand. She was very glad she had turned away from Aubrielle then. The sparks flew at the desk and died out. "Whoa," she said, green eyes wide. "Um, do you want to try?" She turned to her partner with a little smile.

“I’m Aubrielle Reece Thornton. I saw you talking to one of my older sisters and my cousin at the feast, but I’m afraid I don’t know your name!” she said to the girl, hoping that this would not only be a fun pairing, but also the beginning of a wonderful friendship! The other girl looked like she had a lot of energy and Brielle always thrived on energy.

0 Waverly Unless you drink the bubble? 0 Waverly 0 5

Meggie Brownbriar (Teppenpaw)

May 06, 2012 1:52 PM

Bubble, Bubble, Bubble, POP! by Meggie Brownbriar (Teppenpaw)

Megan was still sore at not being able to try out for Teppenpaw’s Quidditch Team. She knew that her cousin Gareth was right in the unfortunate long run. Her father would have brought her straight home and had her care for the littles if she did something like that. But oh, how she wanted to feel what it would be like to gain the adrenaline of flight and quaffle catching, bludger hitting, snitch sighting that a game would have afforded her.

Growling inwardly, the second year walked on to Transfiguration class pretending, like usual, to be the pureblooded young lady her father wanted her to be. She hated it. Every minute of it was torture to the Brownbriar girl. But I have to… For Momma, I have to… she thought to herself as she waved genially to the other students around her in the hallways and corridors on the way to Professor Brockert’s class.

Meggie, dressed in a pretty yellow summer dress and a pair of her black ballet flats, walked into the room and sat down, crossing her legs politely (just like a young lady is supposed to do). She saw the bottle of bubbles in front of her and her eyes lit up. YES! she thought as an immediate reaction, only to frown on the inside a moment later. Wait… I’m not supposed to know how to do this. What can I do to pretend to the others that I don’t know? she thought as the gears turned in her mind. She daydreamed a moment (as the teacher wasn’t in the room yet) about how she and her mother had taken a picnic to the park. Just the two of them. Momma had brought a great big jar of the funny soapy substance and had shown Meggie how to blow the sweet and soapy little balls of fun. They had fun for hours with it, even thought at first Meg was really confused, but once she understood how they worked they blew and chased the bubbles all over the place. When it came time to go home, she didn’t want to and begged her mother to stay longer. Unfortunately they needed to go home so her fun had ended.

Is it about to start again? she thought to herself as Lilac burst into the room. She shook her head and smiled at her Head of House as she apologized for being late and then introduced herself to the first years before making flowers sprout right from her wand. Meggie smiled, knowing that doing more than that would make her look bad to other purebloods like herself and she didn’t want to have that happen or her father would hear about it. She spotted Gareth across the room and she held her tongue all the more.

Megan wrote down notes as Lilac spoke, in her small, perfect scroll just as she’d been taught to do as the flowers were handed to one of the first years in the class. Professor Brockert spoke more about the bubble jars on the desks and what they were about to do and still Meggie was trying to figure out how to make it look like she’s not sure how to blow a bubble when all she really wanted to do was open it up and set bubbles on the whole room!

She knew she couldn’t do that, so instead she sat down on her hands to make herself unable to do as such. Her little bottle of bubbles was a pretty shade of pale yellow, lighter than her sundress was, and Meggie made herself watch Lilac as she opened her bottle and pulled out the bubble wand. Meggie made to copy her way of pulling out the wand but used three fingers instead of two and made herself get almost stuck inside. She pulled out her fingers and did it again, this time with only two and managed to get the wand out of the bottle. I hope that works as a start!? she thought as she watched Lilac closer, tilting her head to the left a tad.

“Igni Sintra” she said softly as she wrote it down with the rest of her notes before looking back up to Lilac as her wand tip nearly touched the bubble. She jabbed it and Meggie assumed the bubble would pop like the ones she and her mother had played with, but it did not do what she thought. Instead, the inside of the bubble was suddenly made of flames and Meggie’s eyes widened with glee at the idea of it. THIS is soooo cool! she thought as she tried so hard to keep her happiness at the prospect of what she’d soon be doing at an ebb. I can’t make it look like I understand right away. she repeated to herself over and over again to be sure it was in her mind.

Lilac explained to them that they could touch the bubble and it wouldn’t hurt them, but to be careful or it may pop. Notes appeared on the board behind her and Megan continued to write in her neat scroll everything that was put up behind Lilac. When Professor Brockert instructed them to go ahead and start she looked at the bubble wand in her hand and dipped it in the bottle as she’d ‘seen’ her Head of House do and blew into the soapy circle much too hard so that it popped before even making a bubble of it. “Hm…” she said to nobody in particular as she tried again. This time however, she lessened the power behind her blow, but blew upwards instead so all it did was move her bangs away from her forehead.

“Alright then…” she said, hoping that perhaps someone had seen the troubles she was having and come to her ‘aid’ even though she didn’t really need any help. She knew exactly how to blow the bubbles, but she didn’t want anyone to know that her mother had shown her something muggle like bubbles!

0 Meggie Brownbriar (Teppenpaw) Bubble, Bubble, Bubble, POP! 0 Meggie Brownbriar (Teppenpaw) 0 5

Aria

May 06, 2012 3:47 PM

Who flew to their tiny little witch mother! by Aria

Aria watched Gareth quietly as she assessed him and his reaction to her question. She didn’t find it all that outrageous to ask and he seemed just as curious about her as she was about this world. It was only this sense of curiosity that had her questioning the way things were run here.

She realized as he was talking that he had misunderstood her question. Aria knew why names were important here. Well, she might not have at first, especially with naming the states in which they were from, but after spending time with her roommates and in lessons with everyone else, she had grasped that Purebloods needed these introductions to place each of them by status. Her question was why such a thing was necessary. Her world evolved from those who did not want or need such status or demands. They were all equal and because of this, they lived in peace. The only time she had ever witnessed something that wasn’t peaceful had to do with outsiders. They often sell their organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs to people outside of the walls. This is how they made some of their money. Others had normal jobs. But most of their money came from their produce.

There had been a day when she had been allowed to help with the selling (Outsiders seemed to trust more when children were involved) and as she worked beside some adults, a group of young Outsiders came and began to hassle her and others of her community. They threw their hard work to the ground, destroying months of labor, made fun of them by calling them dirty or other similar things. Bad things. The adults advised the children to ignore the others. Told them that they were not educated enough to understand what manners were. This had only upset the Outsiders more and they drew blood from the adults. The adults of the community did not fight back. Community members are pacifists and do not believe in violence. Eventually, the Outsiders grew tired of their punching and tirades and left, leaving their stand in pieces and the adults half conscious. Aria had told a little one to seek help while she did her best to use the herbs to help mend the wounds until help arrived. Her mother and other adults came and helped levitate their members back home, safely behind the wall of the community.

Aria never went back to help with the selling of the produce. She was too scared. That had been three years ago.

Aria didn’t understand why status and names were necessary in this world when all it did was bring hate and violence. She was also a little miffed that he was warning her not to ask questions to others. She could handle herself just fine. “You misunderstood my question.” She told him lightly. “I understand that in this world, name means status and money, but I don’t understand why it’s necessary. My community works just fine with everyone being equal. More so than yours because we have no hate, we have no one who goes without. We work together. We’re happy. And she surely do not put people down because we feel like we’re allowed.” She told him, still with a light airy voice as though nothing really mattered.

She had expected more questions about her home, but the only one she did receive was a curious one. “You mean, leave the world outside the walls? Yes.” She told him matter of factly. “Maybe for different reasons, I cannot speculate on that. I know my parents willingly left and found peace within the community. Others might have come because they had no place else to go. And it’s not to say they can’t still maintain a connection to their friends and family outside of the walls, some still do. Most do not though because it’s the outside world that turned its back on them. Not the other way around.”

