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MadMadamMalfoy · 09-26-2017, 03:08 PM

Text Cut: ”Ava”

As Gaston waited for answers to the riddle to start coming in, his eyes momentarily flicked toward Miss Burton, who appeared to be lost in thought. That was a good sign! Surely she was well on her way to solving the riddle… or not. He was slightly taken aback when she spoke. “I understand,” he said. “I know riddles aren’t everyone’s thing, and I will take that into consideration. The important thing is that you tried to solve it.” Which he could tell she was doing. “Do you have any ideas what the answer could be?”

Text Cut: ”Thomas”

Was Gaston imagining things or was the door slowly opening? His heart dropped, and for half a second, he worried Hawthorne would be on the other side. Had Mrs. Kettleburn found so much fault with him that she’d already recommended his dismissal? He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or annoyed when he saw it was only Mr. Kingsman. And why was the boy acting like a cat?! Any other time those antics probably would’ve made him laugh out loud, but today it didn’t even get a smile from him. He was too on edge to think about much else! He sighed. “Mr. Kingsman, you’re late. I’m afraid that’s five points from Gryffindor.” He didn’t like being the bad guy who took house points, but the rules on tardiness in his class were very clear. “Please stop crawling and walk to your seat.”

Text Cut: ”Nathan”

Gaston was relieved when Mr. Hale said he hadn’t been hurt by the needle… or at least, that was what he thought he said. He couldn’t be sure, given the muttering. “I know you’re trying,” he said with an encouraging smile. “You’ll get it; it just takes practice.” The sighing and groaning hadn’t escaped his attention, and he couldn’t say he was surprised when Mr. Hale didn’t offer an answer to the riddle. He did not like this attitude he was seeing, but he was going to let it slide for now… just as long as he didn’t complain out loud.

Text Cut: ”Ace, Eddie, & Jessa”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Oh heyyyy he gets a pumpkin ink too? "Thanks Professor Marchand" he smiled at the Charms man. Given that he should attempt the next spell, although a quick gander revealed several mishaps with the spell. Yikes. Okay FOCUS is the name of the game here for him.

He folded the patchwork fabric in his hands and took his wand again, echoing the spell a few times in his head before willing it with the wandstroke. 'Suturis Flagellum'. Blue green eyes grew large when the whipstitch appeared and looped around the edges of the folded fabric. Ahahaha he can sew now! Ok so its just one tiny whipstitch but hey look Ma he can darn his own socks now!

The next part of their lesson got the Curly Top to stare at the board for a while. Riddle me this Batman.... was it a spell to cut things with? Seems like Kyle had the same idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

The Professor had to know by now Eddie wasn't going to be a behavior problem, that didn't solve anything for him nor did it give him an upper hand. He liked to stay under the radar from everything he possibly could, but when it came to annoying Miranda, well that's when his behavior may go back to his true age. He glanced at Miranda to see her staring at him and a sinister grin crossed his lips. Turning his head back to the fabric in front of him he put his hands together. If she thought he was coming up with a plan he could ruin her entire class.

Oh, the professor was talking....

He barely listened and couldn't be bothered trying to solve the riddle he wanted to go back to sewing his sister's robes, but not with the fabrics, he just wanted to sew it together so she couldn't get back out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

As if she didn't get enough riddles on a daily basis, now there was one in charms class too.

Jessa didn't know about the next Ravenclaw, but she disliked riddles. Seldom did she find them fun, making each trip to her Common Room an absolute pain in the butt. It was a larger pain in the butt when she was exceptionally tired and not at all in the mood to have her mind wrapping itself around a concept several times.

In this case, the 14 year old would have gone ahead to guess the severing charm like several of her classmates but the opening of the door pulled her attention firmly from the lesson. Blue eyes followed the scarlet and gold colours as the boy who's name she'd never bothered to catch got onto the floor and began to crawl.

...Er......

Was she the only one seeing this? Did he think no one would notice the way the door creaked open and closed just now?

Jessa twisted in her seat, decidedly in need of a better look at the kid who clearly hadn't thought this through. At this point, she was willing to bet an apology would have done him better--Marchand was his Head of House afterall--but crawling was an interesting way to go about it. Distracted from the lesson? Why yes, yes she was.

Gaston might’ve expected Mr. Hale’s silence, but he was surprised when Mr. Salander also remained quiet. Usually the boy was more vocal than this, but he was looking at the board; that was a good sign. Maybe he just needed more time to come up with an answer?

And Mr. Blaze hadn’t answered the question either. Not only that, but he didn’t appear to be paying much attention to the riddle whatsoever. Out of the corner of his eye, the professor saw the grin he gave his sister, and he did not like the look of it. Did he even want to know what else this kid had up his sleeve? Suffice it to say, he would be keeping an eye on this one!

Gaston’s heart sank when Miss Cambridge also kept silent. Was she holding a grudge over his reaction to her questions from earlier? Was she bored? Or just distracted by Mr. Kingsman’s attempt at a sneaky entrance? Maybe his emotional nature just made it easier for him to pick up on things like this, but he could sense his students becoming disengaged with the lesson and he was starting to get discouraged. Could he please just have a do-over for this lesson?

Text Cut: ”Zoryn”

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

This lady was WAY too happy about sitting in class. Honestly, you'd think it'd be even MORE boring for her since she was so much older than them and probably had loads of better things to be doing with her time. It made the Gryffindor suspicious. "Oh. Sounds fancy," the only Zoryn had to say on the matter because #cantrelate. What the heck is a Board of Governors????? And were all of them THIS HAPPY???? Is THIS why so man old people were sitting in their classes? To quiz their Professors?

"You should write down in your assessment thingy, that Professor Marchand is super nice but we'd probably listen to him more if we could get an ice cream machine in the Gryffindor Common Room." ACTUALLY come to think of it, Zoryn had MANY requests she needed these Governors to know of. 'Cause Hawthorne wasn't doing anything about them, so like, these people PROBABLY had all the power.

Pulling out a small notebook from her pocket, she quickly scribbled something down and handed it to the Kettleburn lady.

Zoryn Amari Spinnet
Gryffindor Tower
Bed to the left of the door

"If you're looking for some inside opinions, you know where to find me," and with that she winked and walked back to her seat (seeing as Professor M had totally called her out for not doing her work).

ANYWAYS, Zoryn eventually went back to her desk and felt mighty fine while walking away from the Governor Lady. All sorts of confidence with this one.

The third year pretended to play around with her wand and the fabric just long enough so that she didn't actually have to do anything. Luckily she was able to get away without a single spell and oh looks like they were moving on!!! Perfect.

