Declan Chatterjee
September 27, 2006 3:41 PM
First lesson: 1st and 2nd years! by Declan Chatterjee
Declan could only imagine, he reflected as the first students began to trickle into class, just what the first and second years thought of the classroom itself. Every centimeter of the walls that wasn’t hidden by windows, doors, or bookshelves was plastered with posters of stars, comets, nebulae, planets, and diagrams, both Muggle and magical. The ceiling had been enchanted to show the night sky all day—at the moment, it displayed the typical January constellations. On each desk lay a cut-out of one of the eight extraterrestrial planets.Soon the chairs were mostly filled and the room was full of the typical pre-class chatter, and the young professor moved away from his desk and towards the door. One last late student stumbled in, mumbling excuses before Declan could close the door and begin the lesson. He tutted good-naturedly.
“Let’s try to be on time, shall we?” he asked the class as a whole. He clapped his hands together, then. “Well then, as we’re all here, let’s get started. I’m Declan Chatterjee, your new Astronomy professor—you can call me Professor Deck, if you like. As I understand it, Professor Dione left off with the solar system, correct?” he looked to the second years for affirmation. “Well, we’ll cover a bit of that in the beginning, just to put the first years up on the same footing as you astronomical veterans. You may all notice a vaguely circular image on your desk, and some of you may have correctly conjectured that that is, in fact a planet.”
He smiled at them. “Now, those of you who keep up with Muggle news—and I’d suggest you do, at least Muggle astronomical advances, as we will be discussing them in this class—may have heard that their classification system no longer has room for Pluto as a planet. In this class, we will be treating Pluto as a planet, simply because the magical planetary classification system differs wildly from that used by Muggles. So ‘My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas’ will still serve you well in my class.
“For this lesson I would like you to group up according planet—therefore, Mars with Mars, Uranus with Uranus, and the like—and compose a list of everything you know about said planet. These can be scientific facts, Muggle or magical, or mythological stories associated with your planet, or magical properties it might have—anything and everything is fair game. The group that knows the most about their planet will get a reward at the end of class. Does everyone understand? …Good. Now, get started!” he made a little shooing gesture with his hands and grinned at the scraping of chairs and babble of voices that ensued. This teaching thing really was quite fun.
OOC: Hop to! I’d like to have someone do each of the planets—let’s not have ten people on Venus and neglect poor Neptune. And keep in mind that Earth was not one of the options. Other than that, you know the drill: a good length (at least two decent-sized paragraphs), and keep it realistic!
\n\n
Subthreads: Mars by Saul Pierce with Professor Deck, Professor Deck (and a cameo courtesy of Leo Idoya), Echo Elms, Elly Eriksson, Anonymous, the girl EE
I like Pluto by Grail Markner with Leo (and just a little Gil), Nikki Ramirez, Leo (and a little Professor Deck)
Venus over here! by Elly Eriksson with Caedence redoak, Elly
Neptune by Echo Elms with Saul
Jupiter by Eavan Valentine with Gil Idoya, Eavan, Leo
Mercury Group by Helena Layne with Devian Dupree, Devian
Saturn by Ginger Silverstein with Amber Carey, Adam Brockert
0
Declan Chatterjee
First lesson: 1st and 2nd years!
11
Declan Chatterjee
1
5
Grail Markner
September 27, 2006 8:04 PM
I like Pluto by Grail Markner
Walking into class, for once happily, Gray started humming a tune. She was happy because she remembered who the teacher was. She remembered the snowball fight and the cool Professor who helped then. She was sure to pay attenion in this class. Besides, Gray remembered back at her old school how much she liked science. And astronomy was a science, she knew that. So it was like she actually knew something here. After all, there was no way Astrnomy could involve too much magic.Sitting down, Gray pulled out a notebook. But when she got into what Professor Deck was saying, she didn't really take notes. Oh, she read about that. The Pluto planet thing. She was wasn't fond of that, it was all because of that other "planet" found that was just like Pluto or something. It was good she could call Pluto a planet here.