Now that it was her turn to try the spell, Aria was finding it difficult to poke the bubbles without popping them. She finally succeeded a couple of times, but didn’t say the spell fast enough before they popped. Finally, although it felt as though she had wasted so much time, Aria poked the bubble and spoke the spell, watching with glee when the fire erupted. It didn’t last long, certainly not long enough to bounce around, but she had managed it. “I feel like we’re doing something wrong. This seems very difficult.”

0 Aria Who flew to their tiny little witch mother! 0 Aria 0 5

Solomon

May 07, 2012 10:26 PM

...This isn't flying class... by Solomon

Solomon trembled underneath his desk even knowing that the bubbles were above him made the boy wonder if they would attack him from his hiding spot. He saw the funny looking spheres flying around the room and dead students everywhere, him standing alone. He saw them flying underneath the desk (even though they weren’t really there) and popping in his face, killing him. But what he didn’t see was the happiness in his other classmates with this assignment!

What Solomon didn’t understand was that the soapy bubbles wouldn’t harm him. His family (and all the others on the Island) handmade their own soaps. The soaps they made were not made to foam with bubbles, so the boy had no idea what little bubbles really were, so these big ones were terrifying to him. His people believed that the connection between soap and bubbles had nothing to do with how well the soap worked to clean their bodies. His grandfather believed that the major soap companies added too many unneeded chemicals to make them bubble up they way they did and those chemicals were not safe for his people. Grandfather also believed that homemade soap has more essential oils to keep skin softer and healthier than store-bought soaps ever could. Therefore, the Island had never seen store-bought soap as far as the first year knew.

Angel spoke, “Bubbles…not bad. They,” he started. “Soap! Bubbles is soap. Not good on eyes. Not bad, not hurt when not eyes.” Solomon looked at the lighter boy as he made a face similar to a smile, but not exactly like one he had ever seen before. But then the look faded almost right away again as Angel tugged on Solomon’s sleeve telling him that now was the time for spell, “Yes?

“The bubbles are soap?” Solomon asked Angel weakly. “They are used to clean? Not hurt?” His be-speckled caramel colored eyes looked into Angel’s red ones with confusion buried inside of them.

0 Solomon ...This isn't flying class... 0 Solomon 0 5

Brielle

May 08, 2012 12:38 AM

Why would I want to drink soap? by Brielle

Aubrielle smiled at the girl she assumed was older when she agreed with her about how awesome bubbles were and that her little sister used to blow bubbles like that all the time too, just like the younger Thorntons did to her. “Really? You have a little sister too? Just one? Or more??” she asked excitedly. She was so excited that she felt bad when she kept talking without giving the other girl a chance to answer her questions. “My sisters? I have so many of them right now! Well, Arista is the oldest. She just turned 16 right before school started. Addison comes next. She’s 14, she’ll be 15 in June. After Addi comes Amira, she’ll be 14 in April so she’s 13 now. Then comes Andri, she is 12 and will be 13 in January. I’m 11, but turn 12 very soon! After me, comes Abigail who is ten and coming here to school next year I hope. After Abi comes Analea who’s turning 10 in March. Then Airlea turns 9 on Christmas, Ariel is 7. Aislynn is 6, Alixandria is 5.Our only brother, Alexander is 4. Then my little triplet sisters are 2 years old and Momma’s pregnant again! She’s due at the end of the school year. The new baby will make 16 of us!”

Her cheeks flushed and changed into a bright shade of red almost to match Amira’s hair. “Sorry…” she said, having realized she hadn’t given her any time to answer her own original questions! “So tell me about your sister?” she said, trying to atone for her foolishness.

Once she’d answered her, Brielle made her comment from Willy Wonka and the other girl beamed and told her that she loved it. “I’ve seen the movie AND read the book!” she said excitedly, realizing once more that this would be a wonderful friendship! Not only does she love Willy Wonka, but she knows Amira and Clara! This is awesome! she thought as Waverly introduced herself by name and said that it was nice to meet her. B grinned when Waverly spoke highly of her sister and cousins and then mentioned her Baking Club.

“Baking club?!” Brielle said happily. “Really? That’s cool!” She loved baking, sure, she knew she wasn’t so good at it. But I’m better than Clara is! I’ve never set fire to our kitchen! she thought with a little giggle in her head. She loved her cousin like one of her siblings, and with love comes a little bit of making fun! “Your Mom’s a baker?! That’s even cooler!” she added, getting even more excited about the Baking Club and less interested in putting her flame in her bubbles that popped all around her.

“Oh, the lesson… Right…” Brielle said, finally realizing that her bubble wand had been dripping the soapy mess all down her arm. “Well, I guess all I need is water and I can take a shower, huh?” she said with a giggle as Waverly looked back up to the board to find the incantation once more.

"Igni Sintra," Waverly said and then blew a bunch of bubbles and said the incantation before poking her wand into the bubble she’d chosen. The bubble popped with her attempt and Waverly asked Brielle if she wanted to try now.

“Uhm. I guess so.” Brielle said as she dipped her bubble wand in her bottle. She blew lightly into the film of soap and one great big bubble came out of it. It hovered right in front of her and she reached her wand slowly towards it. “Igni Sintra” she said and jabbed her wand gently into the bubble. It didn’t pop! she thought to herself as she saw flames inside of her bubble! “No way!” she said. She reached for it with the palm of her hand and it popped right at the point that her palm hit the bubble.

0 Brielle Why would I want to drink soap? 0 Brielle 0 5

Waverly

May 08, 2012 1:54 PM

If your mouth was dirty? by Waverly

Waverly was beyond amazed as Aubrielle listed off all of her siblings. She couldn't even imagine having that many sisters. And they were all girls! She could feel the shock bloom on her face as Aubrielle's list of siblings went on and on. They must live in a huge house then. Waverly and her family only lived in a two-bedroom apartment and she couldn't imagine living with sixteen sisters! 'Did all magical people have a lot of kids?' she wondered. All of her friends and neighbors back at her muggle school only had one or two, maybe at the most three, siblings. There were a few only children, but the normal number of kids seemed to be two.

"Wow, that's a lot of sisters. And one brother." She blinked. "You're turning 12 soon? How soon?" She always liked knowing when peoples' birthdays were even if she sometimes forgot the dates easily. It was always nice to have someone ask, she supposed, or at least have someone remember. She was still a little blown away by the amount of siblings Aubrielle had.

"I only have one little sister and I'm the oldest." She smiled. "Her name's Wendy and she's super excited to come to school next year. I've told her all about it and how we learn about cool magic like this and get to know people easily in class." She smiled. "She's not as easily excitable as me, but gets excited about cool things like magic. My mom used to read us fairy tales before we went to bed when we were younger."

Waverly was really happy that Aubrielle thought having a baker for a mom was really cool. It was cool because she got lots of free baked goods that always tasted good. She also got to help out at the bakery too, though her mom had to get up way too early for Waverly's liking. "My mom sends me boxes of baked goods sometimes and they're so good. If you want, I could share them with you! There's always so much in a box." She could eat them all day, but she knew it wasn't good for her. She was maturing with her age, she noted proudly.

Waverly laughed at the soapy water going down Aubrielle's arm. "Or you can just use magic! Let's see if I can fix that." She cleared her throat, pretending to look important. "Scourgify!" she said, and Aubrielle's arm was clean and dry. "There!" She was happy that she was able to use magic without needing a professor looking over her shoulder to make sure she did it right. She just wished she could use it at home too. Oh well.

After her little mishap, she watched happily as Aubrielle's bubble stayed intact. The fire going inside was amazing, and she wanted to try it right away again. She blew another handful of bubbles, having never succeeded in learning how to blow one giant bubble, and brandished her wand again. This time when she poked her wand into the bubble, she was gentler, not trying to slice through it, and it didn't pop. "Igni Sintra," she said again, and a bright fire burst into existence inside her bubble. She was quick to pull her wand out, and the bubble stayed intact. "Whoa," she said, the fire dancing in her bright green eyes. "That's so cool!"

