Professor Levy
May 11, 2010 11:22 AM
DADA Beginner Level (First and Second Years): Lesson I by Professor Levy
Erika was thankful that the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had left his notes for her to use since it had given her some ideas for this new career. Yes, it still felt new even though it was only her second year, but then she had thought by now she would have moved on instead of finding that she had begun to enjoy the routine her life was settling into. The only thing that could have made it better would have been able to see Torra everyday, but that would have been in a perfect world and life was anything but perfect.The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had met in its normal classroom. She figured this would have been easiest since some students may not have ventured out to the Gardens yet, or worse, try to use it as an opportunity to try and ditch class. Of course, it was worse for them than her since they would be serving detention while she did the normal grading of papers that she always did in the evening. Once she had taken the usual role call, she picked up a box on her desk and led the group of first and second years outside to where she would be conducting the lesson.
Standing in front of the entrance to the maze, Erika called out, “All right, everyone, listen up! Today, we’re going to be focusing on three spells. Point-Me, Expelliarmus, and Protego. Point-Me is a directional spell. Okay, wands out. Place them in your hand like so,” she lectured as she placed her wand on her flat palm. “Then, say Point-Me.” Her wand shifted to point North. “If done correctly, your wand should be pointing North.” She waited while everyone got the spell down.
“Now, then, let’s move on. Most magic is neutral and it’s the intent of the person that uses it that makes it good or bad. Honestly, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There are some wicked people out there who love using magic for evil purposes, but that doesn’t mean you should live in fear,” Erika paused looking at her students intently before continuing. “You may go your entire life without ever meeting someone that means you harm. However small the chance, there is still a chance and that’s what we’re here to learn. How to defend ourselves.”
She didn’t mean to scare anyone, but Erika didn’t believe in lying to them about why they were taking the class. “It’s best, if you can, to get out of a dangerous situation, but if you can’t, the other two spells I mentioned before come in handy. Expelliarmus is probably the most simple and most useful spell that you could ever know. It’s used to disarm your opponent and if you can do that, then you take away anything they can do with a wand.” She didn’t mention anything in regards to wandless magic as that would be a lesson for when they were older.
“However, the spell can also be used to disarm you. Protego is a good counter move. It’s a defensive spell intended to deflect minor spells. Now, then, I need a volunteer.” She chose one of the second year raised hands. She figured it would be better if they had already had a little experience with the class to give a proper demonstration. “All right. First, I’m going to show everyone Expelliarmus. Watch me. Expelliarmus!” The wand movement was smooth until the ending jab when her spell was sent towards the student.
She showed them once more before continuing to the next spell. “Watch me again, but this time I’m going to do Protego.” She instructed her opponent to do Expelliarmus and once they sent the spell her way, she easily deflected it with the proper wand movement. “Protego!” She demonstrated the spell once more. “I think everyone has the basic idea, but practicing will help more than me just showing you. Don’t worry, though, we won’t just be dueling today.”
Opening the large box she had brought out earlier, Erika pulled out one of the vests inside. “There are four different color vests inside this box. Blue, yellow, purple, and orange. The color you get will make up what team you are on. Each team should come up with a name and come get a map from me, because you’ll need it when going into the Labyrinth.” She gave a grin. “So, you’re probably wondering what the spells, vests, and maze have to do with one another. Your goal is to protect yourself and your team members from other teams while trying to make it out of the maze. The first team with all of its surviving members out of the maze wins whatever is in this bag.”
She paused for a moment allowing each of them a good look at the colorfully decorated paper bag. “Whenever someone disarms you using Expelliarmus, your vest will change from its current color to black. When this happens, it’ll be like you are no longer there. You may continue to move along with your team, but you may not help them or talk to them. You can, however, talk to others with black vests. Before everyone goes running off the maze, one more thing, if anything happens in the maze and you need help, point your wand up in the air and use the Spark Charm,” Erika said with a quick demo, “and I’ll come find you. Once you have a map and a group, you may begin.”
OOC: Please remember that posts should be a minimum of two paragraphs (ten sentences). Points will be awarded on post length, grammar, creativity, etc. You may be in any group you like, just make sure to put the color of your vest (blue, purple, yellow, orange, or black.) Have fun!
