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MadMadamMalfoy · 03-16-2018, 03:32 AM

Text Cut: Emmalyn

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

She turned and nodded at Professor Marchand. “Just fine, sir, thank you. The spinning as stopped.” Leaning her back against the tree, she listened to the professor talk about the different answers and grinned a bit when he said she was at least on the right track. She hadn’t thought about the age of the tree, but that did stand to reason. It would be quite difficult to make a wand out of a young sapling. An older tree would be stronger, more developed, and most likely have more power within.

Excited to be venturing further into the woods, Emmalyn shouldered her pack and started forward. Her path wandered to the left of the group just a bit. Her eyes were focused on a tree just a few meters before her. It was familiar and she needed to get a closer look. As she approached, she had a sudden flashback of her childhood home. “That’s a cypress tree!” She exclaimed as she gently touched the bark. She inhaled the spicy piney aroma. “This cypress tree would be good for a wand. From its size, I think it’s a more mature tree.” She let her fingers run along the needles, smoothing them in their natural direction. It was a beautiful tree.

The next tree that caught her attention was quite large as compared to the cypress. Her eyes scanned up up up, looking for the top. “Oh” she whispered as her feet carried her towards the trunk, further away from the rest of the group. She could still hear the other students talking, so she knew she wasn’t too far away. This tree was very different from the first she spoke of. The base of the tree was much wider than she and the long soft needles were difficult to prick. “I think this is a cedar tree.” She inhaled deeply again, taking in the aroma of her grandmother’s closet. “Yes, a cedar. It’s an old cedar too. Look how big it is!” She hoped the professor could hear her from where she stood. She could still see him in her line of sight, so she assumed he could also see her. “This tree would also make a good wand. It’s large, so I bet a lot of wands could be made out of it. Although, does it matter how high the wood comes from? Wouldn’t the taller parts of the tree have younger wood that’s less desirable than towards the base of the tree? Um, also, doesn’t cedar repel bugs? I guess that would be a good quality as well. You wouldn’t need to worry about a bug getting on your wand.” She giggled at the statement.

She paused a moment to take down notes on the first few trees she named before continuing her trek forward, deeper into the woods and closer to their lunch destination. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of lunch. Between the portkey excitement and all the walking, her appetite had grown. Hearing the group move further, she adjusted her course towards the rest of the students. Just a few steps later, she found herself flat on her face. “Ouch.” She sat up and brushed the dirt off her hands and knees, noticing what she had tripped over. “Well, this young sapling, that I just tripped over, looks like a holly tree. It’s very young and flexible, not hardly thick enough at its widest part to make a wand. I don’t think this would be a good choice at all. Far too young and soft to make a wand. " She picked herself up off the ground after taking notes on the holly tree and more carefully headed towards the rest of the group.

Gaston gave Emmalyn a small smile as she told him the spinning had stopped. "That's always a good sign," he replied. He wouldn't want her to be too dizzy to go on their hike! He set off down the path ahead, looking back every so often to make sure no one was getting separated from the group... especially the younger ones. He noticed the Hufflepuff wandering a little to the left, and his eyes lingered on her for moment with a concerned look.

Before he could worry too much about her getting lost, she was pointing out a nearby cypress tree. "Very good, Miss Walsh!" he said. "That tree looks like it would make an excellent wand! Cypress wands are associated with nobility and best matched with someone who is brave and self-sacrificing. As a matter of interest, Remus Lupin, hero of the Second Wizarding War, had a cypress wand."

He was about to award house points for Emmalyn's answer when she drew his attention to a cedar tree. Wow, this girl certainly knew her trees! He was impressed. "Correct again," he said. "Cedar wands tend to favor those who are perceptive and not easily fooled. You're right about it being large enough to make multiple wands, and to answer your question, it doesn't usually matter how high the wood comes from, as long as the base of the tree is mature." He couldn't help but laugh a little as she mentioned cedar repelling bugs. "Very true. Nobody wants a bug on their wand!"