She poked her wand into another bubble and said the incantation again, watching a small fire start in that bubble as well. "This is so cool!" she squeaked, and did the same to a few more bubbles. Soon she had four or five bubbles with fires going in them as they floated gently around them. "Transfiguration is the best class ever!" She beamed at her partner.

0 Waverly If your mouth was dirty? 0 Waverly 0 5

Angel

May 09, 2012 11:51 AM

…oh… by Angel

Angel kept his crimson gaze down, not wanting to further upset the already distressed boy as he tried to calm him. For other children, calming down a distraught person might have seemed unusual, but for Angel it reminded him of years spent coping with his mother’s irrational fears. There had been days when he had to spend hours trying to coax the mad woman out of closets, from under beds, and once off the top of a tall book case when she was convinced that there were tiny creatures living in the carpet that would kill her if she came down.

Because of his previous experience, Angel was comfortable with the task of soothing irrational fears of seemingly innocent objects. “The bubbles are soap? They are used to clean? Not hurt?” The dark boy asked, his words still fearful.

“Yes.” Angel replied in spite of the fact that he had no idea what the bubble liquid really was or what it was used for besides making bubbles. Dealing with his mother for so long had conditioned the albino to say what ever was best to sooth, not necessary what was truth. Living with the Lady had put the final polish on Angel’s skewed perception of truth. Simply that the Lady was always right, even if she was wrong it wasn’t good to contradict her. Between the two females in his life, Angel developed a view of the truth that was unusual to say the least. Mainly that the truth was inconsequential, what mattered was what the other person wanted to hear. And if it would calm the boy to believe the bubble liquid was soap used to clean, then that is what it was, regardless of what it might actually be.

Pale fingers gave another small tug on Solomon’s shirt. “Is not bad…Professor not give bad.” Angel added in an effort to reassure the boy. Over the last term Angel learned that if they were going to be working with dangerous objects or spells the Professors would go into detail about the danger and how to avoid being harmed. The Teppenpaw wasn’t really inclined to trust adults, but he was a very keen observer of patterns in behavior. It had been necessary to avoid the worst of his mother’s mood swings and to understand when the Lady would be tolerant of his presence or not. Last term the pattern of informed danger had remained strong in each Professor, and it was something Angel hesitantly accepted as something to be relied upon.

0 Angel …oh… 0 Angel 0 5

Gareth

May 09, 2012 2:42 PM

Who patted their tiny heads! by Gareth

Gareth frowned as he opened his mouth…and then shut it again when no words were forth coming. The frown deepened slightly as he tried to figure out how to explain what every one else just knew. It didn’t help that her words seemed rather judgmental. Yes, there was friction sometimes between families, and even within families, but it really wasn’t as bad as she made it out to be. “Well that might work for a small community, but people must get angry sometimes don’t they? If everyone is equal then who is the one in charge? How are problems solved if everyone’s voice is equal?” He asked back a bit defensively, still unable to think of an adequate explanation for why his society was the way it was.

The idea of equality was a foreign one to Pureblooded society, to Gareth, who was part of a large family where they all differed to the Patriarch of the family, it was almost unbelievable for a group to function without that leader. Nothing would get done if the head of each of the five families all had the same amount of power. There would be no structure, everything would fall apart. And that was just one family, when you factored in all the other Pureblooded families, and the different levels of society in each country, it became an intricate dance of power that required people to differ to those above them to keep compete anarchy from breaking out. That was one of the major factors that many Purebloods had against accepting muggleborns into the society, they were not as willing to bow to society and accept their place in it. Instead they tried to threaten and tear down that structure, leaving chaos in their wake with their ideals of equality.

Gareth’s father felt that with the proper education, muggleborns could be accepted into society and find a comfortable place in it with out causing destruction. It wasn’t a belief that was held in high favor among many, but as an Auror, his father often worked with muggleborns and even muggles from time to time and knew they were intelligent, and not inferior, they were just ignorant of how things were.

The community that she spoke of did sound incredibly odd, now did a group of people who hadn’t fit well in normal society function together in a group where everyone was equal? It didn’t sound possible, but Gareth couldn’t think of any reason Aria would have for lying so it must be so. Gareth blew another round of bubbles as he thought about what she told him. Like his prior attempts, hers didn’t fair well, but her last try at least got the fire into the bubble for a few seconds before it popped. “Yeah, this does seem more difficult than usual.” Gareth agreed as he sighed and reached out to pop one of the bubbles.

0 Gareth Who patted their tiny heads! 0 Gareth 0 5

Brielle

May 10, 2012 12:25 AM

Why would it be dirty? I don't curse... by Brielle

Aubrielle listed all of her siblings and counted them in her head. Wow... she thought to herself as the full realization hit her of how big her family really is. I'm the fifth of almost 16... she thought as she tilted her head towards her left shoulder. The five bedroom house the Thorntons lived in now had a partially finished basement for the oldest four to live in as their bedroom. It was bigger than all the other bedrooms, which was important for so many reasons. Firstly, because the oldest four had more stuff and said they needed privacy from the littler ones. Brielle kind of resented that fact and wished that she slept downstairs too. However, she realized that soon Arista would be leaving the house and she'd get that chance.

That made B feel weird. When Ris graduates she's going to want to leave. Our zoo is too much for her, and I know it. she thought as Waverly mentioned the fact that she had a lot of sisters and one brother before asking Brielle how soon she turned 12.

"June 17th!" she said happily as her answer. She knew that it was around Father's Day, and that day had always been a rough one around their house the way their father treated his girls. However, for his Alexander, he would do anything. she thought to herself and her face fell just a little bit before she heard Waverly continue telling her about Wendy. B smiled to Waverly as she spoke about Wendy. The first year knew how the older girl felt about her little sister. She felt that way about her little sisters (and her older ones) too. "Wendy sounds really cool! I can't wait to meet her! And I LOVE fairy tales!"

Waverly went on talking about her mother and how she was a baker who sends lots of free baked goods to her. Also about how she'd share some with Brielle. "Really?" she said, a huge grin on her face. "That would be awesome!"

B realized that the soapy water was rolling down her arm and mentioned it to Waverly. Her partner told her that she could use magic to fix her little problem. "Really?" she said as Waverly cleaned and dried her arm with some spell. "Cool! How'd it do that?" she asked Waverly with even more desire to learn than before. Magic is REALLY cool! I'll be the best Elphaba EVER! she thought.

Waverly tried to make her fire inside her bubble, but it didn't work. So Brielle tried. It worked, until she tried to touch it. Then it popped. "Nuts..." she said as she shrugged. Waverly tried again and got it too.

"YAY! You got it!" she said happily for her friend and partner. B watched as the bubbles around them all got fire inside of them and the flickering made her smile and wish she was outside in front of a bonfire with some S'mores. Waverly made bubble after bubble light up with the dancing flames and Brielle could do nothing more than watch her friend and the beauty that was the firey bubbles.

"Transfiguration is the best class ever!" Waverly said and Brielle nodded emphatically.

"It sure is!" she beamed back to Waverly as she smiled to her.

0 Brielle Why would it be dirty? I don't curse... 0 Brielle 0 5

Waverly

May 12, 2012 6:59 PM

What if you ate dirt? by Waverly

Waverly was really glad for Aubrielle. She was a really good partner and super supportive. Part of it could be because she was a first-year, but she still thought it was nice of her. Some first-years could be stuck-up, who knew? Especially because Waverly was used to the prejudices, being muggle-born, and being teased because she was "weird" in elementary school, making friends was one of the joys of her life. She kind of fit in here at Sonora, being magical and all. She smiled brightly at Aubrielle.