She had no intention of using her brain to think of an answer to the riddle, 'cause that was way too much work. Instead she payed attention to the last few lines and called it a day. A spell for when you need a break? "A napping charm!"

Honestly, that would be the MOST USEFUL thing she had ever learned at Hogwarts.

Thanks, Professor M!!

Gaston beamed at Miss Spinnet as she ventured a guess. It wasn’t the spell he was looking for, or anything remotely close to it, but she had spoken up and he greatly appreciated that! “Not quite what I was thinking, Miss Spinnet, but your answer certainly deserves credit for creativity!” he said. With a wave of his wand, he levitated a vial of pumpkin ink onto her desk. Surely he wouldn’t be faulted for giving her a reward for that, would he?

Text Cut: ”Kyle, Remy, Scarlet, Maddie, Patrick, Etta, & Derf”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

Kyle read over the board out loud, as it if would help him think better.

"This spell is not another stitch
It helps you when you're in a pinch
Important when you learn to sew
But has more uses than you know
Use to cut ties with mistakes
Or simply when you need a break
Let's see if you can now discern
the name of the charm you're about to learn!"

He thought about it. Well, there was the cutting spell, right? What was it? "Diffindo!" He shouted out. Wait, was that right? "Diffindo? Diffundo? Deffundo?" Was he getting closer or farther from the spell name? Did he have it right the first time? Oh, now he was getting confused.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stormdancer

Remy nodded at the answer he was given about the charm holding its own stitches, or there was the option to use an additional knot if needed. Okay, that was simple enough. Perfect. He could totally so that if he needed too - though, fingers crossed he didn't have any stupid accidents where he needed too. Before he could contemplate using the second type of stitches around the end of his square, the Professor called them all back to order... and gave them -- a riddle?? What... even??

Urgh.

Listening to the words, the Seventh year tried to figure out what the Professor was talking about and the severing charm seemed to be the only charm he knew of that came to mind that could cut ties and that would or could be linked to sewing. Afterall, the diffindo charm was originally created to cut material and fabrics... even if it the intentions behind ts use had been edited and mutated over the centuries.

"I agree with the Severing charm, Sir." Remy simply stated, with a nod of his head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

A RIDDLE? Ugh. Marchand was lucky he was so good looking or Scarlett would NOT be putting her efforts into this nonsense. What was wrong with just SAYING what they were learning? She raised her hand after giving it a moment of thought, however, to take a shot at answering the riddle.

"Is it Diffindo, Professor?" she suggested. It was the only severing type charm she could think of, and it would make sense - learn a stitching charm AND the charm to undo what you did...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

There were lots of things going on around her, but Maddie had been distracted on Derf, as the professor tending to the boy's injuries. Maddie couldn't bear to talk to Derf, as just the sight of someone injuring themselves like that made her stomach do tiny flips. So the first year just nodded when the older Badger talked to her. Pretty soon, she was finished with what was probably the messiest set of stitches anybody had ever seen. Oh, well, It was a success...maybe. It might also fall apart the first time somebody picked it up.

Moving on...

OHHH, A RIDDLE?! Maddie loved the thought of a riddle, even though this one seemed a little hard. She was just learning all her charms, so it was a little more difficult than just figuring out a riddle. Nevertheless, she agreed with what a few others were saying. Raising her hand, she said, "I think it's the Severing Charm, too." A Gryffindor girl (Shayla) had said something that got Maddie to thinking, too...could the professor know a completely different spell meant just for sewing? If so, Maddie would probably never guess that one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson

Patrick watched a few other people around him do the charm first so he could see it again, he raised his wand and held his breath a second. If you don't try now you'll never know. He thought to himself as he let out his breath before sighing out, "Suturis flagellum." The thread started working through, shaky but working. He wasn't sure how he had managed that because he felt like he hadn't done too well.

His head turned to hear the five minute warning and stopped trying to sew after he had previously tried a few times. He heard his professor begin instructions again. This time a poem or spell was stated. It sounded like an undoing spell. Shakily he raised his hand and waited to be called upon. "I'm not sure of the name, but I too agree with the other students. This has to be a detaching charm, like an undo." He smiled a bit feeling more comfortable as he gave an answer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lady of Light

Once Etta had finished practicing the first stitching spell, Suturis, she examined her work carefully. Really, it wasn’t all that bad.. at least, from what she could tell. It was quite neat but she knew it would get better with more practice. She was about to start practicing the next spell when the professor moved on.. and they had to solve a riddle now. Okay. She knew solving riddles wasn’t her strong point. The girl sighed and set her piece of fabric on her desk, trying to focus on the riddle.

Um. The girl finally raised, trying to come up with the answer.. and she hoped it would be the right one. “The severing charm, professor? Or a charm similar to that?” Because that’s what she could think of.. and she wasn’t the only one apparently.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Again, Derf was really only half paying attention to what the Charms professor was saying to him. The third year was taking FAR too much pride in the fact that his spell had TECHNICALLY done what it was supposed to have done AND on the first try. FINALLY all those years of speech therapy were paying off - not that Derf had ever really felt self conscious about his stutter and lisp before. Which of course meant that he flashed Emmeline an eager grin when he heard her - his attention had wavered at just the right moment to hear her.

And then his attention was back to the professor and his wand...and vanishing? Did he...HAVE to...because Derf wasn't sure he could do this again and now he was sorta getting bummed out about that and the PROOF being gone. Like...he could have gone walking around with the witch's hat sewn into his hand for all to see! Although...given the way Maddie was looking...perhaps that wasn't such a good idea after all. Simon likely would not have been able to stomach it. His dormmate could hardly handle lumpy or the future magizoologist's jars of dirt.

"Okay," he sighed with defeat as the Charms professor did his thing. Bye bye stitches. Siiiiiiiiiiiigh.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it seemed like everyone was saying the same thing, and Derf was not in disagreement so he simply nodded his head...but then raised his hand anyway to add to the discussion as to WHY.

"I agree with everyone else with the Severing Charm," he nodded, waving his now stitch free hand about. "Delfina Crimp created the charm as an easy and convenient way of cutting cloth and thread. Since she was a dressmaker and stuff...like her dresses were MAGICAL and everything...but like...prior to her inventing this charm all the other ones that did cuts burned or shredded the target." Thank you very much, chocolate frog cards!

But then Charlotte mentioned a charm that his mum used all the time to prune their plants at home. Oh. Or that one.

Someone had guessed it! Gaston nodded, smiling at Mr. Erikson as he gave his answer. He was a little confused on the name of the spell, but he had the right idea nonetheless. “Yes! Good guess, Mr. Erikson – and you said the spell correctly the first time; it’s Diffindo,” he said. The shouting was a little unexpected, however. “Please try not to shout, though.” It wasn’t intended as a reprimand, just a friendly reminder, and he wasn’t angry about it.