And based on what they were doing, she would be using it. Pluto. Standing up, she looked around at people. Which one looked like a Pluto? Hm... should she shout out? No, she was in no way going to yell out if anyone got Pluto. But she heard someone else say it! Where did that come from? She moved a bit to where she heard it and tapped someone on the back, looking around still.
"Uh... hey," she muttered quickly. "Uh... did you say Pluto?" She noticed she was still tapping and quickly pulled away. She could feel her sisters laughing at her. She wanted to tell them to shut up, but in no way would she let them ruin her okay mood. Nope.\n\n
0
Grail Markner
I like Pluto
1487
Grail Markner
0
5
Leo (and just a little Gil)
September 28, 2006 9:18 AM
I'm sure you do. by Leo (and just a little Gil)
For once, the Idoya twins were both looking forward to the same class. Usually Gil was dismayed at any class that didn't involve being outside--and those were few and far between--while Leo enjoyed just about anything. Astronomy, however, was something they could both enjoy.Some of Leo's fondest memories were of his older cousin, Joaquin, sneaking the then-very-young twins out of the house at night to show them the stars and tell them the stories of all the constellations. Last summer, Leo had done the same thing with his little sister, Mercedes, and their cousin Isabela. Now when he went home over the summer, he could teach them even more.
He listened attentively to the professor's speech, and found himself almost smiling. This Professor 'Deck'--Leo would, of course, refer to him properly by his surname--was a character, all right; if Leo had heard the rumors correctly, he'd also participated in one of the over-break snowball fights. A glance to his right showed him that his twin was grinning widely, gazing up at the professor in obvious admiration. Leo rolled his eyes a little and shook his head discreetly, fingering the paper disk on his desk. Pluto?
When the professor had finished explaining the assignment and told them to get into their groups, Leo stood, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder again. "Hey Gil," he said, holding out the planet, "this is Pluto, right?" Gil had always been more into the solar system; Leo was usually distracted by the stars.
Gil barely had time to nod an affirmative before someone was tapping his shoulder--rather insistently at that. Leo winced as the intruder's forefinger beat what he was sure would come to be a tiny circular bruise into his shoulder. He turned, mismatched eyes glaring, before he stopped and blinked in surprise. "Uh... hey. Uh... did you say Pluto?"
Grail Markner? Grail was his assailant? He almost laughed out loud with relief. It certainly could have been worse; he could've been partnered up with that Tallow boy again, and he did nothing for Leo's personality. He allowed himself a small smile and nodded. "Yes, I have Pluto too--I think." He looked back at Gil, who hurriedly completed the nod.
"Hey, Gray," Gil said before picking up his books. "Well--I'm off to find my group," he added with a grin, waving a paper version of Jupiter. "I'll see you later."
Leo waved him off half-heartedly before turning back to Markner. He looked at her for a minute, but couldn't think of anything to say, so he turned his attention to the seating arrangements instead. Scooting around her, he dropped his bag next to the empty desk on her other side and slid into the seat, then looked up at her expectantly.
"So... um," he said eloquently, taking out a piece of parchment and his eagle feather quill. "Hi."
Dear Merlin, he was an idiot. Just pretend it's Mercedes, he thought. Another little voice interrupted, then. Ha. Mercedes didn't see you wipe out spectacularly, and then have to half-carry you up to the hospital wing. No... she didn't. But do it anyway. With a small sigh, he gave in, and smiled a little more at Markner. "Do you see anyone else with Pluto, or should we get started?" he asked, quill poised above the parchment.\n\n
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Leo (and just a little Gil)
I'm sure you do.
0
Leo (and just a little Gil)
0
5
Gray
September 28, 2006 5:24 PM
How would you know by Gray
Oh. Wow. Leo. Leo Idoya was the one who said Pluto. Oh, okay. Nope, she wasn't looking around strangely and blushing because he was her partner. Nope. No way. That was just her way of reacting to everything. That was what happened to her when she spoke. Right? Right.He was her friend. She had no reason to blush. Was this redness in the cheeks because she remembered her worrying spaztically over his fall? That could be embarassing. Or was it because she didn't know him that well yet? Another reason. She waved a hello to Gil and turned back to her wandering.