"Do you think we can stop?" she asked, popping one of the bubbles with her finger. The fire in it died out as quickly as the popped bubble disappeared. "I just want to blow bubbles now." She smiled at Aubrielle. "Do you have a nickname?" she asked. "Aubrielle's a pretty name, but do you like nicknames? I guess I should've asked that question first." Waverly had never had a good nickname. Her parents always just called her "Waverly" and her sister "Wendy." Their names didn't hold much room for shortening or anything.

Waverly blew some more bubbles around, watching them happily as they floated around the classroom. "So," she started, wanting to get to know her partner better, "what do you like to do for fun besides blow bubbles and play with your sisters?" She smiled. If she had sixteen siblings, she would probably play sports all the time and want to play with them a lot too. She was already like that with Wendy. Sixteen more sisters like Wendy couldn't be fathomed by the second-year.

0 Waverly What if you ate dirt? 0 Waverly 0 5

Aria

May 15, 2012 8:41 PM

And then ate them!!! by Aria

Aria frowned at him. This wasn’t a normal look for her. Normally, Aria was rather content about things. She found herself frowning more and more as she continued her studies at Sonora. She wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing. She had forced herself a promise to stay for at least a year before deciding on whether she should stay at the school for good or not. His tone was what had her frowning. She wasn’t sure what she had said to cause the slight shift into hostile territory. It might have been subtle, but Aria had been observing people since she had first arrived and she had picked up on social queues pretty quickly.

She was tempted to smile when he assumed her community was small. In the vastness of the world, certainly they would be considered small, but the population was that of a relatively small village. Just because people didn’t always agree with how they lived or what they did, did not mean that there weren’t plenty of people who did and, therefore, joined them from time to time. Families blossomed behind the walls. Although they were always looking for new members to keep the population flowing, they weren’t by any means, a small group of people.

“We have a group of Elders.” Aria explained, watching the bubbles. “I’m sure there are conflicts, but not anything that causes terrible distress or burden.” She commented evenly. Aria was not privileged to everything that went on within the town hall building. Sometimes her father would tell her and her mother of the daily situations, but it was never anything remotely damaging. Usually just an angry dispute over a missing tool or a lover’s quarrel. Their lives were too basic and simplistic to worry about anything more than that. Besides, most people turn to meditation to resolve any hostility they held towards another. “The Elders or council members are elected by the people – anyone Of Age – and are and Elder for one year. They are either re-elected or another person is voted in. The Elders keep the town running and if a major vote is needed, all people Of Age have a vote. Like me coming to school. That was a community decision.”

All of this made sense to Aria and her community worked quite well together. What few problems there may have been, they were resolved without the community being effected. “Plus, we have morning prayer and meditation. For those who wish a clean soul and a balanced spirit, they will erase away all negative energies and begin anew.” She told him easily. She loved morning prayer and meditation. She continued to do it every day while at Sonora. Before breakfast, she left the confines of the school and found her spot in the gardens to do her ritual. It was quite refreshing.

Aria was okay with other people’s ignorance of what they thought of her family and community. She was equally ignorant, but she was at least willing to learn. That may not be the case for everyone here and she would have to accept that.”

0 Aria And then ate them!!! 0 Aria 0 5

Brielle

May 16, 2012 8:53 PM

Eww... Dirt? Why? by Brielle

Brielle was so excited that she had a new friend, and one that had just about the same amount of energy as she did was even better! B LOVED making friends, she always had. There was something about having friends that made the eleven year old excited. It helped if they had a lot of energy (which it seemed Waverly had tons of!) just like she did. Waverly smiled at her and Aubrielle smiled back with a very wide grin.

Waverly asked if they could stop as she popped one of her bubbles with her finger. “I dunno…?” Brielle answered as the fire died in the bubble she’d popped. “We can ask?” she added as an afterthought, but then Waverly asked if she had a nickname.

“I do like nicknames. My sisters call me Brielle or B usually, but sometimes people will call me Aubrie, but its rare…” she added. “Do you have a nickname? Or even something other people call you?” she asked, realizing for the first time that the name Waverly wouldn’t really shorten to much.

Waverly blew some more bubbles and watched them float around the classroom as she asked B what she liked to do for fun. “Oh, I love theatre, anything about theatre really. Especially singing though, I love to sing! You know, like on Broadway… Do you know Broadway?” she asked, not sure if Waverly knew anything about that. She hadn’t asked if Waverly was pureblood, or muggleborn, or even a halfie like she was.

0 Brielle Eww... Dirt? Why? 0 Brielle 0 5

Solomon

May 16, 2012 8:55 PM

...friends...? by Solomon

Solomon watched Angel as he tried to explain to the darker boy that the bubbles wouldn’t hurt him. The Island boy was still afraid, but when Angel replied Yes to his question of the fact that bubbles were just soap

Angel pulled on Solomon’s shirt with a small tug and explained, in his own words, that the Professor wouldn’t give them something bad. Solomon nodded slowly to the lighter boy. He knew deep down that Angel was right, but there was something about the unknown that scared the poor first year.

“Bubbles are soap…” He said again, “Used to clean.” He swallowed the beating of his heart and nodded to Angel. “Professor Brockert wants us to clean with flames?” He asked the older boy in a soft whisper as they still hid underneath the desk. He was still confused, but he was certainly less scared than he had been a few minutes before.

“I guess we have to go back up…” he said, getting a little bit louder than he’d been as of yet since the library incident. Angel had been there then too and had done nothing bad to him. He’d only been helping Solomon out then too. Solomon realized right then that Angel could be a very good friend to him and hoped that he would be.

“Will you- Will you be my friend?” he asked Angel, sounds of hope escaping in his words.

0 Solomon ...friends...? 0 Solomon 0 5

Waverly

May 19, 2012 4:29 PM

You never know...mud fights can get pretty dirty by Waverly

Waverly smiled. "I think Brielle suits you." She liked nicknames and was kind of jealous of people who could have a whole bunch of nicknames. Or at least could shorten their names. She shook her head when Brielle asked. "No, I don't. My dad calls me pumpkin sometimes, but he calls me and my sister that." Besides, that was kind of a "dad" thing. "I don't really need a nickname, I think," she continued. "You can't do much with a name like Waverly, unless you called me 'Wavy' or 'Lee' or 'Waver,' but that sounds silly." She giggled.

The Canterburys weren't really into theater, but Waverly could appreciate it. Her mom liked the movie The Sound of Music, but she'd never seen the musical. It was like her mom also liking The Lion King though she didn't see the musical. Her parents liked movies mostly and didn't like TV. They were kind of weird in that aspect, but Waverly loved them dearly.

"Yeah, I know Broadway," she said with a smile. "I don't know anyone who doesn't know Broadway. Well, at least muggles. Do pure bloods know Broadway?" she asked. Suddenly she lit up. "You like singing? That's really cool! I like singing too even though I'm not super good at it. My sister can sing really well though. I usually just play the piano." Waverly really liked being able to play the piano. She thought it was a super cool instrument especially because her mom was really good at it. Her mom was also a songwriter, though she never tried to publish it or anything. It was just fun. She really wanted to be like her mom one day.

0 Waverly You never know...mud fights can get pretty dirty 0 Waverly 0 5

Evan Brockert, Aladren

May 20, 2012 1:16 AM

Want some help? by Evan Brockert, Aladren

For Evan, Transfiguration ability was practically genetic. It was a subject that pretty much everyone in his family excelled at. His cousin Marshall was even a prodigy at it,which was a very good thing given all the stuff Evan's cousin had been through. The Aladren himself wasn't quite that good but he wasn't bad either. In fact, there was no subject that Evan was truly bad at though nothing he was anything special in either. That didn't really matter to him though, he had his artwork which did. He loved being able to creatively express himself, which was hard to do in pureblood society.

He gave the professor a big smile as she walked in late. She was, after all, family, albeit distant. Still, Evan wanted to be as welcoming as possible. He knew other students regarded Professor Brockert as a bit odd, but that never bothered the second year. There weren't all that many people he didn't like. Oh, it wasn't as if Evan was incapable of hatred, it was just that he'd so far been extremely lucky in the people that he'd met.