Mr. Edwards had the same idea, and he received a beam from the professor. “Correct, Mr. Edwards,” he said. “Thank you for your answer.”

Only moments later, Miss Reynolds spoke up. She too had the correct guess, though she seemed a little less sure of her answer than Mr. Erikson and Mr. Edwards. “Indeed it is, Miss Reynolds!” he said, beaming. “Good guess!”

Miss Kemp was in agreement with her classmates, and Gaston smiled as she gave her answer. He was very pleased to see that the students who did answer were on the right track! “Then your thinking is correct, Miss Kemp,” he said. “Thank you.”

Mr. Dooley was a bit unsure of the name of the spell, but he had the right idea about its purpose. “Very good, Mr. Dooley,” the professor said, smiling. “It is a detaching charm in a manner of speaking, more specifically referred to as a Severing Charm or by its incantation Diffindo.”

Miss Kramer was thinking along the same lines as the others, and her answer earned her a beam from the professor. “That’s correct, Miss Kramer,” he said. “Thank you for answering.”

Was Gaston just imagining things or did Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne seem upset about the idea of having the stitches removed from his hand? He was puzzled at first, but then reasoned he was probably proud of his work (and rightfully so!) and didn’t want to lose it. “I’m sorry, Derfael, but I cannot leave those stitches in your hand,” he said, giving the boy a sympathetic look as he vanished the stitches. “I’m so proud of you for getting that spell right, and I have no doubt you’ll be able to do it again.” He beamed at the boy as he aimed his wand and summoned a vial of pumpkin ink from the bowl. “This was very well-earned!”

The professor smiled when the boy offered his answer to the riddle and some history behind the spell too. Now here was an incredibly thorough answer! In fact, he would’ve awarded some ink for it,,, had he not just given him some for correctly performing an S spell. “I don’t think I could’ve said it better myself! Very impressive, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne,” he said.

Text Cut: ”Vi, Emmeline, & Shay”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watson

Vi continued her work, sewing on the fabric and creating a red tulip on her square. Then she paused and glanced up to hear Professor Marchand speaking again. A riddle? She flicked her eyes towards Ace who seemed to be pondering the answer to the riddle. She paused and then thought that it might have been Diffindo but then again... Was that answer too easy. "Is it a variation of the severing charm?" she offered. Not exactly the severing charm but something that was focused on fabric and sewing and all?

But also... Use to cut ties with mistakes or simply when you need a break...

Perhaps it was just Diffindo and she was overcomplicating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NifflerFan

A riddle?? Oh, no! Emmeline was soooo bad at riddles, and she was kind of surprised to have to solve one in Charms class. As Miss Ava quickly said, riddles were more of a Ravenclaw thing, right??

The twelve-year-old tilted her head to the side and studied the words written on the blackboard, as if somehow viewing them from an angle would give her sudden insights. Sadly, she didn't have annnny luck with the whole "staring it down" thing. Next, she tried reading one line of the riddle at a time to see if it made any more sense that way -- but it reallly didn't. If anything, breaking it down like that only made her MORE confused mhm.

Her only guess was some kind of cutting charm, which everyone had pretty much already said. Still, Emmeline felt like it was her duty to participate LOADS today 'cause of the older witch in the back and her clipboard. Clipboards were scary and she wanted to make life easier for her Head of House if she could. Soo she reluctantly raised her head and said, "Is it like a suuuper specific kind of cutting charm, Professor? Instead of the Diffindo one?" 'Cause if not, she had nooooo clue what the answer was. Which was okay with her as long as Clipboard Lady didn't mark the professor down for nobody solving his riddle or something. Emmeline would be happy to stick with passwords for getting into her common room, mhm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Shay smiled when Professor Marchand complimented her work. "Thanks Professor", she replied. Just as her stitching was finished, it was time to move on. Shay sat back and listened, as the class was presented with a riddle. Solve the riddle and determine the next spell to be worked on. Hmmm. The first thing that came to Shay's mind was apparently the first thing that came to everyone else's mind. Diffindo. That seemed too obvious though. Still thinking, Shay raised her hand.

"I thought of the severing charm too. But.......I'm wondering if there is another charm that cuts more delicately and precisely." Just a thought. Shay knew that in practiced hands, Diffindo could be very precise........in practiced hands. Well, she would have to wait until everyone had responded before she would find out the answer.

Miss Holden’s answer went in a slightly different direction, but still she was on to something. Gaston beamed, nodding along to her answer. “That’s technically correct, Miss Holden,” he said, “but I plan to teach the general version of the Severing Charm before we get into the variations.” Best to start with the simpler spell then build on their knowledge…

Judging by the way she was staring at the board, Gaston wasn’t sure if Miss Sparkes was going to answer or not. He was very pleased when she did decide to speak up, and he gave her a grateful smile. “You’re on the right track, Miss Sparkes,” he said. “We will be learning a specific cutting charm in addition to Diffindo.”

Miss Morrison seemed to have a similar line of thinking, and she earned a smile from the professor with her answer. “There is, and we’ll be learning one of them momentarily, in addition to the general Severing Charm,” he replied, nodding. “The Severing Charm has been around for hundreds of years and has been modified to suit specific tasks and materials many times over the centuries.”

Text Cut: ”Charlotte”

Miss Kettleburn spoke up and added on to Miss Morrison’s answer, suggesting a specific alternative to the Severing Charm. Gaston wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or unnerved by that answer, especially when she mentioned how much safer flipnsnipwitit was. In truth, he had a different variation in mind to teach the class, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if the girl had inadvertently implanted the idea in her mother’s mind to judge him for teaching any spell other than flipnsnipwitit. He couldn’t take that chance! Mentally scrapping his original plan, he turned to Miss Kettleburn with a smile. “Good example, Miss Kettleburn,” he said. “All of your points are valid.”

Text Cut: ”Skylar”

Gaston smiled when Miss Diggory said she could detach the fabric form her desk; somehow he knew she’d want to do it on her own! His smile grew even bigger when she offered not only a correct answer to the riddle but also help in demonstrating the spell in question. He had a mind to give her another vial of ink for her kind offer but decided against it;
people might think he was playing favorites if he did! “Correct!” he said, giving her a look of sincere gratitude. “And thank you for your help, Miss Diggory, but I have a different demonstration in mind.”

