Professor Lilac Brockert
June 16, 2012 12:33 AM
Prairie appropriate athletics [Third, fourth, and fifth year by Professor Lilac Brockert
Without ever really announcing, it was still fairly obvious that Lilac and her husband Seth were expecting. By now, it would have been impossible to hide, not that she wanted to. She was quite proud of her new, growing family, even at the cost of her waistline. She’d find her way back to her old wardrobe eventually, and for now, she tried her best to enjoy the ride, as difficult as it was sometimes; it seemed like a professional soccer team was trapped in her womb.Speaking of soccer, a collection of soccer balls took residence in the Transfiguration classroom on this fine day, one per student. The balls were of course inflated, and it had taken some effort to make sure none were about to roll off. The brown-haired professor pulled open the door, what with class a few minutes away, before returning to her seat. Her students knew how to enter without her hovering there, plus any minute off of her feet was appreciated.
The patter of feet stole the thirty-year-old professor’s attention, and soon enough, it quieted down, with every pair beneath a desk. “Welcome, everyone,” grinned Lilac. “Today, there are soccer balls on your desks. In case any of you don’t know, soccer is a Muggle sport.” She kicked one out from underneath her personal desk and into the air, bouncing it on her knee gently for a moment before grasping it with her left hand.
Her right hand aimed her wand. “Listen closely,” she instructed. “Amadgio.” A purple jet shot from the tip of her wand, and what was formerly a soccer ball was now a small armadillo, squirming nervously about in her hand. On the board behind her were—as usual—the basic notes, giving the pronunciation (ahm-ah-GEE-oh) and its function.
“Work on getting your soccer balls to become armadillos,” Lilac continued, “and then, if you have time, you might want to begin brainstorming.” Pause for dramatic effect. “I’m giving you an extended assignment, but you’ll have the rest of the year to complete it. I want three feet of parchment on what you’ve learned this year and what the practicality of it all was. I assure you; even my ‘silliest’ lessons have had purpose.” A mischievous something flickered in her grey eyes. “On the essays, you may work together so long as each of you turns in a copy.”
“If no one has any questions on Amadgio, you may go ahead and begin. On the essays, I will be accepting questions one-on-one at basically any time during the school day, so come see me.” She nodded mostly to herself, mentally confirming she had covered everything. Remembering one thing, she added, “Oh, and please, do be gentle with the armadillos. They frighten rather easily.” On that note, she set them lose to work.
OOC: I’m sure by now, you big kids know all the rules. Long, descriptive posts get points for your House. Godmodding and grammatical errors—not so much. If you could, please put your character’s House in your author box. It’s super handy for me when giving out points. Tag Lilac if she’s needed, and try to enjoy yourselves. Happy posting!
Subthreads: I'm doomed by Sullivan Quincy, Pecari with Jhonice Trevear, Pecari, Sullivan Quincy, Sully
Athletics I wouldn't avoid. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan - Aladren with Valentina Bentancourt, Josh McLachlan, Valentina - Teppenpaw
I like sports by Derry Four, Teppenpaw with Nora Dobson, Aladren
Relieved by Ryan O'Malley, Crotalus with Addison Thornton, Teppenpaw
Oh dear, this is not good. by Brianna Japos, Crotalus with Paul Bennett, Crotalus, Brianna
Hi, I'm Eliza, and I think I'm going to lose it soon.... by Eliza Bennett, Crotalus with Valerie Lennox, Crotalus, Eliza
Crunchy on the outside, smooth on the inside. by Michael Grosvenor with Mellie Goodwin, Pecari
Supposedly, no athletics are appropriate for a lady. by Hope Brockert, Teppenpaw
Soccerballs and armadillos by Arista Thornton, Teppenpaw
Class closed (nm) by Prof. B.
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Professor Lilac Brockert
Prairie appropriate athletics [Third, fourth, and fifth year
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Professor Lilac Brockert
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan - Aladren
June 20, 2012 5:10 PM
Athletics I wouldn't avoid. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan - Aladren
Five minutes early to class. It was nice to be back to his regular schedule. The holiday was horribly long and boring with absolutely nothing to do. Of course, he had taken long walks through the gardens, had gotten aquainted with the Labryinth Gardens especially, and had poured over the books in the library. He had been working on his spells and potions in his empty room as well. It had been rather nice having an entire dorm room to himself. He was glad that classes were beginning again, though. If nothing else, the Aladren loved to learn.He sat down at an empty desk in the center of the classroom; it was perfect for him to see what was going on and also avoid having the professor talk to him directly. There were round balls on the desk which he examined curiously with grey eyes. Transfiguration was always an interesting subject, though Professor Brockert was sometimes a little too enthusiastic about the subject for his taste.