Besides, if the rumors were true, Evan was going to be a distant cousin again, and maybe that was why the professor was late for class. Maybe her baby could play with Kaylie's. After all, the second year was going to be an uncle a lot sooner than he would a cousin. Not that Evan wasn't already an uncle but he'd never actually met Arianna.It wasn't safe for them to interact with Chelsea.

He wondered when it would be. From what the second year understood, Fallon and Aunt Dorothea were still very angry. Evan knew this was awful for his mother, not only to be estranged from Uncle Henri who was her brother and Fallon's father, but to not talk to her daughter and her first grandchild. He wished things would just get better, he knew what Chelsea did was bad-a lot of things she'd done were bad, but on the other hand, she was every bit the pureblood lady-but didn't them loving each other count for something? Besides, either way, it wasn't his mother's fault.

Actually, Evan worried quite a bit about his mother. She seemed sad now, crying every time they left for school. It made the second year feel guilty about leaving but he really did want to go back to Sonora. He had at least Thad as a friend, as well as hopefully Aria now. Besides, he wanted to learn magic. It was very important for wizards and witches to do so, regardless of their background.

He grinned even wider when he heard the lesson. Evan loved bubbles, had always loved playing with them as a child. His mother often did this spell to amuse them. It made the second year feel nostalgic. Maybe he should write to his mother after this class.

Evan started to blow a bubble, waiting for one to form and pulled out his wand. He'd no sooner touched it and said the spell than it popped, which didn't really give the spell much chance to work. It was only logical that when something touched a bubble, it would pop. Bubbles were fragile things. Evan had no idea how the professor had gotten hers to stay.

The girl next to him spoke and the Aladren looked over at her. "Yes, it's kind of difficult isn't it." He replied. "I mean, touching something so easily broken." He gave the girl a friendly smile. "I'm Evan Brockert, of the Colorado Brockerts." The second year introduced himself, remembering to bow, as he'd decided the spell would be easier to try standing up.

11 Evan Brockert, Aladren Want some help? 212 Evan Brockert, Aladren 0 5

Thad Pierce

May 20, 2012 9:34 PM

Not Merlin's sake? by Thad Pierce

Thad shrugged when Clara asked what practical things his parents had entertained him with and then nodded as Cepheus answered for him. He had had all of the items mentioned; potions kits (not quite as miniature as was probably legal for an underage wizard, actually), brooms (kid-sized, yes, but without the height restrictions toy brooms generally had), and of course a great many books.

He shook his head at the question of whether he'd had toy figures. "No, but I had some educational games, too. Some of those I played with my parents and some I played by myself. I liked the ones that my parents played with me better because they would explain things in more depth than the game charms could." Though it had been fun to see how far he could go before he got something wrong. He had made bets and challenges against himself to make those solo games more entertaining. He had learned far more Latin because of those challenges with himself than he would have if he'd abandoned Little Latin Learner when he'd first decided it was kind of boring and the happy tone when he got a word right was not sufficient reward to really try hard.

Pierces could be rather fiercely competitive, though, even if it was only against themselves.

"My cousins, Annabelle and Annette, had dolls, though, so the practical things might just be a boy thing."

"Very good," he congratulated Cepheus when he saw his yearmate had managed a bubble finally, and managed a decent fire on the first try. Since his own fire had been somewhat less than stellar, he dunked his loop into the soapy solution again and gave another blow. This time, the bubble that formed was much larger than his last one, and it kind of just wobbled in place, moving mostly down with gravity than away. Thad poked it with his wand and cast again, "Igni Sintra!"

Flames filled the bubble in a brilliant conflagration. It sank down and popped against the desk. For a second, Thad was worried that the fire wouldn't extinguish itself, but then the orange glow faded even as the soapy residue dried on the desk surface.

1 Thad Pierce Not Merlin's sake? 213 Thad Pierce 0 5

Lucille

May 20, 2012 11:20 PM

Would you be so kind? by Lucille

It wasn’t until after she began to speak that Lucille noticed that the person sitting next to her wasn’t actually sitting next to her. As the boy – a second year, she thought; she hadn’t seen him in flying lessons – agreed with her, she tried not to wonder too much why he was standing up.

When he introduced himself, though, she had to think about it. Unsure of what to do, she stood, forced herself not to glance at the professor, and curtsied. “It’s – it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, trying and, she was sure, not entirely succeeding at seeming unaffected by how they were standing up and being different from the rest of the room. “I am Lucille Carey, of the North Carolina Careys,” she added before sitting back down, hoping that she hadn’t just broken a rule. Professor Brockert didn’t seem to be coming after Evan for standing up, but his name was her name, too. If there was a Professor Carey, somehow, then Lucille wouldn’t necessarily expect special treatment, but she wouldn’t be surprised by it, either.

Thinking of that, though, did do one good thing: it replaced the wave of anxiety that usually came with mentioning her branch name and having to wonder if someone was going to recognize it and say something ugly about her father – and what she would do if they did. Or at least it postponed that anxiety, and made it seem a little less stomach-twisting than usual. She forced herself not to smooth her skirt, not to fidget. It would not do to make that kind of impression on a young man from society, and one who was related to someone who might or might not be watching her here. She had to be a lady, and a lady was always poised.

It never looks as bad as it feels, she reminded herself, going back, in her mind, through times when she was sure she must have looked terrible, but no one had seemed to notice that anything was wrong. She could pull it off. She always had. That thought had its own anxiety attached, since she was afraid that someday she wouldn’t live up to her own record, but it was comforting, too. She hadn’t majorly failed yet.

“Are these lessons always so difficult?” she asked, then remembered, again, that he was a Brockert and might not like it if it seemed she was criticizing his relation’s wife. She tried to think of a way to make hard lessons sound complimentary in her reply to his reply while she waited on his reply. Something about a challenge, like they said to Mal, there had to be something she could do with the idea of a challenge in that…Her mind was just refusing to think of it right now, but she might still have thirty seconds to fix that in. She could do it. She was a Carey and a lady; she had to be able to turn it all around into a compliment.

0 Lucille Would you be so kind? 0 Lucille 0 5

Angel

May 21, 2012 7:53 PM

... by Angel

Angel tilted his head as he tried to puzzle out the question the dark boy asked. Professor Brockert wants us to clean with flames? He scrambled to find a way out of the maze and still keep Solomon calm and content. Contradiction was something to be avoided if possible, but there were times when it was required to guide the frightened one back to the right path. Leaving Solomon to believe they were intended to clean with the flaming bubbles would only end poorly as he attempted the impossible task. Words made everything more difficult. When coxing his mother Angel rarely spoke and he often wondered if the mad woman knew he could speak. Most of the time she believed him to be a ghost even though she could touch him.

After his mother’s death the Lady did not care to hear him speak, and didn’t need him to do anything but stay out of her way so he spent the majority of his time drawing or working a few hours a day with the tutor she’d hired to teach him to read and write. The tutor had been a fearful woman as well, but it wasn’t the mad fear of his mother, or the panic of this boy. It was a resentful sullen sort of fear that made her do the bare minimum to teach him and escape his presence as soon as she was able to each day. It wasn’t until Sonora that the albino had been forced to actually engage in conversations and attempt to communicate beyond a simple yes or no to sharply snapped questions or haltingly read long boring passages from textbooks.

He was learning, and last term taught him a lot about how to communicate and speak more than a few bare words at a time. “Bubbles is soap yes, but pretties. Not washing just, pretty too. Fire make more pretty.” Angel finally whispered as he struggled with the words to explain how a lot of spells were just for show without any real practical purpose. It was a learning exercise designed to teach young witches and wizards how to control their power in the same way that writing exercises taught children how to shape letters even though writing A a dozen times didn’t have a purpose outside of that.

“Friend?” Angel asked, unfamiliar with the word. It wasn’t one that appeared in his homework so he’d never had a need to look it up.