"Maybe it's because..." Libby started to say. Grail shot her sister's thoughts down right away. Nope. Eleven, she was eleven. Nope, Libby's half finished statment was stupid. Mhm.
My, was she glad when she could sit down. Her legs were weird all of the sudden. Was anyone else with Pluto? It didn't seem so. Most people were already getting into groups of the more well known planets it seemed. She didn't see too many people still thinking now.
"I say we start now. If anyone else wants Pluto they can come over here then," she muttered opening her notebook. She rumaged through one of the pockets on her jeans and pulled out a balpoint pen. Most magical people used quills, but Gray was used to putting her writing objects in her pocket. Quills got ruined and she couldn't stop the habit, so pens for now.
"Once again, you're probably the only odd one. It happens all the time. Go ahead, tell your new friends what a loser you are! You're always odd, and not just with the pen..." Grail once again tried to shove Chali's comment out of her head. She wasn't acting crazy now. Not in front of people.
She forced herself to flip to a blank page in her notebook and scribble the word Pluto on it. She then forced herself to make eye contact with Leo. "So, where should we start?"\n\n
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Gray
How would you know
1487
Gray
0
5
Leo
September 30, 2006 12:11 PM
Call it a lucky guess. by Leo
Oh, no.To say Leo had expected Gray to greet him with open arms would be a complete and uttery fallacy, not to mention ridiculous--he knew very well that he wasn't well-liked, not even by shy, good-natured Markner, who had helped him when he'd hit his head in the Cascade Hall. But what he'd been expecting--obvious regret for sitting at a desk with Pluto, possibly some rolling of eyes or heavy sighs--definitely was not what he got.
What is it, he wondered for not the first time since coming to Sonora, that makes girls so weird? Gray's eyes were darting around the room, and she was blushing brilliantly, and when she spoke it was in this oddly forced, choked sort of voice--and she could barely manage to meet Leo's eyes! Since he was a small boy, he'd been trained to be able to read people--it would be a necessary skill once he became the patriarch. But really, there was just no reading this girl. He couldn't puzzle out her reactions and put them into a neat category for anything he tried. So, in true "Gil" fashion, he simply gave up and stowed his confused thoughts away.
He did eye her pen, though, as she took it out and began to write. Very few purebloods used such writing utensils--Leo himself saw them only rarely, sequestered as he was on the Idoya family ranch when not at school--so that meant Gray was either a Muggleborn or a halfblood, right? Not that it matters, he quickly reassured himself. He wasn't becoming his grandfather. Really, he wasn't.
"Well... I don't know too much about the planets," he admitted. "But I do know that Pluto is the smallest and the coldest," he wrote these down on his own list as he spoke, "and that it has a weird orbit. Um... it's moon is really big in comparison, isn't it? And that's called Charon, like the ferryman. Oh, and Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld." Generic knowledge, all of it. Stuff that even little wizarding children knew. "Gil's the one who really ilkes the planets," he said, his version of an apology for his ignorance.\n\n
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Leo
Call it a lucky guess.
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Leo
0
5
Gray
September 30, 2006 3:15 PM
Really hate the enter button by Gray
Gray noticed him looking at the pen. She knew it was a little odd. Her carrying her ballpoint pen and not a quill, but it was just the pen was so much easier to her. It was at least stronger than a quill, and Gray tended to press down on a paper with the point when she was thinking. This caused the first quill she used to break she was thinking so hard. Also her second quill got ruined when she put it in her pockets. So it was back to pen for her. She had recieved some odd looks for it, but she supposed it wasn't that strange since no one questioned it."Why are you thinking about your pen?" she heard Libby ask, truely questioning, in the back of her head. And libby had a point. Why was she thinking about her pen? She should be thinking of Pluto and Leo. The two she was working with. Not the pen.