Class finally began and he paid acute attention. He wrote down the strange spell as well as the pronunciation. Copying down the exact notes on the board took a little while, but he finished by the time she started talking about their extended assignment. The thought of a project excited Josh slightly. Things had been looking up since Cecilia had sent him that long letter over the holiday. Maybe it was his attitude towards his otherwise cursed life till now that changed.
Being related to the family who did more than just dabble in dark magic and being an outcast both in Australia at his old school and here at Sonora had not been his choice, but that's how things had turned out. Josh knew that he had to make things right here, though. The rest of his life was going to be surrounded by the dark cloud once his uncle kicked him out of the house. Josh had no parents and so had no inheritance to look foward to. When he turned seventeen, he would be on his own and the thought both frightened and delighted him. As for now, he would have to learn as much as he could and not gain enemies on the way.
Josh decided to start brainstorming for his project later. First, to turn this soccer ball into an armadillo. He pointed his wand and did well to follow the instructions. He was meticulous when it came to wandwork and potions which was part of the reason why he had such a talent for both. "Amadgio," he said curtly, watching as the purple jet came from his wand and engulfed the soccer ball. The ball rolled slightly and gained the tail of an armadillo. He blinked at it and cleared his throat, his unfriendly eyebrows frowning. "Amadgio," he said again, this time focusing his mind and his body into the spell. There was the familiar feeling of magic going through his body and the image of an armadillo in his head. The ball was transfigured into an armadillo, but the poor creature couldn't walk correctly. Something had gone wrong, but he wasn't exactly sure how to change it back.
Josh furiously flipped through his textbook for the counter-spell. With a flick of his wand, the armadillo was a soccer ball again. He should remember the spell to turn all things back into their original forms. He readied himself again. Since his voice had changed to a much deeper sound, his voice had taken on a husky tone. That had gone away some now, and all that was left was the deep voice still coated with a Scottish accent tinged with Australian. Unique. "Amadgio," he said, and the armadillo appeared all rolled up. It poked its head out, blinking, and unraveled. It took a few wobbly steps and Josh quickly scribbled down the exact feelings and steps that he had taken. Then the next time he could perform this spell correctly again.
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan - Aladren
Athletics I wouldn't avoid.
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Maximilian Joshua McLachlan - Aladren
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5
Valentina Bentancourt
June 24, 2012 11:08 PM
Sports are nice by Valentina Bentancourt
Valentina had a lot of things to think about in the upcoming days. The concert was coming, and she wasn’t near ready for it. The Spaniard had started practicing more, but the months of procrastination had taken their toll. She was out of shape, and she didn’t like it. Not to mention that Madame Dupont was going to eat her alive. That woman lived, ate and slept ballet, and she didn’t understand anything outside of it. The fifth-year had been like that before she had started dating Marcus. Her boyfriend had become a welcomed distraction, and Valentina had found herself spending as much time as she could with him. Marcus had unconsciously become the center of her life.The blue-eyed girl wasn’t very proud of how her life had been focused on her boyfriend, because it was important to maintain a balance of everything, and her life had a lot to balance. Valentina had dancing, singing, studying and her boyfriend, but she had been too wrapped in the happiness that came from being around Marcus that nothing else mattered. Even her studies had suffered.
She sighed at the prospect of hearing her mother lecture her about her poor performance in every aspect of her life, but there was nothing she could do now. The damage had been done. Her mother was going to help her out with her father, she was sure of that, and Valentina was hoping she didn’t have to deal with him in the very near future. That was the epitome of everything that wasn’t fun. Explaining to her father that a boy was involved would cause quite the riot in her house, especially because of his background. Her mother had approved, but Emiliana was more liberal than her father.
The Teppenpaw yawned as she entered the class. She didn’t do anything to stifle it, because she had a rough night and had barely slept. Valentina rubbed her eyes and looked around to see if anyone she knew could help her out. She didn’t see anyone, but the new kid was alone. She thought it would be nice to say hi, especially because both of them were foreigners and he could help her with the class.