0 Angel ... 0 Angel 0 5

Gareth

May 22, 2012 7:36 PM

O.O Those poor little monkeys by Gareth

Gareth’s eyes went distant as he tried to imagine the rest of the Magical world working the way the Community did. It was impossible to picture. How a group of people could get anything accomplished when power changed hands each year was mind boggling. He was use to the idea of a Patriarch reigning over a family for a century or more if he held enough power to keep his offspring from attempting to take matters into their own hands. That was always a big risk, and one that nearly destroyed their family just two generations back when sibling rivalry spiraled out of control and wiped out nearly the full generation leaving only grandfather alive of the five male heirs.

“How do they relinquish power without bloodshed?” Gareth asked, his voice full of baffled curiosity. If a Patriarch became old enough and hadn’t met an untimely end, then he might opt to step down and allow the chosen heir to take control. Even then, the elder would continue to run things from the background for as long as he was strong enough to do so. Power wasn’t just something people slipped on and off like a set of ceremonial robes. No, power was often clung to with a ferocity that not even familial ties could overcome. That was a truth Gareth was well aware of, as his father’s heir he had to be even though at the moment his brother showed no interest in his position, that might not always be the case.

“Prayer?” He knew about meditation because his mother often meditated when she wanted to relax. But he didn’t know much about religions, and the little he did know didn’t sound quite like what she was talking about. The words sounded different from the vaguely remembered conversation he’d had with his father when Gwydion was investigating a case where a muggle family had killed their young daughter when they found out she was a witch. It had been a particularly difficult case, and his father often unburdened himself to his mother while it was being handled. Gareth overheard one of these conversations and asked why parents would do such a thing and the answer was that their God didn’t condone the use of magic, so the daughter had to be purified for her supposed sin.

0 Gareth O.O Those poor little monkeys 0 Gareth 0 5

Clara

May 22, 2012 10:09 PM

I guess not...lol by Clara

"What sort of toys did you have to entertain yourself with? Unpractical things?"

Clara pondered over Cepheus' question a look of puzzlement on the Pecari's face. She had never really had any real toys as she grew up. Sure she had a music box collection, but that had been something her mother had started her on when she was very small. The oldest one in Clara's collection is of an old fashioned merry-go-round horse with a purple sparkly saddle. When you wound it up it played "Happy Birthday" and twirled around. Sophia had given it to her daughter shortly after Clara was born. Clara kept it up on a shelf in her closet where she kept her other most valued treasure, her mother's jewelry box. Both items she kept on the shelf with her old leather bound books. She loved to pull down one of the old tomes and just get carried away with the story. Her favorite was "Les trois Muskateres'" by an old french writer whose name had long ago worn off of the cover and the pages.

Clara could sit for hours pouring over that story and being able to read it in french made her feel slightly freakish. She couldn't think of a single other 11 year old who spoke fluent french as she did (outside of France of-course). Her mother's doing. Her mother was also responsible for her riding horses and playing the violin. She was also taught to play the piano, but never really liked it much. She wondered how much of those things Cepheus would consider "unpractical", but then again unless she said something about it she'd never know.

"I didn't really play with toys," she told both boys, her brow furrowing a bit as she blew out a few more bubbles and sent them floating into the air. "I have like one antique doll that belonged to my mother, but I've never played with her. I've always been partial to horseback riding and playing the violin. I've been told I'm pretty good at drawing, but you know what they say about that. Sometimes you're your own worst critic," she teased herself lightly. "I also collect rare old leather bound books," she continued casually blowing more bubbles out of the end of the bubble wand. "My favorite is one called "Les Trois Muskateres'". It's actually written in french! The pages are worn and I have to be super careful with it, but its an awesome book."

She watched Cepheus make another attempt at his bubble and was very pleased to see him succeed. She nodded in agreement at Thad's praise of his accomplishment. "That is very cool Cepheus," she agreed cheerfully and wondered if she could do the same.She blew another bubble and made another attempt at flames. "Igni Sintra" she said again as she gently stabbed the end of the wand into the bubble. A bright blue flame enveloped the inside and instead of fizzling this time it actually stayed true. A very satisfied smile spread across the little red head's face. "This is beyond cool!" she expressed excitedly as she watched her flaming little shpere float around between the three of them.

"I wonder what's next?" she wondered aloud to her classmates, smiling widely at them as she watched the little flaming ball land lightly on her desk and pop. The flames fizzled themselves out, leaving a soapy film behind.

0 Clara I guess not...lol 232 Clara 0 5

Brielle

May 23, 2012 8:42 PM

Mud fights...? Pudding is better... by Brielle

Waverly smiled and told Aubrielle that the nickname Brielle suited her. “Thanks. I like it.” she said with a small shrug as her new friend answered her own question of if there was a nickname that she had. “Well, pumpkin could be considered your nickname then? Couldn’t it?” she asked the older girl. “At least for your Dad anyway.” she added as an afterthought just before Waverly continued and mentioned that she really didn’t ‘need’ a nickname.

“I know there isn’t really much you can do with that, but if you want one, I’ll bet we can come up with a nickname for you… We can also use what you like to do as a nickname too.” she said as a suggestion to her new friend. “Like Cook, or Cookie. Even Baker… ya know?”

When Brielle mentioned Broadway, Waverly said she knew Broadway and didn’t know anyone who didn’t. “It’s really cool, Broadway, I mean.” she said as she actually heard Waverly’s question of whether Purebloods knew Broadway.

“Oh, uhm, I’m not sure…” she said, wondering that very question herself right then. Her mind was still trying to decide Waverly’s answer when the older girl lit up with excitement about the fact that she loved to sing. “Yeah, I love singing. I was Logainne in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee this Summer. It was AWESOME!”

When Waverly mentioned that Wendy sang well and she played the piano, Aubrielle’s face lit up as well. “You play Piano?! We should go sing and whatnot in the MARS rooms the girls keep talking about!” Brielle was so excitable that many people would be scared by her energy, but she was almost positive that Waverly wouldn’t be scared away…

0 Brielle Mud fights...? Pudding is better... 0 Brielle 0 5

Evan

May 23, 2012 8:57 PM

Certainly by Evan

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Carey." The second year replied, as that or some variation of it was the customary and expected response. "You may call me Evan." There weren't any other Mr. Brockerts in the school right now-unless one counted Seth-but the Aladren knew there were other Miss Careys, and not only did he prefer to be called by his first name, the whole having an identity beyond his family thing as that was only part of who he was, but Evan wanted to be able to differentiate Lucille from Theresa in his class. Referring to both of them, as well as Autumn's friend Jane, as Miss Carey would get confusing.

He noted however, that Lucille seemed a bit nervous. Evan passed that off as possibly being about the spell though. The second year certainly didn't think of himself as the least bit intimidating. Chelsea and Nora were the intimidating Aladrens in his family. There was the possibility of someone being intimidated by the Brockert name, he supposed, but Lucille was a Carey herself and that put them on a similar social level. Furthermore, if the Teppenpaw had not been a pureblood of the same status, then she would not have heard of the Brockert family in the first place, therefore it was likely not that.

Lucille's next question led him to believe, however, that his thoughts about her anxiety being due to the class or perhaps this particular lesson. "Actually, I heard the lessons used to be worse." Evan admitted. There was nothing saying he had to defend a distant cousin's wife at least not on this level, nothing that said none of them could ever speak against another. Nina and Chelsea would never say a kind word about the other and there was a distant relative who nobody seemed to have anything nice to say about. Ditto Carrie O'Malley whom Evan wasn't quick to claim as a relative himself after Potions. Actually, he thought that distant relative might be her mother.

Anyway, the point was that Evan saying this about the professor's lesson wasn't a big deal. The Aladren went on "She actually used to have Beginners doing animal transfiguration." Which common sense told a person was too hard for a first year who'd likely never transfigured anything before-at least not purposely, there were quite a few members of Evan's family whose first bits of accidental magic were transfiguration-and especially those who'd never been exposed to magic at all. That was like throwing a person in the deep end of a swimming pool without teaching them to swim and not expecting them to drown. Only one person Evan knew of could probably have done it and that was Marshall.