"That's okay," she smiled when he mentioned Gil being the planet person of the family. It sounded more of an apology, so she had said the okay. Actually, she didn't even know the mythology of any planet until last year. Her teacher was big on mythology, and not so much on actually teaching. That had made her a bit angry, but she got over it. She did know a few more things important though from last year. She pulled the paper over to her.
"Pluto was also discovered completely by accident," she remembered, writing it down, "they predicted it to be a planet that was messing with Neptune's orbit. Or something." That was how they found planets, she remembered. Looking at known ones for changes. Alterations. "I think it also has two other tiny moons, but I don't know their names," she muttered and looked up at him.
"How does she know all this?" Alice snorted.
"No life beyond it," Libby muttered. All three laughed. Gods she hated her sisters so much. Even if in the back of her head they weren't real.
"Uh, is there anything else?" she asked, letting her eyes dart around at the other groups for a few more seconds before she looked back to her pen and pushed her blonde hair back. She did know more, about how every couple hundered years or so, Pluto and Neptune switched places. About it being part of the Kuiper belt and a few other things, but Libby's comment made her a little nervous to say anymore. She didn't like being a know-it-all, it made her seem weird. And that's how Libby made her feel then.
And now that she thought about it, she felt even lower. An imaginary voice that acted like Libby mad her depressed? She really was crazy. And stupid.\n\n
0
Gray
Really hate the enter button
1487
Gray
0
5
Nikki Ramirez
October 03, 2006 4:17 PM
Imagine a snowball fight on Pluto, brrrrrrrrr! by Nikki Ramirez
When Nikki entered Professor Deck's class she was excited. Finally, a class with the teacher she suspected would quickly turn out to be her favorite. He had already proved himseelf a cool teacher, quite literally in fact, when he participated in the snowball fight with hrself and Gray. She smiled at him when she entered, half expecting him to say something along the lines of "Hey General." She had been meaning to ask about Pluto not being a planet anymore, as she had read in her last letter from Mami and Papi, that it was a subject of interest around tthe ranch because Benito's school was telling him that it wasn't one any longer, (Nikki's eldest brother was a Squib and threfore weentt to a Muggle school.)But the Professsor beat her to it.When Professor Deck had finished telling them about the assignment, Nikki looked around, she saw Gil with that VAlentine girl, maybe that was the girl Leo had been teasing his brother about. Speak of the devil, Nikki thought as the older Idoya twin caught her eye, and he was talking with Gray. Now that was convenient. She walked over to her friends. As she neared she had to restrain a laugh, they actually were speakinig of the devil, well sort of.
"Pluto the Roman god was the younger brother of Jupiter and Neptune." Nikki said quietly, hoping that the groups with those planets couldn't hear her. "Many people think he was the worst of the three since he was the god of the underworld, but he was actually the best. Some peeople put statues of Pluto out with their decorations for The Day of the Dead. It's a hispanic holiday to honor our ancestors and all." she explained to Gray, not sure if the other girl would know what she was talking about.
"The other two would sleep with women and trick people. Pluto did kidnap one girl, and brought her to the underworld, I can't remember her name, but that was the worst thing that he did. Pluto's Greek counterpart was Hades." she shrugged, "Benito had to read Metamorphosis, by Ovid, so I read it too, it was quite interesting."
"As for the actual planet, it was found in the 1930s I believe, and was named by a young girl, who submited a suggestion that it be named that because of thhe namesss of the other planets. The Muggle cartoon Mickey Mouse, has a dog named Pluto, who was named so because he was created shortly after the discovery of the new planet."
"The Astronomical Division of the International Confederation of Wizards is working with the American, Mexican, British, Chinese, German and Russian space programs and the Department of Experimental Charms, to see if the ice on Pluto can be used for potable water, potablee means safe to drink." Nikki didn't know if that explanation was necessary, but she often found she needed to define words she frequently used due to her extensive vocabulary, and tendency to use it. "They also want to build a penguin reservation there in the future. Of course, they may have to wait for Muggle science to catch up. I believe they're currently doing research at the Nasa Langley Research Center in Virginia."