She went to him, “Hi! I hope you don’t mind the company or helping me out.” Valentina smiled at the boy. “I am Valentina Bentancourt.”
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Valentina Bentancourt
Sports are nice
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Valentina Bentancourt
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Josh McLachlan
June 28, 2012 5:02 PM
It's nice that someone appreciates them by Josh McLachlan
Josh was somewhat surprised when someone approached him. Apparently his reputation didn't keep everyone away. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing. "Do as you will. I'm Joshua McLachlan." If she cringed at his name, he wouldn't take offense to it. Back in New Zealand, most of the purebloods avoided him because of his name. His relatives in Australia, America and Europe had practiced enough dark magic to make even the name suspicious to most who knew it. When his family disowned him for whatever reason they made up, he wanted to change his name if anyone would let him."The project's a little difficult," he told her. After the closure he had gotten from Cecilia's letter, he was making more of an effort to be less standoffish and more, well, conversational. To an extent, of course. It was impossible to undo what had already been done his first term here, but he could try to be less cold to his peers. Cecilia would want that and though he couldn't ever speak to or see her again, he could be influenced by her even without her presence. The thought made his chest ache and he pushed the thoughts away quickly.
Josh performed the counter spell on his curious armadillo, then pointed at it in his textbook for Bentancourt to see. "It'd be helpful to turn objects back into their original form in case you mess up." Josh peered at her through sharp gray eyes, appraising her slightly and unconsciously as he did so. "Do you need help with the spell?"
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Josh McLachlan
It's nice that someone appreciates them
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Josh McLachlan
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Valentina - Teppenpaw
June 29, 2012 5:50 PM
Yep. by Valentina - Teppenpaw
Transfiguration was the class that always gave Valentina a headache. She had to work extra hard to even scrap a passing grade and the fact that CATS were at the end of this year made her cringe. She had too much to worry about, and her mind had been wrapped around Marcus. Now that she thought about it, most of her time was centered on her boyfriend. She gulped as the full realization hit her. She was probably going to fail her CATS due to lack of study. Her mother wasn’t going to be happy about this, especially because Alex had managed to graduate and he was sort of dumb. She sighed.The Pureblood girl looked at Josh, “It is a pleasure to meet you.” Valentina had been living in the USA for a few years now, but her Spanish accent was still as present as ever. She fancied her accent as what set her apart from everyone at Sonora. There were very few foreigners, and she liked it that way. She was special in a way, and she loved feeling like that.
In the USA her family wasn’t shamed and it was a nice change to say her last name without causing people to walk away. Coming to the USA had been the best idea her father had in a long time. She still didn’t know why they had moved, but now she was happy about it. Her life had changed dramatically. Valentina even had friends in Boston.
“I hope you don’t mind helping me, Josh. I do need help in Transfiguration,” the Spaniard smiled. She needed to start studying otherwise she would need to repeat the year and that would be awful and embarrassing. The assignment that Professor Brockert had given them was rather complicated, and she was having a difficult time with it. Valentina was sure that the professor had gone crazy and decided to make their lives difficult. Her classes usually weren’t this hard.
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Valentina - Teppenpaw
Yep.
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Valentina - Teppenpaw
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Josh McLachlan
July 02, 2012 7:37 PM
So... by Josh McLachlan
Spanish. Well, that was comforting. Between her accent and his, it wouldn't be too hard to understand each other. That was sarcastic, by the way. Josh hesitated before shrugging. "Sure, I guess." He wasn't too keen on this social interaction, but it wasn't like he was agreeing to tutor her outside of class or anything. He pointed at the counter-spell he thought she ought to know. "Remember this spell," he said. "It'll help when you mess up."Then Josh flipped to the page that described the Transfiguration charm they were working on now. "You just make two circular motions with your wand and point at the ball. Concentrate on imagining an armadillo appear. You have to really concentrate."
Josh wasn't very good at explaining what he meant, so he decided to show her. She could read more about it in the textbook. He was a little peeved that she had asked for his help before even trying the spell, but he didn't say anything. Some people just didn't have the confidence he had in his magical abilities. He made two circular clockwise motions and then pointed his wand at the ball. The image of the armadillo unfolding was clear in his head and the ball transformed as it should. The armadillo was once again unraveled and began to toddle around as armadillos do. He quickly turned it back into a ball before it got any farther.