Text Cut: ”Miranda”

The professor’s bright blue eyes flicked toward Miss Blaze, and an idea formed in his mind. He crossed the room to her desk. “It seems your brother’s played a trick on you, Miss Blaze,” he whispered, taking extra care to keep his voice down so those around wouldn’t figure out what he had in mind. “He’s attached fabric to your robes. I’m going to help you get it off, but I was wondering if I could use that as a class demonstration, please? The spells I’d use are the same ones I plan to teach the class; I promise they won’t harm you or your robes.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From his place beside Miss Blaze's desk, Gaston turned his attention back to the class as a whole. "Thank you for your answers, class!" he said. "As most of you correctly guessed, the next spell we'll be covering is the Severing Charm. A moment ago, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne was kind enough to give us some background information about the spell -" A beam was sent at the Hufflepuff. "- but just to recap, the Severing Charm was invented in the fifteenth century by a seamstress named Delfina Crimp as a way to precisely cut fabric. Prior to the charm's invention, cutting spells had a side effect of burning or shredding their intended target..." With a wave of his wand, the information appeared on the blackboard, and he paused to give the class time to process it.

"I can tell from your answers that most of you have at least some knowledge of the spell's incantation, which is, of course, Diffindo," he went on. "The wand movement is a v-shape with a downward curve at the end, like so..." He held his wand high so the people seated far away from where he was standing could see and made the described motion.

Then he turned to Miss Blaze and assessed the fabric pieces attached to her robes. He spotted a particularly big piece attached at an angle that would be easy for his wand to reach, and only when he had her okay to proceed, he lifted the fabric as much as he could to reveal the stitches, carefully made the wand movement and repeated the incantation, "Diffindo." He repeated this process a couple more times with the other bigger, easy to reach pieces, but there was still more to go.

Gaston paused to address the group again, "Some of you also mentioned alternate variations of the Severing Charm, and Miss Kettleburn correctly guessed which one of these we'll be learning: flipnsmipwitit," he continued. "As she pointed out, this spell produces a more precise cut than the Severing Charm. It is preferable for use on smaller targets and is safer to use on living things than Diffindo." Another wave of his wand to copy the information to the blackboard, and another brief pause to give the students time to absorb it.

"The wand movement for flipnsnipwitit is a swishing, karate chop-like motion like this..." He gave a quick, decisive swish with his wand to demonstrate, then carefully aimed it at one of the smaller pieces of fabric attached to her robes, repating the motion. "Flipnsnipwitit." A couple more repetitions of the spell were aimed at the rest of the fabric, and when he was done, he smiled at the girl. "Thank you for agreeing to be part of the demonstration, Miss Blaze."

Then he resumed his place at the front of the room. "For today's activity, we'll be making a memory quilt," he said. "You have your fabric squares from earlier - if you aren't finished, you'll have more time to do so - now you're going to be adding to them. In this box, I have several larger sections of fabric. Select as many or a few designs as you like, and cut eight equal sized squares from the bigger section. You may use Diffindo or Flipnsnipwitit to do this. Decide which one works best for you, but I'd like you to practice each spell at least once." He almost forgot something! "And please remember to put the larger fabric sections back in the box when you're done, so others can use them."

He held up eight fabric squares with a blue and black design that he'd cut earler to illustrate his point. "Once you have your eight squares, stitch them around the fabric square you already made like so..." He held up a nine-block square of smaller blue, white, and red pieces with a black fleur-de-lis stitched onto the center square. "Once you have a nine block square, write your name on it somewhere, find a partner and stitch your nine-block square to theirs. Then find someone else to attach their square, and keep going until everyone's squares have been sewn together." Make sense? Good.

"You have the rest of class to work, and don't worry if you don't get all fo the squares sewn to each other. If that should happen, leave your nine block squares with me, and I'll add them myself," he said. "I'll be coming around if you need help or have questions; just raise your hand. You may start... NOW!"

OOC: You have ABOUT 4 DAYS (11:00 AM GMT-4 Sept. 30) to do the main activity!

Gaston and I will be checking back in periodically. If you need help/have questions, please indicate in the title of your post and we'll answer ASAP. And Jodi, thanks for giving us permission to use Miranda in the demonstration!