She smiled at her friends, blushing slightly. She was definately an Aladren.\n\n
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Nikki Ramirez
Imagine a snowball fight on Pluto, brrrrrrrrr!
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Nikki Ramirez
0
5
Gray
October 03, 2006 7:26 PM
Not in the mood for that kind of cold by Gray
Gray sighed, looking over her shoulder for signs of escape. She could sneak out of here and risk making a fool of herself. Or a know-it-all. Like her sisters said. Were saying at this moment. Well, not them, but her insane mind making up her sisters. Truthfully, she really liked Leo, and didn't wasn't really scared he'd think she was crazy, she was just scared that... okay she was scared he'd think she was crazy. She was already thinking she was crazy herself. She didn't need any more than that. Hm... maybe her hands should stop shaking now? There, that was better.Now her eyes moved around the room slower, more casually, when they landed on the face of Nikki Ramirez. Her roomate and friend, as well as Leo's. Now, she knew both of them, why was she shaking? Because Nikki wasn't afraid to act like a know-it-all, unlike Grail? Because nothing seemingly intelligent was leaving her mouth about now? That everything of intelligence was actually leaving Nikki's instead? That she didn't feel she was smart enough to belong in Aladren? Yeah, that about covered it.
Apparantly, her sisters were also listening, except they didn't feel the shaking fear and little jealousy Grail did. They were actually laughing. Grail was glad it wasn't at her for once. "Now she's almost as bad as you Grailie, at least you shut up once in a while!" Chali smirked. Grail physically clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh joy, as if she couldn't look more like an idiot.
"How does an eleven year old even know that much?" Alice asked, genuinly confused. Grail resisted the urge to shrug, and in her mind, moved over to Alice's side. She seemed less likely to say anything cruel to her or Nikki.
"Her name was Proserpine. She was his wife," she muttered quietly, not even sure she spoke it loud enough, there was so much noise in her head. "In Greek she was Persephone, but in Roman it was Proserpine." Should she speak up? Should she say more? She sure knew more. "Uh, also, he was son of... Saturn... I think." That one came out as a squeak. And the details on the desk looked pretty interesting at the moment. "And the... the metal named after pluto, Plutonium, is radioactive. They say it's very deadly by itself and deserves the name of the God of Death." Now she should stop. She'd said too much, and now Chali was cracking up. Joy.
She bit the inside of her lip. Spit something out! Prove you belong in Aladren with Nikki. "And, while it is the smallest planet, it is only the seventh smallest named body next to..." she had to pause her lightning quick speaking here. She always forgot this part. She went slowly, pronouncing each syllable in the names. "Our moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, and... Triton?" Dang, it came out more as a question. She looked up and at both Leo and Nikki. "Uh, and I don't know anything magical about it." Why would she?
"Because you're stupid?" Libby grinned?
No, she shouldn't be expected to know anything about the wizarding world. She was Muggle-born, not any others. And she really needed her sisters to stop ruining her new social life.
"It's not just us, sweetie, you help too by letting it bother you," Chali had laughed again. She needed to stop that.
But crap. She was right.\n\n
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Gray
Not in the mood for that kind of cold
1487
Gray
0
5
Leo
October 04, 2006 1:21 PM
You're shivering as it is. by Leo
Leo was about to add a few more facts after Gray finished, but was distracted when he noticed out of the corner of her eye that her hands were shaking quite noticeably. He frowned a little and glanced back up at her questioningly, but the question was stopped on his lips as Nikki Ramirez joined them, and proved herself once again to be a perfect fit for Aladren. His worries were only compounded when he noticed Gray clap her hand to her mouth. He turned partway towards her, seriously concerned now. Was she going to be sick?Once again, though, before he could make up his mind to inquire after her health, she was speaking about the mythical Pluto. Leo scanned his mediocre knowledge of the planets and realized that he didn't really have anything to add that the two roommates hadn't already said. Instead, he bent his head and obediently copied the list out onto the parchment. He'd had six facts; both of Grail's speeches had come out to about seven, if he split some of the mythological stories correctly; and Nikki's added up to nine. "That's twenty-two facts so far," he said, sounding as close to pleased as he was ever likely to. "I don't really know anything else about it... well, nothing relevant, anyway." Knowing that Pluto had lured Prosperine with pomegranate seeds probably would not count, he surmised.