He gave Lucille an encouraging smile, hoping to put her at ease. Just because the Aladren had a natural and genetic proclivity towards Transfiguration didn't mean it was that way for everyone. It was widely regarded as an extremely difficult branch of magic. Evan didn't want Lucille to feel uncomfortable because of it. "Would you like to do this together?" The second year asked. "One of us could blow the bubbles while the other uses their wand to do the fire part." Looking around the room, that's how others seemed to be performing the assignment.

11 Evan Certainly 212 Evan 0 5

Solomon

May 23, 2012 10:00 PM

...Please be my friend...? by Solomon

Solomon watched as Angel tilted his head to Solomon’s own question of the professor wanting them to clean with flames. Solomon wondered to himself what Angel thought of when he was so quiet, and one day the first year vowed to ask the older boy the question. One day… Not today… he thought as Solomon just looked at Angel. It wasn’t that the darker boy was just staring at the lighter one, it was more along the lines of the coffee colored eyes belonging to Solomon were looking into the red ones belonging to Angel. Solomon had always been taught to look into people’s eyes when they were talking to you, that it was the polite thing to do so he would do as such.

“Bubbles is soap yes, but pretties. Not washing just, pretty too. Fire make more pretty.” Angel whispered and Solomon looked at him, understanding finally what the professor had wanted them to do.

“Bubbles are pretty soap, but not to wash with? And the fire makes it more pretty?” he asked Angel softly, looking at the boy right into his red eyes. He waited for his answer and then asked him if he’d be his friend.

“Friend?” Angel asked almost as if he didn‘t understand what that word meant.

“Yes, friend.” Solomon started, wondering how to explain what a friend was to Angel. “A friend is someone who is there for you especially when you’re scared or in need of help. Someone who helps to get you out from under a desk when something scares you that you’ve never seen before…” he said, looking into Angel’s red eyes to try to see what his answer would be.

0 Solomon ...Please be my friend...? 0 Solomon 0 5

Lucille

May 24, 2012 7:22 PM

Thank you! by Lucille

“Of course,” Lucille said when Mr. Brockert said she could use his given name, and then felt her stomach twist again as it occurred to her that she couldn’t remember if it was proper to give a boy permission to use her name as well. Her brothers called her Lucille – half the time, actually, they called her Cilly – but they were, well, her brothers; they weren’t supposed to be proper with her, at least in private. She tried to remember anything she had ever been told about that as quickly as she could, and….

…Could come up with nothing, except once hearing Arnold call his pale-haired friend, the Crotalus girl, ‘Miss Fae.’ She thought she had definitely heard the girl call Arnold just ‘Arnold,’ but her cousin still used a ‘Miss,’ if with what Lucille was fairly sure must be the other girl’s first name. The question was whether or not that was normal, or if it was just a quirk of Arnold’s, since he didn’t seem like much of a guide for what was proper behavior in a young gentleman most of the time. The strange thing was, to her, that so many people seemed to like him anyway, even though Mother had always insisted that being the slightest bit improper was the first step toward being despised and alone for all of your life.

But then, he was male, and the rules were looser for boys. Merlin only knew how many things Mal had gotten away with over the years that Lucille had been punished for. There could, apparently, be serious social consequences for boys who were too far out of line, too, but girls definitely had to worry more.

“I’m Lucille,” she said, before she could think about it anymore, justifying it to herself since Theresa was in this class. Merlin knew she did not want to be mixed up with Theresa. She didn’t know how Theresa might take that, since she often, to Lucille, seemed sharp-tempered – another thing Mother would never have let Lucille get away with, but then, Theresa’s mother did not seem to look after her children very well, and the South Carolina Careys did not have such a terrible scandal to overcome as the North Carolina Careys did. Her cousins, male and female much more alike than they were at home, anyway, could all get away with more than she did because they had less to prove. Less to make up for. Less to keep hidden from everyone around them, forever, no matter what the cost of doing that was.

“Oh, my,” she said faintly, distracted from her frantic attempts to think of a way to twist saying something vaguely negative about a Brockert into a compliment by the revelation that the lessons used to be even harder. Lucille didn’t know enough about Transfiguration or animals to be completely sure about the example he was giving her, but she took the tone to mean that it really was very hard. “I suppose we should be glad, then. Though I suppose it’s good to be challenged sometimes, isn’t it? That’s what my brother’s tutors always say about it.” Mal, of course, had never agreed – her brother was not very disciplined, sometimes, Lucille thought – but she didn’t see what good could come from mentioning that.

She wasn’t sure that Evan’s solution for the problem of how to make the bubbles and the spells both work was going to work, since the bubbles would still be flimsy and she would still have trouble making them, but she knew she had a duty to get more acquainted with other people from society, and while part of her was nervous about making a fool of herself in front of someone else directly, it did sound nice to have someone to help, or at least commiserate with. No one at Sonora had been unpleasant to her yet; that was the important thing to remember. “All right,” she said with a practiced smile. “May – may I try the spell first?” Since that was something she didn’t know for sure that she was very likely to fail at yet, it seemed like as good of a place to begin as any.

0 Lucille Thank you! 0 Lucille 0 5

Cepheus

May 24, 2012 11:01 PM

You can see what I consider important. by Cepheus

Perhaps it was a boy's thing to have practical play things. The toys he'd received had been geared to educate him in order that he might run a household one day as it had been expected of him all his life. His toys encouraged his imagination, his ability to follow instructions, and an interest in Quidditch. Having grown up with no sisters and close female cousins, Cepheus hadn't known what girls played with until he met Emma and Georgina. Even then, by the time he'd met them, they'd outgrown most of their toys or their mothers had forced them to start taking their practical lessons to become ladies. Dolls did, however, seem like something a girl would play with, but Cepheus could only take Thad and Clara's word for it.

"You can speak French?" Cepheus asked curiously. "I've been learning French since I was around seven. I used to have a tutor, but starting last summer I'm going to visit my relatives in France for a few weeks during the summer to learn." Before he'd started school, he'd had a tutor whom he'd hated. It had made his lessons go very, very slowly. The tutor had finally quit when Cepheus was nine after Ceph, his magic beginning to surface, had caused three French textbooks to fly out the window. It had been a proud moment until he realised he would have to visit Aunt and Uncle Fitzroy and his spoiled brat of a cousin. It was one of his regrets in life, though going to France every summer was pretty cool.

Clara's interests were similar to the other girls he knew. "One of my best friends takes painting lessons," he said, "and she's a girl." He'd never had to take drawing and painting lessons and he considered himself lucky. "I also think I've read the English version of that book. The one with three, but really four musketeers in France, and the 'all for one, one for all' bit," he added. The sword fighting and all was pretty cool, though he hadn't fully understood all the romance going on. The proper manners that the musketeers exercised were still intact, at least for old pureblood families, that was for certain.

Horseback riding had been less of an option, horses being a muggle animal. Clara's blood was very difficult to discern for him. She did muggle things and seemed to be familiar with these muggle toys. Cepheus didn't want to outright ask her, and he couldn't very well ask his father because she sounded like an American and his father didn't know any American purebloods. He would have to continue playing it by ear or, if it was really too ambiguous, ask her outright. If she was a pureblood, she would most likely be a bit offended, but eventually forgive him. At least, she seemed like that sort of girl.

"We just sit back and relax now, I suppose," he said, doing just that and blowing a few more bubbles. He poked into one with his wand and lit a flame in it. This flame fizzled out quickly, though the bubble was still intact. He tried again with another one, suddenly bored. The second try was successful and he watched it float by.