Subthreads: This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange) by Neal Padrig, Pecari with Ellie McGill, Neal, Orange, Dani Adair (Orange), Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)
My application said this would be my favorite class... by Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue) with Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue), Brian Moore, Blue, Alessa Hinckley
And I was so sure it was going to be a boring lesson! by Mariana Ravenmore (purple) with Autumn Collins, Purple, Cosette Miller, Purple, Veronica Kerrigan, Purple, Rachel Bauer, Purple
Is it cheating to fly over the maze-thing or strategizing? by Tristan Volkmann, Yellow with Tobar Brishen, Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow), Caleb Nichols (Aladren)
Class is Closed! (nm) by Professor Levy
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Professor Levy
DADA Beginner Level (First and Second Years): Lesson I
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Professor Levy
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
May 11, 2010 5:37 PM
This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange) by Neal Padrig, Pecari
It was a difficult for Neal to focus. At least, it was more of a challenge than it usually was. There was always so much going on in the Gardens, that much he knew from going back and forth between his the Pecari Commons every day. Whether it was a random prairie elf trouncing around like they owned the place, students conversing as if no one else could ever overhear them, or even the strange happenings from the Labyrinth – there was too many distractions, period.If the class didn’t sound as interesting as it did, Neal would be gawking at the bee nearby and not trying to pay attention to the professor. To help her out, she also had a box and Neal was curious to figure out what it held. It was also easier to focus when she had them practice some spells, which Neal was glad to see he got the hang of on his first try. Though they weren’t the most complicated of spells to begin with, the accomplishment still felt like a personal victory.
“Now, then, let’s move on.” Neal stopped practicing and listened, much more excited to focus than he ever had been for anything else so far. She was an intense speaker who took her subject seriously. This could only mean that the lessons couldn’t be anything short of a thrill.
After the speech and example (and being told that dueling was a no-go today, which was the only disappointing news yet) he didn’t think the class could get any better. And it did. The project was something out of a dream – or a war movie. Either way it seemed awesome. He smiled as he heard more about it and tried to spot Caleb, whom he already briefly been through the Labyrinth with the other day on one of his many trips through it. Even if the maze changed itself, at least he had a good feel for what wandering in it was like.
When Neal went to go get a vest, he frowned. Being colorblind and picking out a color was troublesome. More so than it should be. He reached in and grabbed a random vest, putting it on tight over his robe. He noticed someone with the same color and approached them. “Hi there. I guess we’re on the same team?” He sounded friendly enough (if monotone sounded ‘friendly’) but maybe the mussed dark hair and the bloodshot eyes would convey a totally different message. Hopefully this person could tell him what color they were, too. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
OOC: Neal’s vest is orange. I figured it’d be helpful to mention that again here since he can’t tell the color for himself.
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange)
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
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Ellie McGill
May 11, 2010 6:03 PM
I'm STILL surprised! (Orange) by Ellie McGill
Ellie found the beginning her first Defense lesson somewhat interesting. Her father had already taught her a couple simple spells, including the Point Me spell and Expelliarmus. She hadn't learned Protego, though, but she easily picked it up with a genuine smile. Her mother had always been a little freaked out by the Point Me spell, seeing as Muggles weren't exactly comfortable with objects that moved on their own. Or, at least, that's what Ellie had observed of her mom back at home.Once everyone had gotten the hang of the spells, Ellie's professor called them back to attention. She explained a bit about the class, then got to the interesting part. She was a bit scared about the whole maze-that-changed-itself aspect, but at least they would be in groups. Ellie couldn't be classified as athletic, but at least she was fit enough to keep her ground in a competition, and she was glad that it wasn't raining today. Not that she didn't like rain, no, but she would prefer not to be soaking wet when she ran around a garden.
Ellie wondered who would be in her group, and quickly made her way to the vests. She considered blue; it was one of her favorite colors after all, but she decided it clashed with her robes and dropped the blue vest she had been holding. The next one she grabbed was yellow, and while it was a beautiful color, she gave it a second glance and decided it clashed with her hair. Finally, reaching between two different colored arms, she picked up an orange vest. It was a vibrant orange, and she recognized the shade and smiled. It matched her hair to perfection, and she simply had to wear it out of the sheer luck of finding it. Sometimes, orange-heads had all the fun!
She looked around for more orange clad students. While on her tiptoes looking above the crowd, she heard a voice from behind her.
“Hi there. I guess we’re on the same team?” The voice sounded familiar. She twirled herself around to face the boy who had been so kind as to rescue her during the flying class escapade. What had his name been...?
"Oh, hi!" she said, beaming at finding a familiar face. She paused for a moment, still trying to put a name to the face. "Neal, isn't it?" she said finally. "And yup, we're in the same group."
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Ellie McGill
I'm STILL surprised! (Orange)
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Ellie McGill
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Neal, Orange
May 16, 2010 2:45 PM
The shock hasn't worn off for me either by Neal, Orange
The face Neal had seen when the girl spun around was a recognizable one. Ellie greeted him with a smile, the tones of her shockingly bright hair matching her vest well. He couldn’t help but smile at her in return. He hadn’t seen much of her since Flying Lessons beyond glimpses of her in hallways or seated ways away from him in class. But Neal wasn’t the type of person who needed to go and talk to people to keep up familiarity with them; once he made a friend, they stayed a friend. So what if they hadn’t gotten much of a chance to meet up? They could do that now.“That’s awesome,” he nodded, a smile still on his face, when she confirmed that they would be on the same team. “It makes this project even better.”