Instead he glanced over at Gray. "Merc--Markner," he correct himself hurriedly, and mentally cursed himself. He'd been thinking of her as his sister so successfully that he'd very nearly called her Mercedes instead. He dropped his voice then and leaned a little closer to her, his mismatched eyes, one gray-green and the other clear blue, focused on her hands. "Are you all right?"\n\n
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Leo
You're shivering as it is.
0
Leo
0
5
Gray
October 04, 2006 7:28 PM
Out of fear rather than cold by Gray
She was glad she'd spoken up now, despite her sisters making fun of her in the back of her head. She had helped with their facts and now they were practically done. But what to do with the notes now? Hm... Professor Deck hadn't said what to actually do with the notes. Hands still shaking a bit she picked up the notes, what Leo had put down. Everything that Nikki and Gray had said. Thinking about it, Grail realized she hadn't said that much actually. Picking up her pen, she wrote their names at the top of the paper. Overlooking the handwriting of hers, it seemed scrawly, her hands were still shaking. But right now it was more of an after effect of her sisters' teasings.It took her a second to catch what Leo was asking her though. Mainly because he had said her surname, she wasn't used to that. In fact, she'd always rather be called Grail than Markner. Markner was what Libby was called, since she played so many sports at the moment. And Gray sure wasn't Libby, and never hoped she would be. A mutter in the back of her head told her insane-Libby thought she was a huge screw-up to the family. Oh joy, more self-confidence washed down the drain.
She nodded to Leo, still looking at the marks on the table, not really wanting to meet his eye. She figured no one would have seen that little movement, so lightly she spoke up. "Uh... yeah. Fine." No way was she telling anyone how crazy she was. Not even Nikki or Leo. She tugged lightly on her dirty blonde hair, glad neither of her friends knew this meant she was as nervous as hell. "J-just a little... cold," she nodded. Cold was a good excuse for shivering. "A little cold." Then she looked up at him. Gray had a good feeling if she didn't say something about the surname thing he would keep saying it.
"Could you... not call me that?" once it came out of her mouth, she realized how cold it sounded. Her eyes widened slightly. "I mean... I..." she looked at Nikki then down again. "It just... people call my..." sister Libby...",sister that." Good. She was finished.\n\n
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Gray
Out of fear rather than cold
1487
Gray
0
5
Nikki
October 05, 2006 3:36 PM
Good Thing I Can't Read Minds, Or I'd Be Killing Both Of Y by Nikki
Nikki couldn't help but get a little jealous at the kind way Leo was treating Gray. What about all that stuff beefore the fight. Hadn't there been...no sh wouldn't think that. She was too young to think that. She was only eleven.Leo got up and started walking towards Professor Deck, apparently going to turn their assignment in. "Leo," Nikki called, "Come back here, we can think of some more stuff by the end of class. Now come on, we don't havee much on the magical properties, let's try and think of some more." She closed her eyes, trying to think, "Now what was it Julio said about the rocks?" she asked herself. \n\n
0
Nikki
Good Thing I Can't Read Minds, Or I'd Be Killing Both Of Y
0
Nikki
0
5
Gray
October 05, 2006 6:11 PM
Not me, it's Chali you have to kill... please by Gray
Gray couldn't say she wasn't surprised when she noticed Leo stand up to take his robe off. And even more surprised when he put it over her. Her shaking died down a bit, but she didn't believe that when she said she was cold, that he would actually help her. Making her feel a little more... safe? From who? Her sisters? Either way, safe sounded like a good word for it. And while she was still shaking, it wasn't as noticable as before. She actually hoped it wasn't noticable at all, she didn't want Leo (or Nikki for that matter) to worry again.She did feel a different sort of... air? off of Leo now though. He seemed a little frustrated, especially while slipping the peper out of her hands to carry up. She didn't know what to say to get him to come back, they may need something more, so she was very glad when she heard Nikki do it for her. Even if it did cause teasings from her sisters at her inability to speak.