09-26-2017, 03:08 PM	#118 (permalink)
MadMadamMalfoy Newbie Mod Alley Proprietor Mackled Malaclaw Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Hazbin Hotel Posts: 11,088 Hogwarts RPG Name: Norman A. Carton Graduated Hogwarts RPG Name: Sydney M. L. Masters Slytherin Third Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Maddox B. Buchanan Gryffindor Fourth Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Caledon Roth The Leaky Cauldron	Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll Text Cut: ”Ava” Quote: Originally Posted by RandomRaven The time's up already? Merlin, but she's just successfully cast the charm non-verbally and she hadn't finished the stitches. But that wouldn't be a problem, Ava still could do that later on their main activity and she was still curious about what they're going to do. Putting her stitched fabric aside, the Gryffindor listened to Professor Marchand telling them that there would be another spell he would teach them. But instead of asking them another question, he gave them a riddle that needed to be solved. Okay, solving riddle wasn't her forte by the way. This spell is not another stitch It helps you when you're in a pinch Important when you learn to sew But has more uses than you know Use to cut ties with mistakes Or simply when you need a break Let's see if you can now discern the name of the charm you're about to learn! Ava kept staring at the riddle while putting on her thinking face and stroking her chin. She tried to solve the riddle but Merlin, this was so difficult! "Professor, I am not a Ravenclaw so I'm not really good with solving the riddles." She confessed to Marchand. No offense to the Ravenclaws, they're great people with great minds and not to mention her own twin brother was one of them. Bless the house of eagles. As Gaston waited for answers to the riddle to start coming in, his eyes momentarily flicked toward Miss Burton, who appeared to be lost in thought. That was a good sign! Surely she was well on her way to solving the riddle… or not. He was slightly taken aback when she spoke. “I understand,” he said. *“I know riddles aren’t everyone’s thing, and I will take that into consideration. The important thing is that you tried* to solve it.” Which he could tell she was doing. “Do you have any ideas what the answer could be?” Text Cut*: ”Thomas”* Quote: Originally Posted by Weasley174 Thomas was running late, seriously it wasn't his fault that he couldn't find out where all the classes were, anyway, now he had to figure out a way of getting into class without being seen by the Professor. Slowly opening the door, he decided the best cause of action would be to sneak in, so he got down onto the floor and started to crawl towards his desk like a cat. Seriously there was nothing to see here. Nope, nothing to see here. Was Gaston imagining things or was the door slowly opening? His heart dropped, and for half a second, he worried Hawthorne would be on the other side. Had Mrs. Kettleburn found so much fault with him that she’d already recommended his dismissal? He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or annoyed when he saw it was only Mr. Kingsman. And why was the boy acting like a cat?! Any other time those antics probably would’ve made him laugh out loud, but today it didn’t even get a smile from him. He was too on edge to think about much else! He sighed. “Mr. Kingsman, you’re late. I’m afraid that’s five points from Gryffindor.” He didn’t like being the bad guy who took house points, but the rules on tardiness in his class were very clear. *“Please stop crawling and walk* to your seat.” Text Cut*: ”Nathan”* Quote: Originally Posted by Symphora Thankfully, the needle didn't bleed his finger. He turned to face the professor when he rushed by his side. "I'm fine, professor," he muttered under his breath. Disgruntled, Nathan had little interest in this sewing activity. He sighed,"I'm trying...." He groaned as he tried again, concentrating a little more this time. He watched carefully as the stitches started to come together. It wasn't perfect but it did the job. This spell is not another stitch It helps you when you're in a pinch Important when you learn to sew But has more uses than you know Use to cut ties with mistakes Or simply when you need a break Let's see if you can now discern the name of the charm you're about to learn! Riddle? Hmm...he had no clue of course. It could probably be the counter-charm for the sewing they were doing. Diffindo? Hmm. A severing charm, h e wondered? Gaston was relieved when Mr. Hale said he hadn’t been hurt by the needle… or at least, that was what he thought he said. He couldn’t be sure, given the muttering. “I know you’re trying,” he said with an encouraging smile. “You’ll get it; it just takes practice.” The sighing and groaning hadn’t escaped his attention, and he couldn’t say he was surprised when Mr. Hale didn’t offer an answer to the riddle. He did not like this attitude he was seeing, but he was going to let it slide for now… just as long as he didn’t complain out loud. Text Cut: ”Ace, Eddie, & Jessa” Quote: Originally Posted by Steelsheen Oh heyyyy he gets a pumpkin ink too? "Thanks Professor Marchand" he smiled at the Charms man. Given that he should attempt the next spell, although a quick gander revealed several mishaps with the spell. Yikes. Okay FOCUS is the name of the game here for him. He folded the patchwork fabric in his hands and took his wand again, echoing the spell a few times in his head before willing it with the wandstroke. 'Suturis Flagellum'. Blue green eyes grew large when the whipstitch appeared and looped around the edges of the folded fabric. Ahahaha he can sew now! Ok so its just one tiny whipstitch but hey look Ma he can darn his own socks now! The next part of their lesson got the Curly Top to stare at the board for a while. Riddle me this Batman.... was it a spell to cut things with? Seems like Kyle had the same idea. Quote: Originally Posted by Bazinga The Professor had to know by now Eddie wasn't going to be a behavior problem, that didn't solve anything for him nor did it give him an upper hand. He liked to stay under the radar from everything he possibly could, but when it came to annoying Miranda, well that's when his behavior may go back to his true age. He glanced at Miranda to see her staring at him and a sinister grin crossed his lips. Turning his head back to the fabric in front of him he put his hands together. If she thought he was coming up with a plan he could ruin her entire class. Oh, the professor was talking.... He barely listened and couldn't be bothered trying to solve the riddle he wanted to go back to sewing his sister's robes, but not with the fabrics, he just wanted to sew it together so she couldn't get back out. Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo As if she didn't get enough riddles on a daily basis, now there was one in charms class too. Jessa didn't know about the next Ravenclaw, but she disliked riddles. Seldom did she find them fun, making each trip to her Common Room an absolute pain in the butt. It was a larger pain in the butt when she was exceptionally tired and not at all in the mood to have her mind wrapping itself around a concept several times. In this case, the 14 year old would have gone ahead to guess the severing charm like several of her classmates but the opening of the door pulled her attention firmly from the lesson. Blue eyes followed the scarlet and gold colours as the boy who's name she'd never bothered to catch got onto the floor and began to crawl. ...Er...... Was she the only one seeing this? Did he think no one would notice the way the door creaked open and closed just now? Jessa twisted in her seat, decidedly in need of a better look at the kid who clearly hadn't thought this through. At this point, she was willing to bet an apology would have done him better--Marchand was his Head of House afterall--but crawling was an interesting way to go about it. Distracted from the lesson? Why yes, yes she was. Gaston might’ve expected Mr. Hale’s silence, but he was surprised when Mr. Salander also remained quiet. Usually the boy was more vocal than this, but he was looking at the board; that was a good sign. Maybe he just needed more time to come up with an answer? And Mr. Blaze hadn’t answered the question either. Not only that, but he didn’t appear to be paying much attention to the riddle whatsoever. Out of the corner of his eye, the professor saw the grin he gave his sister, and he did not like the look of it. Did he even want to know what else this kid had up his sleeve? Suffice it to say, he would be keeping an eye on this one! Gaston’s heart sank when Miss Cambridge also kept silent. Was she holding a grudge over his reaction to her questions from earlier? Was she bored? Or just distracted by Mr. Kingsman’s attempt at a sneaky entrance? Maybe his emotional nature just made it easier for him to pick up on things like this, but he could sense his students becoming disengaged with the lesson and he was starting to get discouraged. Could he please just have a do-over for this lesson? Text Cut: ”Zoryn” Quote: Originally Posted by ArianaBlack This lady was WAY too happy about sitting in class. Honestly, you'd think it'd be even MORE boring for her since she was so much older than them and probably had loads of better things to be doing with her time. It made the Gryffindor suspicious. "Oh. Sounds fancy," the only Zoryn had to say on the matter because #cantrelate. What the heck is a Board of Governors????? And were all of them THIS HAPPY???? Is THIS why so man old people were sitting in their classes? To quiz their Professors? "You should write down in your assessment thingy, that Professor Marchand is super nice but we'd probably listen to him more if we could get an ice cream machine in the Gryffindor Common Room." ACTUALLY come to think of it, Zoryn had MANY requests she needed these Governors to know of. 