"Want me to show you again?" he asked, looking over at Valentina for the first time since he started his explanation. He enjoyed teaching, he was surprised to find, but maybe it was just because he knew he had succeeded in this. It was...easy. Being something like a professor was definitely not what he was interested in. Having to stand in front of the classroom and teach children...ugh. No, learning in the classroom and doing his own work was more his area.
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Josh McLachlan
So...
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Josh McLachlan
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Valentina
July 05, 2012 8:59 PM
Yes? by Valentina
Josh’s accent sounded a lot like her father’s, so it was sort of easy understanding it. Valentina hesitated about furthering her interactions with Josh, since he seemed to be a little peeved about helping her out, but he hadn’t said no. So, the Teppenpaw shrugged it off and that maybe Josh had been having a bad day or something. Plus, she couldn’t really refuse any help, even when maybe it was being given unwillingly. She desperately needed help in order to scrape a decent grade on her CATS.Her eyes briefly wandered to the place he pointed and repeated the spell a few minutes in her head. It was the counter-spell and it was going to help if she messed up, which was more than likely. It always took her a couple of tries before actually having a decent outcome.
The way that Josh explained it made it sound like an easy task -- it was obviously easy for him – but Valentina was sure she was going to have trouble with it.
Flick wand two times in a circular motion, concentrate on the armadillo and say the spell.
She smiled getting the basic of it. The Spaniard was smart, but she still needed to practice and concentrate on her studies. Being focused on other things throughout her schooling was detrimental to her grades, though she was still smarter than Alex. Her older brother had always been a jock.
Valentina clapped silently in celebration of Josh’s success. The armadillo toddled funnily on the desk before going back to being a ball.
“I think I got it,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. She bit her lower lip in concentration, wiggled her nose and pointed her wand to the ball that had previously been moving around. Valentina mentally went over the instructions a few times before actually attempting the spell.
flick wand two times in circular motion Check.
concentrate on the armadillo Check.
”Amadgio” she said.
However, what was supposed to be now a fully functional armadillo was now a soccer ball with a leather armor shell. The Spaniard prodded it with her wand the thing just rolled off the table. She sighed in frustration. The Teppenpaw bent down to pick it up and then placed it back on the desk. Ironically, she was able to undo her bad transfiguration. “Would you mind doing it again, please.”
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Valentina
Yes?
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Valentina
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Josh McLachlan
July 11, 2012 8:08 PM
Working hard by Josh McLachlan
It was difficult for Josh to grasp how people didn't believe in magic. Muggles, for one thing, didn't. Though Josh still wasn't keen on spending time in the Muggle world, he was able to tolerate muggle-borns the way his family members could not. Or would not. Still, believing in something like magic, something that could not always be explained, was essential in Josh's life. As logical as he was, magic was his blood and therefore he believed in it.He wished he could explain this all to Valentina, that she just had to really see and visualize the armadillo in her head, but he couldn't articulate it. Besides, it sounded crazy even in his own head. "Certainly," he replied instead, focusing on the armadillo in his head. He thought of each and the leathery armor of its shell, its nails and little paws, even the little hairs under its chin. He thought of the organs that would also have to be created, and all the workings of an armadillo. Having never come into contact with an armadillo, he'd had to really look at its picture carefully.
"Amadgio," he said, flicking his wand twice in a circular motion. The ball changed into an armadillo once more, this time fairer and more realistic-looking than the previous two. Josh was pleased with his work and turned to Valentina, unsure of what else to say. "Just visualize it in your head," he told her finally. He was enjoying teaching more than he had thought he would. "Study the appearance of my armadillo if you must." Transfiguration was definitely more difficult than other subjects because it was so detailed, but Josh enjoyed it immensely. Especially when he got to be the teacher.
Working with other people didn't come naturally to Josh. He was a solitary being to begin with who wanted to be accepted without having to "know people" to get it. He wanted to earn respect from his diligent work, not from the people he knew and his family name. Of course, he wasn't exactly earning any respect at this school, nor had he earned any from his previous school. But someday, Josh promised himself, he would earn the respect he so deserved. He eyed his armadillo who was toddling around now, observing everything, not yet familiar with the idea of predators and prey. 'Lucky you,' Josh thought to himself bitterly, and waved his wand, moving the armadillo back to the center of the desk.
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Josh McLachlan
Working hard
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Josh McLachlan
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5