She decided now wasthe time to keep quiet, however, seeing as she knew nothing about any magical properties. She figured Leo and Nikki could handle that, and if they needed her (which they probably wouldn't) they could talk to her.
"Look who isn't a know-it-all smarty anymore!" Chali hissed at her. Gray tried to ignore her sister and pulled Leo's robe tighter around her.\n\n
0
Gray
Not me, it's Chali you have to kill... please
1487
Gray
0
5
Leo (and a little Professor Deck)
October 05, 2006 6:27 PM
Happy to oblige. by Leo (and a little Professor Deck)
Leo had only just turned away from the nonplussed professor and the crazy Pecari when Nikki's voice sailed over the general murmur of other voices, calling him back to the group. Apparently she'd remembered something else. Leo turned back to the professor only to find him halfway across the room again; he dodged between a few desks and chairs and beat Chatterjee to his desk."Beg pardon, sir, but could I have the papers back? I think Nikki remembered something else," he said quickly, eyeing the papers in the professor's hand.
Professor Chatterjee--honestly, 'Deck?' How absurd!--looked marginally surprised to see Leo back at his elbow, but obligingly passed the paper over. When Leo had the papers, though, he looked up to see a small smile on the professor's face; Leo barely stifled a scowl. Really, this man was far too much like a grown-up Gil for anyone's good. "You keep an eye on those girls, Mr. Idoya," he said with what Leo supposed ought to be a jocular wink, though with Leo's sense of humor, it just came across as more annoying than anything else.
"I do, Professor," Leo answered with great dignity and maybe just a little attitude, before heading back to the group. He handed Gray her paper back before plopping tiredly down into his own seat. "All right... magical properties?" How had he managed to forget all about those? Useless as a Muggle, honestly.... "Well, it's obviously closely tied to death and rebirth. It's a good planet to pay attention to when you're doing complex transfigurations." Joaquin had told him that. "And I know it's got a very masculine presence. Good for the Dark Arts, too."\n\n
0
Leo (and a little Professor Deck)
Happy to oblige.
0
Leo (and a little Professor Deck)
0
5
Nikki
October 05, 2006 8:15 PM
*takes sip of drink, spits it out, and looks suprised* YOU! by Nikki
((OOC: Leo is Deck! Deck is Leo! Dios Mio! ugh that was not intended to rhyme. I feel like I've been played. Wow! Not expecting that were you Gray? I'm so shocked I'm laughing! E.S. why didn't you tell me?))While Leo was gone, Nikki turned to Gray, "I know how you feel about your sister. My eldest brother, Benito, is a Squib. I think I told you that. Anyway, he teases Julio and me because we're different. And he got our whole grade school to tease Julio as well, I didn't start school until Benito was in sixth grade. But you know what? I think he's jealous because he and Mami can't do magic, and everyone else at the ranch can."
She turned to see Leo talking to Professor Deck. He was being, well, Leo. She was astounded. This was the cool teacher. He had been in the snowball fight with her and Gray. He had made Nikki feel very proud when he had complimented her brother. He was letting them work in groups on a fairly easy assignment. And Leo was giving him, "the glare."
But as Nikki thought about it, Deck, she had taken to calling him just Deck in her head, like she had done with some of her teachers in primary school, was a lot like Gil. Maybe it was one of those things that fell under the every expanding, "Ramirez's Theory of Leonardoism."
Leo returned with the paper and started spewing off magical properties of Pluto. Apparently,he had forgotten about that.* "Death and rebirth?" Nikki asked, "I remember Julio saying something about it being linked to premature death, but I thought he was just trying to scare Benito. Of course he was at Youmens by then, so it might be true. Do you know Leo?" she didn't pause long enough to respond, because she remembered something else. "And divinition. All heavenly bodies are used in divinition."