0 Cepheus You can see what I consider important. 0 Cepheus 0 5

Evan

May 27, 2012 3:16 AM

You're welcome. by Evan

He smiled pleasantly at Lucille, hoping she felt more comfortable now, though Evan didn't know if he'd actually done anything to make it so. The Aladren tended to be fairly calm himself, but he knew plenty of anxious people. Adam was uncomfortable in social situations especially and Autumn definitely had some issues with it-among other things, apparently-as did Evan's brother-in-law, Ian. Plus, his mother was really nervous and overprotective when it came to the safety of her children.

However, the second year didn't especially want people to feel that way. It seemed to lead to problems for them that Evan didn't want them to suffer for. His brother seemed so... bitter now and Autumn had even been hospitalized. Not that that was for anxiety but she was definitely an anxious person overall.

Still, hopefully, Lucille was starting to relax some. She seemed to be slightly more at ease and that was good. Maybe the fact that Evan had allowed her to use his first name made her more comfortable with him. Honestly, he didn't know who had started this protocol for calling each other 'Miss' and 'Mr.' So and So. The Aladren would have hated to be in a situation where he was talking to two people with the same last name of the same gender and have them not know which he was talking to. Evan supposed that fact might have had something to do with why Adam was not Clifford the Fourth or James the Second or something. Though there had been a Clifford the Second, his father's older brother who had died in an accident at age fifteen, making Evan's father the family's heir.

Lucille seemed quite different from the other Miss Carey in their class too, Evan noted. Then again, he didn't really think he was that much like most of his siblings. He was calmer than Adam and, well, nicer than Chelsea for example. The Aladren doubted that he was much like Arabella either. His immediate relatives pretty said that there was nobody like Evan. He didn't entirely think that was really an insult, at least he hadn't taken it as such. Technically, no two people were ever exactly alike, even identical twins-though off the top of his head, Evan could only think of two sets of identical twins, a pair of distant cousins and a pair that had gone to school with his brother that Adam really hadn't said that much about though at one point the second year had heard something about Great-Grandfather wanting to betroth the Crotalus alum to one of them, before Adam started dating Serenity and Adam seemed to strongly prefer one over the other because she was nice and her sister was like Chelsea. Which, Evan supposed, meant they were very different from each other. Chelsea was his sister and he loved her, but she certainly wasn't nice .

As for Arabella, the second year was a bit surprised that nobody had ever asked him if they were twins, even though they were likely very different. Just because they were in the same year and had the same last name. Evan turned back to Lucille. "Of course." He replied. "I was thinking that if one of us blew the bubbles, the other could keep their wand up in order to jab it and perform the spell. If you want to do the spell first, then I have no problem blowing the bubble. Maybe we can even sit down." He'd actually only been standing up so the desk wouldn't have been in his way when he tried to draw his wand. If they were going to take turns, Evan could see no reason to remain standing and once again took his seat.

11 Evan You're welcome. 212 Evan 0 5

Lucille

May 28, 2012 12:34 AM

So...shall we, then? by Lucille

The idea of them both being seated again – of not drawing unnecessary attention over here, in other words, even if Professor Brockert did see a Brockert before she saw some Carey girl not doing what it was proper to do in a classroom – was enough to bring another smile to Lucille’s face. She knew it wasn’t exactly what her mother would like for her to do, but she also knew that the best way for her to avoid gaining a bad reputation was to just not draw attention to herself in any way, not to even try to draw it to herself in a good way more than she could help just by doing her work correctly; if she tried to be anything more than another anonymous student, she might do it wrong, and then she might end up like…most of her close family, actually, which was nothing like a good thing.

She wondered, for one fleeting moment, who the staff thought she was. She didn’t look like a Carey girl – none of the North Carolina branch did. For some reason, where the rest of the family was usually very dark, enough that Arthur and Theresa both had hair and eyes she thought were closer to black than brown, the North Carolina branch all had dark blonde hair and blue-grey eyes, and though her grandmother’s side of it was as dark-haired as the rest of the family, the Georgia Careys were strange, too – Morgaine’s darker complexion could have been passed over as not breaking type if not for her unusual light eyes, but her former sister and their brother made her seem like she fit in again, with Gwenhwyfar having even lighter coloring than Mal and Edmond having, of all things, red hair, which Lucille didn’t think she’d ever seen on anyone else born a Carey.

Being a North Carolina Carey had never been prestigious, and it had only gotten worse since her father had first acknowledged his child with a Muggle – though they were supposed to just say that Amber had been illegitimate, and make it seem like her mother had been some sort of basically pure but unimportant person – and then died…the way he’d died, but Lucille thought she would rather that anyone who remembered them notice that her coloring was closer to Amber’s than to think she looked like Gwenhwyfar, or was from the Georgia branch. Her former foster-sister had been very beautiful, where Lucille knew she was not, but she would also rather be plain than first kidnapped and then, if she had put together what her mother was really saying when she made comments about the matter correctly, killed because she was too broken for the family to help her and they couldn’t let her walk around still in that state.

“I think that’s a good idea,” she said, trying not to think like that. She wasn’t going to end up like that. “If I may say so.”

Doubts about whether it was came back, though, as she took out her wand looked at it. She pushed them down. She was a Carey, and whatever kind of Carey she was came in second to that when it came to magic. Her family was powerful because they had magical skill; without that, they would have been trampled on by some other family who wanted all the other things they had many years ago, even before they moved to multiple states. There were some Careys who were…flawed in other ways, ways that meant they could not be kept, but no one had ever been inadequate when it came to magic. Not once, anywhere, in the histories of the family she had been taught had anything like that been mentioned. They were Careys; they were strong. Even the other kind of flaws were not, she truly believed, common; she had been born into the midst of troubles, but the family went back so far that there hadn’t been a country here when they arrived. One little rough patch didn’t mean anything.

“Ready?” she asked Evan, smiling again. She could do it. Everyone else could, and they weren’t even – mostly, she amended, glancing at Jay and the two second years – Careys. It was going to be fine.

0 Lucille So...shall we, then? 0 Lucille 0 5

Evan

May 30, 2012 7:46 PM

Of course by Evan

Lucille smiled and Evan was glad. He generally didn't want people to be unhappy-he supposed if he weren't an Aladren, he might have been a Teppenpaw. Which would have been all right, they all were very nice people, though he didn't know the ones in his own year well, though Angel seemed even stranger than people thought Evan was. Still, Hope and Aria were nice. So was Kaylie. He supposed it went with the territory though. Just like how Aladrens were smart. He and Nora and Chelsea all were, but then so was Adam and he'd been a Crotalus. Same with Autumn.

Of course, just because Aladrens were smart, didn't mean others weren't. It's just that Aladrens were. They were more focused on schoolwork than others, usually. Evan didn't know anyone more focused on studying than Autumn though. Last year she'd been so obsessed with CATS. Possibly to the point she'd put that ahead of eating, but Evan didn't think so. He didn't really understand her problem but he knew it was serious.

Still, he was glad that Lucille seemed more comfortable, even possibly happy. "Why, thanks." Evan replied. The Aladren was sort of an ideas person. Though his were usually more about using items in creative and different ways. He did have a tendency to see things uniquely. In a way, Evan was kind of proud of that, but he generally didn't like to brag. Bragging was kind of obnoxious and he rather wanted to be well liked though it wouldn't crush him too much if people didn't like him. Still, Evan would rather be not accepted for being eccentric than being completely rude to others.

Besides, it wouldn't for a Brockert to be obnoxious,especially towards other purebloods, which most of the school was. It didn't reflect well on the family as a whole. Chelsea could be, but she was just fortunate to have been in a year group with people like herself. His own wasn't like that. Evan couldn't think of any second year from a Family that was. Maybe Cepheus a little but to the Aladren, even he really didn't seem too bad.

Evan nodded. "Ready." He took the bubble wand and began to blow, happy to see that it had least worked. Hopefully Lucille would get to try the spell before it broke. Bubbles were really fragile things when one thought about it.

11 Evan Of course 212 Evan 0 5