'Cause Hawthorne wasn't doing anything about them, so like, these people PROBABLY had all the power. Pulling out a small notebook from her pocket, she quickly scribbled something down and handed it to the Kettleburn lady. Zoryn Amari Spinnet Gryffindor Tower Bed to the left of the door "If you're looking for some inside opinions, you know where to find me," and with that she winked and walked back to her seat (seeing as Professor M had totally called her out for not doing her work). ANYWAYS, Zoryn eventually went back to her desk and felt mighty fine while walking away from the Governor Lady. All sorts of confidence with this one. The third year pretended to play around with her wand and the fabric just long enough so that she didn't actually have to do anything. Luckily she was able to get away without a single spell and oh looks like they were moving on!!! Perfect. She had no intention of using her brain to think of an answer to the riddle, 'cause that was way too much work. Instead she payed attention to the last few lines and called it a day. A spell for when you need a break? "A napping charm!" Honestly, that would be the MOST USEFUL thing she had ever learned at Hogwarts. Thanks, Professor M!! Gaston beamed at Miss Spinnet as she ventured a guess. It wasn’t the spell he was looking for, or anything remotely close to it, but she had spoken up and he greatly appreciated that! “Not quite what I was thinking, Miss Spinnet, but your answer certainly deserves credit for creativity!” he said. With a wave of his wand, he levitated a vial of pumpkin ink onto her desk. Surely he wouldn’t be faulted for giving her a reward for that, would he? Text Cut: ”Kyle, Remy, Scarlet, Maddie, Patrick, Etta, & Derf” Quote: Originally Posted by Zellanna Kyle read over the board out loud, as it if would help him think better. "This spell is not another stitch It helps you when you're in a pinch Important when you learn to sew But has more uses than you know Use to cut ties with mistakes Or simply when you need a break Let's see if you can now discern the name of the charm you're about to learn!" He thought about it. Well, there was the cutting spell, right? What was it? "Diffindo!" He shouted out. Wait, was that right? "Diffindo? Diffundo? Deffundo?" Was he getting closer or farther from the spell name? Did he have it right the first time? Oh, now he was getting confused. Quote: Originally Posted by Stormdancer Remy nodded at the answer he was given about the charm holding its own stitches, or there was the option to use an additional knot if needed. Okay, that was simple enough. Perfect. He could totally so that if he needed too - though, fingers crossed he didn't have any stupid accidents where he needed too. Before he could contemplate using the second type of stitches around the end of his square, the Professor called them all back to order... and gave them -- a riddle?? What... even?? Urgh. Listening to the words, the Seventh year tried to figure out what the Professor was talking about and the severing charm seemed to be the only charm he knew of that came to mind that could cut ties and that would or could be linked to sewing. Afterall, the diffindo charm was originally created to cut material and fabrics... even if it the intentions behind ts use had been edited and mutated over the centuries. "I agree with the Severing charm, Sir." Remy simply stated, with a nod of his head. Quote: Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom A RIDDLE? Ugh. Marchand was lucky he was so good looking or Scarlett would NOT be putting her efforts into this nonsense. What was wrong with just SAYING what they were learning? She raised her hand after giving it a moment of thought, however, to take a shot at answering the riddle. "Is it Diffindo, Professor?" she suggested. It was the only severing type charm she could think of, and it would make sense - learn a stitching charm AND the charm to undo what you did... Quote: Originally Posted by Anna Banana There were lots of things going on around her, but Maddie had been distracted on Derf, as the professor tending to the boy's injuries. Maddie couldn't bear to talk to Derf, as just the sight of someone injuring themselves like that made her stomach do tiny flips. So the first year just nodded when the older Badger talked to her. Pretty soon, she was finished with what was probably the messiest set of stitches anybody had ever seen. Oh, well, It was a success...maybe. It might also fall apart the first time somebody picked it up. Moving on... OHHH, A RIDDLE?! Maddie loved the thought of a riddle, even though this one seemed a little hard. She was just learning all her charms, so it was a little more difficult than just figuring out a riddle. Nevertheless, she agreed with what a few others were saying. Raising her hand, she said, "I think it's the Severing Charm, too." A Gryffindor girl (Shayla) had said something that got Maddie to thinking, too...could the professor know a completely different spell meant just for sewing? If so, Maddie would probably never guess that one. Quote: Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson Patrick watched a few other people around him do the charm first so he could see it again, he raised his wand and held his breath a second. If you don't try now you'll never know. He thought to himself as he let out his breath before sighing out, "Suturis flagellum." The thread started working through, shaky but working. He wasn't sure how he had managed that because he felt like he hadn't done too well. His head turned to hear the five minute warning and stopped trying to sew after he had previously tried a few times. He heard his professor begin instructions again. This time a poem or spell was stated. It sounded like an undoing spell. Shakily he raised his hand and waited to be called upon. "I'm not sure of the name, but I too agree with the other students. This has to be a detaching charm, like an undo." He smiled a bit feeling more comfortable as he gave an answer. Quote: Originally Posted by Lady of Light Once Etta had finished practicing the first stitching spell, Suturis, she examined her work carefully. Really, it wasn’t all that bad.. at least, from what she could tell. It was quite neat but she knew it would get better with more practice. She was about to start practicing the next spell when the professor moved on.. and they had to solve a riddle now. Okay. She knew solving riddles wasn’t her strong point. The girl sighed and set her piece of fabric on her desk, trying to focus on the riddle. Um. The girl finally raised, trying to come up with the answer.. and she hoped it would be the right one. “The severing charm, professor? Or a charm similar to that?” Because that’s what she could think of.. and she wasn’t the only one apparently. Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Again, Derf was really only half paying attention to what the Charms professor was saying to him. The third year was taking FAR too much pride in the fact that his spell had TECHNICALLY done what it was supposed to have done AND on the first try. FINALLY all those years of speech therapy were paying off - not that Derf had ever really felt self conscious about his stutter and lisp before. Which of course meant that he flashed Emmeline an eager grin when he heard her - his attention had wavered at just the right moment to hear her. And then his attention was back to the professor and his wand...and vanishing? Did he...HAVE to...because Derf wasn't sure he could do this again and now he was sorta getting bummed out about that and the PROOF being gone. Like...he could have gone walking around with the witch's hat sewn into his hand for all to see! Although...given the way Maddie was looking...perhaps that wasn't such a good idea after all. Simon likely would not have been able to stomach it. His dormmate could hardly handle lumpy or the future magizoologist's jars of dirt. "Okay," he sighed with defeat as the Charms professor did his thing. Bye bye stitches. Siiiiiiiiiiiigh. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it seemed like everyone was saying the same thing, and Derf was not in disagreement so he simply nodded his head...but then raised his hand anyway to add to the discussion as to WHY. "I agree with everyone else with the Severing Charm," he nodded, waving his now stitch free hand about. "Delfina Crimp created the charm as an easy and convenient way of cutting cloth and thread. Since she was a dressmaker and stuff...like her dresses were MAGICAL and everything...but like...prior to her inventing this charm all the other ones that did cuts burned or shredded the target." Thank you very much, chocolate frog cards! But then Charlotte mentioned a charm that his mum used all the time to prune their plants at home. Oh. Or that one. Someone had guessed it! Gaston nodded, smiling at Mr. Erikson as he gave his answer. He was a little confused on the name of the spell, but he had the right idea nonetheless. “*Yes! Good guess, Mr. Erikson – and you said the spell correctly the first time; it’s Diffindo,”* he said. The shouting was a little unexpected, however. “Please try not to shout, though.” It wasn’t intended as a reprimand, just a friendly reminder, and he wasn’t angry about it. Mr. Edwards had the same idea, and he received a beam from the professor. “Correct, Mr. Edwards,” he said. “Thank you for your answer.” Only moments later, Miss Reynolds spoke up. She too had the correct guess, though she seemed a little less sure of her answer than Mr. Erikson and Mr. Edwards. “Indeed it is, Miss Reynolds!” he said, beaming. “Good guess!” Miss Kemp was in agreement with her classmates, and Gaston smiled as she gave her answer. He was very pleased to see that the students who did answer were on the right track! “Then your thinking is correct, Miss Kemp,” he said. “Thank you.” Mr. Dooley was a bit unsure of the name of the spell, but he had the right idea about its purpose. “Very good, Mr. Dooley,” the professor said, smiling. *“It is a detaching charm in a manner of speaking, more specifically referred to as a Severing Charm or by its incantation Diffindo.”* Miss Kramer was thinking along the same lines as the others, and her answer earned her a beam from the professor. “That’s correct, Miss Kramer,” he said. “Thank you for answering.” Was Gaston just imagining things or did Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne seem upset about the idea of having the stitches removed from his hand? He was puzzled at first, but then reasoned he was probably proud of his work (and rightfully so!) and didn’t want to lose it. “I’m sorry, Derfael, but I cannot leave those stitches in your hand,” he said, giving the boy a sympathetic look as he vanished the stitches. “I’m so proud of you for getting that spell right, and I have no doubt you’ll be able to do it again.” He beamed at the boy as he aimed his wand and summoned a vial of pumpkin ink from the bowl. *“This was very* well-earned!” The professor smiled when the boy offered his answer to the riddle and some history behind the spell too. Now here was an incredibly thorough answer! In fact, he would’ve awarded some ink for it,,, had he not just given him some for correctly performing an S spell. “I don’t think I could’ve said it better myself! Very impressive, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne,” he said. Text Cut*: ”Vi, Emmeline, & Shay”* Quote: Originally Posted by Watson Vi continued her work, sewing on the fabric and creating a red tulip on her square. Then she paused and glanced up to hear Professor Marchand speaking again. A riddle? She flicked her eyes towards Ace who seemed to be pondering the answer to the riddle. She paused and then thought that it might have been Diffindo but then again... Was that answer too easy. "Is it a variation of the severing charm?" she offered. Not exactly the severing charm but something that was focused on fabric and sewing and all? But also... Use to cut ties with mistakes or simply when you need a break... Perhaps it was just Diffindo and she was overcomplicating. Quote: Originally Posted by NifflerFan A riddle?? Oh, no! Emmeline was soooo bad at riddles, and she was kind of surprised to have to solve one in Charms class. As Miss Ava quickly said, riddles were more of a Ravenclaw thing, right?? The twelve-year-old tilted her head to the side and studied the words written on the blackboard, as if somehow viewing them from an angle would give her sudden insights. Sadly, she didn't have annnny luck with the whole "staring it down" thing. Next, she tried reading one line of the riddle at a time to see if it made any more sense that way -- but it reallly didn't. If anything, breaking it down like that only made her MORE confused mhm. Her only guess was some kind of cutting charm, which everyone had pretty much already said. Still, Emmeline felt like it was her duty to participate LOADS today 'cause of the older witch in the back and her clipboard. Clipboards were scary and she wanted to make life easier for her Head of House if she could. Soo she reluctantly raised her head and said, "Is it like a suuuper specific kind of cutting charm, Professor? Instead of the Diffindo one?" 'Cause if not, she had nooooo clue what the answer was. Which was okay with her as long as Clipboard Lady didn't mark the professor down for nobody solving his riddle or something. Emmeline would be happy to stick with passwords for getting into her common room, mhm. Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 Shay smiled when Professor Marchand complimented her work. "Thanks Professor", she replied. Just as her stitching was finished, it was time to move on. Shay sat back and listened, as the class was presented with a riddle. Solve the riddle and determine the next spell to be worked on. Hmmm. The first thing that came to Shay's mind was apparently the first thing that came to everyone else's mind. Diffindo. That seemed too obvious though. Still thinking, Shay raised her hand. "I thought of the severing charm too. But.......I'm wondering if there is another charm that cuts more delicately and precisely." Just a thought. Shay knew that in practiced hands, Diffindo could be very precise........in practiced hands. Well, she would have to wait until everyone had responded before she would find out the answer. Miss Holden’s answer went in a slightly different direction, but still she was on to something. Gaston beamed, nodding along to her answer. “That’s technically correct, Miss Holden,” he said, “but I plan to teach the general version of the Severing Charm before we get into the variations.” Best to start with the simpler spell then build on their knowledge… Judging by the way she was staring at the board, Gaston wasn’t sure if Miss Sparkes was going to answer or not. He was very pleased when she did decide to speak up, and he gave her a grateful smile. “You’re on the right track, Miss Sparkes,” he said. *“We will be learning a specific cutting charm in addition to* Diffindo.” Miss Morrison seemed to have a similar line of thinking, and she earned a smile from the professor with her answer. “There is, and we’ll be learning one of them momentarily, in addition to the general Severing Charm,” he replied, nodding. “The Severing Charm has been around for hundreds of years and has been modified to suit specific tasks and materials many times over the centuries.” Text Cut*: ”Charlotte”* Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Char didn't mind riddles, and people were answering before she even had a chance to put her hand up. That was okay though, she didn't need to repeat exactly what was being said already. When Shay spoke up, it gave Char an idea. Enough of one that she forgot to be concerned about her mum cramping her style. She stuck her hand up and added on to her yearmate's answer. "Something more delicate and precise like... flipnsnipwitit, the trimming charm, for example??? You can use that to cut hair, string, threads, plants, anything really, and its way more precise, and also way safer than diffindo." But it probably was diffindo they were going to be working on.... its just that Char knew that flipnsnipwitit was a great alternative, and WAY more fun to say too! Miss Kettleburn spoke up and added