*OOC: Honestly you created this assignment, how could you forget to do part of it?\n\n
0
Nikki
*takes sip of drink, spits it out, and looks suprised* YOU!
0
Nikki
0
5
Gray
October 06, 2006 9:18 PM
It;'s not that surprising ^^;; by Gray
OOC: Actually, there's a hint on the OOC boards somewhere, so I sort of knew already.BIC: Gray nodded slightly as Nikki explained about her brother and squibs. To be honest? She forgot what a squib was. She didn't think Nikki knew exactly how she felt about her sister, she had a good bet that Nikki's brother didn't make her feel insane, talking in her head, but at least it was picked up on the fact that she hated Libby. And Chali and Alice too. She missed Author too. Still, she smiled and nodded when Nikki talked to her.
She turned to where Nikki was facing, of course near where Leo was, and it seemed he was getting the paper back. She stifled a laugh on seeing Leo glare at Professor Deck and turned back to the table when she noticed Leo coming back. When she had the paper in her hands, Gray set it down to write. She knew she wouldn't get much talking in, she still didn't know much about any sort of magical properties, so she just wrote down what they said.
"Because you know nothing," Libby smirked. Grail chose to bluntly ignore her annoying sister.
Dark arts, masculine, divination. Death and rebirth. A lot of other things. Well, not really a lot. But enough to get her head spinning in confusion. At their thinking pauses, Gray looked over her handwriting, seeing if the shaking had died down. Sort of, but there was still a little wobble in her handwriting. Not that Deck or Nikki or Leo would notice. They would probably see this as her normal handwriting or something. She set the pen back down and looked up.
She used her finger to lightly tap on the desk, a little bored with sitting. Her sisters at the moment were gossiping about whatever her eyes took in, and she couldn't hear them that well, so she had nothing to think about. She gave a little lift of her eyes to move them between Leo and Nikki. "In divination?" she said it like a question. "Like what kind? Prophecies of death and things like that?" She was sure anything about magic she guessed sounded stupid anyway. But at least it was an educated guess. Still, this didn't stop her cheeks from lighting up a bit.\n\n
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Gray
It;'s not that surprising ^^;;
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Gray
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Nikki
October 07, 2006 12:56 AM
No More Putting Down Muggles by Nikki
((OOC:How did I miss that?! I even picked up the hint about Deck's um *preferneces* before the whole, Tarquin Reynolds thing in the OOC board, which was when he first really came out and said it.))"Exactly," Nikki said when Gray asked about her divinition comment. "Supposedly, seers use heavenly bodies, you know, planets, stars, meteors, comits, and all that stuff to predict the future. I'm not exactly sure what Pluto would predict, but death is the most likely thing, or maybe something about men. But really, I didn't think Muggles really knew much about divinition. No offense or anytthing, I mean my mom's a Muggle." \n\n
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Nikki
No More Putting Down Muggles
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Nikki
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Gray
October 08, 2006 9:40 AM
*Jumps for joy* by Gray
Gray smiled, glad she was right on her statement for Divination. She picked her ballpoint up again and scribbled it down. So, ha, she did know something about magic. It was all common sense. Pluto the death god, Divination used to predict, put it togather you get Pluto used in Divination to most likely predict death.......Or things about men. Which is what she had put down. And then gave a mental "ha" to her sisters, that she had guessed something right. And about magic too. They quieted down a bit, going to cold silence, and Gray stopped shaking a little more."But really, I didn't think Muggles really knew much about divinition..."
This made her even happier, for some reason. Maybe that she knew something that wasn't expected of her? Even if it was common sense that she guessed, what would she say to that? "Uh, well, I've always known Divination was predicting things..." how could she not? Her mother was a Camelot/King Aurther/Knights of the Round Table junkie. She'd read about Aurther's "prophesy" a million times. Then she'd gotten here and read a bit about magic. Divination was the same thing. "And that it predicts death is just common sense... being Pluto the God of Death," she finished. Glad she knew something more.\n\n
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Gray
*Jumps for joy*
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Gray
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