He nodded to the Labyrinth, his attention back on the project now that he knew at least one person on his team. “I’ve wondered around that place a few times since coming here, only once with someone else, so to do it with more people should be cool. And this assignment will be like a giant game of extreme tag, which is always fun with more people anyways.” He felt comfortable using the mild muggle reference, glad he wouldn’t have to explain to her what ‘tag’ was as he would have to do with most of the other people he’d met here. Not that he ever minded, but it was still nice to have someone understand things he did back home.
He looked around curiously then. “So, where’s the rest of our team? The sooner we get a team name and get started, the better chance we have of making some sort of strategy so we can get to the end of the maze together.”
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Neal, Orange
The shock hasn't worn off for me either
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Neal, Orange
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Dani Adair (Orange)
May 17, 2010 8:46 PM
Shock seems to be winning. by Dani Adair (Orange)
When it was her turn at the box, Dani considered her options. There was blue, but it was a statistical fact that blue was the favorite color of most people, so she had little doubt that this would be the color choice for the majority of the class. She didn't want to be part of the majority of the class. Then, there was purple. She was sure that the princesses of the class would be choosing that one. No, she wasn't among that group and she didn't think she could deal listening to them. One nail broken and they would probably send up the flare signal. So, was it to be yellow or orange? Yellow was all right, she supposed, but she liked orange better. It reminded her of Halloween, which was her absolutely favorite holiday.This decided, she opted for one of the orange vests and quickly pulled it over her robes, a designer brand, which was one of the betrayals of her adoration of shopping. Adjusting it to fit, she searched for others that were wearing the same brightly colored vests. She really despised group work in any form, but at least, she knew those that she would be working with had the brillance to wear the same color that she was wearing. Hopefully, they would prove to actually be so. She wasn't normally so competitive. It's why she didn't bother with sports such as Quidditch.
But oh, this was different. This was about magic and who welded the power. For her, it really wasn't about the power and using it to lord over others, but more to prove that she wasn't a weakling to be preyed upon. As she saw it, this game was about survival. Those that went out quickly would be the ones that the predators, the competitors, of the class would undoubtedly outcast. While she might have been one, she was one by choice, preferring that others leave her alone. This wouldn't happen if she failed to do well in the lesson. She only hoped her teammates had a somewhat similar view or they would all be destined to lose since they were the ones she had to rely on.
But first, she supposed that she should actually meet them. Hearing the one mention where the rest of the team was, she piped up, "I'm on your team. My name's Dani Adair." She glanced around at the opposing teams. "I agree. We definitely need some sort of game plan. We're going to have most of the class after us and we have no idea what the older ones are capable of. They definitely have an advantage. Hopefully, one of the second years will be in our group. That might solve the problem of getting out of the labyrinth. So, anyone have any ideas for a team name?"
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Dani Adair (Orange)
Shock seems to be winning.
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Dani Adair (Orange)
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Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)
May 19, 2010 6:22 PM
Not all that shocked. by Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)
Kirstenna bounced excitedly on her heels.She couldn't imagine why they were going outside to the maze but it was certainly something different than usual and she was a bit intrigued.As Professor Levy began to speak, Kirstenna could feel herself deflate a bit. The Defense professor always seemed like such a downer, talking about how others liked to use magic to hurt people. Then, there was the lesson, parts of it didn't sound so good, with competing and trying to take out their classmates.
She was beginning to feel like everything at Sonora was a competition. There was Quidditch,of course, (which Kirstenna was enjoying but she was more interested in doing it because it was fun, some people took it way too seriously.)
Then there was the house competiton and the competition in COMC to get back on the ground and now this. Why couldn't people just get along and have fun and try to make friends without trying to prove themselves better than others and cause disharmony and conflict. What if those who were won these things started teasing those who lost? It might end up hurting people's feelings and leave them feeling bad. Kirstenna didn't want to see that happen.
She walked over to grab a vest and picked out an orange one, as it was such a bright, fun color. Kirstenna put it on and joined the others in the same color vest. So far, she noticed it was two Pecaris and her roommate, Ellie. She smiled brightly at the others, determined to have fun and not take this too seriously, and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Kirstenna." Ellie should know that already but the two Pecaris might not.
The Teppenpaw retained her smile but it already seemed like the others were taking this way more seriously than she intended to. Kirstenna supposed winning would be nice, and she was sort of curious about the prize but they, especially Dani, seemed like the competitive sort that would get mad if they didn't win and blame the people on their team that weren't as good at this kind of thing. Though, to be honest, that was in line with what Kirstenna had been taught about most Pecaris.
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Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)
Not all that shocked.
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Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)
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