on to Miss Morrison’s answer, suggesting a specific alternative to the Severing Charm. Gaston wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or unnerved by that answer, especially when she mentioned how much safer flipnsnipwitit was. In truth, he had a different variation in mind to teach the class, but now he couldn’t help but wonder if the girl had inadvertently implanted the idea in her mother’s mind to judge him for teaching any spell other than flipnsnipwitit. He couldn’t take that chance! Mentally scrapping his original plan, he turned to Miss Kettleburn with a smile. “Good example, Miss Kettleburn,” he said. “All of your points are valid.” Text Cut: ”Skylar” Quote: Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Ooh, she got a pumpkin ink! Although she wasn't sure what exactly she might do with scented ink, as it was never really her style, but she appreciated it nonetheless. "Thank you," she said sheepishly, oh, cut the stitches? Well that made sense. "No, I think I got it..." she nodded, scrunching up her face in concentration. Last thing she needed was to splice her desk in half, so focus was a must. Carefully, lifting the edge of fabric square up just a bit so she could see the stitches tied to the desk, she pressed her wand tip in between the fabric square and the desk, whispering with intent, "Diffindo," and fortunately, luck was on her side. The square was free. Pleased with her efforts, she glanced back at the board to see a riddle there, for what spell they'd be learning next This spell is not another stitch It helps you when you're in a pinch Important when you learn to sew But has more uses than you know Use to cut ties with mistakes Or simply when you need a break Let's see if you can now discern the name of the charm you're about to learn! A spell that Kyle and Remy and Scarlett already pointed out, one which she had just demonstrated? "The spell that I just used to detach my fabric square from my desk? I can demonstrate again, if you'd like?" She just had to reattach it to her desk. Gaston smiled when Miss Diggory said she could detach the fabric form her desk; somehow he knew she’d want to do it on her own! His smile grew even bigger when she offered not only a correct answer to the riddle but also help in demonstrating the spell in question. He had a mind to give her another vial of ink for her kind offer but decided against it; people might think he was playing favorites if he did! “Correct!” he said, giving her a look of sincere gratitude. “And thank you for your help, Miss Diggory, but I have a different demonstration in mind.” Text Cut: ”Miranda” Quote: Originally Posted by Devina Wellheart Miranda was busy working with her Fabric and Practicing the sewing charm, Suturis.", along with the prescribed wand motion... Easily the stitches appeared and held the felt cut out of a chicken onto the blue fabric she'd chosen... Maybe they'd be able to save their creations and she could owl it to Damon... She wasn't aware at first of her brother right behind her... That is not until she heard his voice saying the incantation for the charm.. " What the?.. What are you doing, Eddie?, eyeing him as she turned around. she didn't trust that boy at all.. Still unaware of the fabric he'd sewn to her robes. Then the professor was calling their attention back for the next portion of the lesson.... And He was speaking in riddles now?!... Now that's where Randa drew the line... She wasn't in the mood to solve a riddle!... She was in the mood to figure out what her brother was up to! The professor’s bright blue eyes flicked toward Miss Blaze, and an idea formed in his mind. He crossed the room to her desk. “It seems your brother’s played a trick on you, Miss Blaze,” he whispered, taking extra care to keep his voice down so those around wouldn’t figure out what he had in mind. “He’s attached fabric to your robes. I’m going to help you get it off, but I was wondering if I could use that as a class demonstration, please? The spells I’d use are the same ones I plan to teach the class; I promise they won’t harm you or your robes.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From his place beside Miss Blaze's desk, Gaston turned his attention back to the class as a whole. "Thank you for your answers, class!" he said. "As most of you correctly guessed, the next spell we'll be covering is the Severing Charm. A moment ago, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne was kind enough to give us some background information about the spell -" A beam was sent at the Hufflepuff. "- but just to recap, the Severing Charm was invented in the fifteenth century by a seamstress named Delfina Crimp as a way to precisely cut fabric. Prior to the charm's invention, cutting spells had a side effect of burning or shredding their intended target..." With a wave of his wand, the information appeared on the blackboard, and he paused to give the class time to process it. *"I can tell from your answers that most of you have at least some knowledge of the spell's incantation, which is, of course, Diffindo,"* he went on. "The wand movement is a v-shape with a downward curve at the end, like so..." He held his wand high so the people seated far away from where he was standing could see and made the described motion. Then he turned to Miss Blaze and assessed the fabric pieces attached to her robes. He spotted a particularly big piece attached at an angle that would be easy for his wand to reach, and only when he had her okay to proceed, he lifted the fabric as much as he could to reveal the stitches, carefully made the wand movement and repeated the incantation, *"Diffindo."* He repeated this process a couple more times with the other bigger, easy to reach pieces, but there was still more to go. Gaston paused to address the group again, *"Some of you also mentioned alternate variations of the Severing Charm, and Miss Kettleburn correctly guessed which one of these we'll be learning: flipnsmipwitit,"* he continued. "As she pointed out, this spell produces a more precise cut than the Severing Charm. It is preferable for use on smaller targets and is safer to use on living things than Diffindo." Another wave of his wand to copy the information to the blackboard, and another brief pause to give the students time to absorb it. "The wand movement for flipnsnipwitit is a swishing, karate chop-like motion like this..." He gave a quick, decisive swish with his wand to demonstrate, then carefully aimed it at one of the smaller pieces of fabric attached to her robes, repating the motion. "Flipnsnipwitit." A couple more repetitions of the spell were aimed at the rest of the fabric, and when he was done, he smiled at the girl. "Thank you for agreeing to be part of the demonstration, Miss Blaze." Then he resumed his place at the front of the room. "For today's activity, we'll be making a memory quilt," he said. "You have your fabric squares from earlier - if you aren't finished, you'll have more time to do so - now you're going to be adding to them. In this box, I have several larger sections of fabric. Select as many or a few designs as you like, and cut eight equal sized squares from the bigger section. You may use Diffindo or Flipnsnipwitit to do this. Decide which one works best for you, but I'd like you to practice each spell at least once." He almost forgot something! "And please remember to put the larger fabric sections back in the box when you're done, so others can use them." He held up eight fabric squares with a blue and black design that he'd cut earler to illustrate his point. "Once you have your eight squares, stitch them around the fabric square you already made like so..." He held up a nine-block square of smaller blue, white, and red pieces with a black fleur-de-lis stitched onto the center square. "Once you have a nine block square, write your name on it somewhere, find a partner and stitch your nine-block square to theirs. Then find someone else to attach their square, and keep going until everyone's squares have been sewn together." Make sense? Good. "You have the rest of class to work, and don't worry if you don't get all fo the squares sewn to each other. If that should happen, leave your nine block squares with me, and I'll add them myself," he said. "I'll be coming around if you need help or have questions; just raise your hand. You may start... NOW!" OOC: You have ABOUT 4 DAYS (11:00 AM GMT-4 Sept. 30) to do the main activity! Gaston and I will be checking back in periodically. If you need help/have questions, please indicate in the title of your post and we'll answer ASAP. And Jodi, thanks for giving us permission to use Miranda in the demonstration! __________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...