His dark head whipped around as he heard her say "ouch", and his bright blue eyes widened with worry. He rushed to her side, offering her one hand to help her up while his other reached into his bag. But she was already picking herself up. "Oh, dear! Are you hurt?" he asked. It didn't appear so, as she was talking about the holly sapling she'd tripped over. "Definitely not a good wand tree!" he agreed. "And you're right; it is a holly tree. Holly wands are considered protective and usually pair with someone impetuous with a tendency to anger. Harry potter himself had a holly wand." He beamed at her. "Three points to Hufflepuff for your answer, and take an extra point for sharing your extensive knowledge of trees."

Text Cut: Natalie

The concern written all over Gaston's face lessened upon hearing that Natalie hadn't been injured (at least not seriously) when she fell. "Oh, okay," he replied, and his voice dropped as he added, "If it still hurts when we stop for lunch, just let me know and I'll give you a pillow to sit on."

As he lead the way farther into the forest, he thought he heard someone mutter something, and he looked back at the Slytherin. "Certainly not that one," he said. "Good job, Miss McKinley; three points to Slytherin for your answer." He studied the fallen tree for a minute. "Hmm... this looks like an elm. Elm wands are best matched to a person with innate dignity and magical dexterity. Some people once believed that only pureblood wizards and witches could produce magic with an elm wand, and they were highly sought-after by those wanting to prove their blood status - this belief is, of course, complete nonsense."

Text Cut: Daisy

Gaston looked back as he ventured on. He gave Daisy an encouraging smile, but that smile vanished and turned to worry as he heard her grunt. Was everything okay? Was she hurt? Having trouble keeping up? Hanging back slightly, he sidled over to her. "Are you doing okay, Miss Swann?" he asked, looking at her with concern. "it's not much farther now, but we can stop and take a break if you need to."

Text Cut: Jace

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefan

Considering Professor Marchand's expounded explanation of his answer, Jace was quite pleased with himself by the fact that his logical reasoning did not fail. He'd listened carefully to the rest of the answers thrown the man's way, taking in useful information, and discarding those that didn't make much sense to him. It's not as if he was going to make a living out of wand-making anyway, so the information was filed somewhere else in his brain as he joined the others in walking, patting Garreth on the shoulder to say a quiet 'hello' and walked alongside him and the first year Gryffindor Rylee.

The probability of a lost student in the woods earned Professor Marchand a glance. If it did happen, he's got a bunch of seventh years to help him out. Also...perhaps it'd be a good idea for the senior students to look out after the younger ones. Merlin, Jace knew Professor Marchand would beat himself up to a pulp if something happened to them.

And so while they made their way to a clearing of some sort, Jace kept an eye out for good trees and discreetly watched out for those too adventurous kids who might wander too far. As he adjusted the bag on his back, Jace stopped short and took a few steps away from the group to touch one of the old looking trees. "I...don't believe it. It's a Gingko tree...here in a European forest!" Again, it was another small taste of home. He really was nearing the end of his Hogwarts career. Japan's calling him back, that's for sure. Releasing his negative chi through his outstretched arm, he pressed his palm against the ancient tree's trunk, and he could swear he felt a vibration. A good one. It was as him it was trying to ease his mind...healing him from within. Feeling the heat form between his palm and the trunk, Jace carefully retracted his arm back and rejoined the group.

"Gingko trees would be a good candidate professor," he started jogging back up near the man, "It's a timeless tree, and it grows more majestic over time." Jace had a smile on his face as he continued, "There's this story from my home in Japan about it, and I think it would cement the idea of strength, resilience, and...perhaps its magical powers should a wand be made out of it." the Ravenclaw paused as he looked over his shoulder to take a glance at it again. "During the wake of the second muggle world war, everything else was destroyed by a huge bomb except for the Gingko trees. They were the only living thing that survived the impact. Even physics can't explain how it didn't get destroyed when it was so near the epicenter..." he trailed off, as he looked ahead. "No wonder they are considered sacred in my home country. Monks love it." Jace gave a shrug and a chuckle, "Perhaps even dinosaurs had a grand time eating off its top leaves if it can survive for ages..."

Gaston couldn't help but notice the look Jace gave him when he mentioned the possibility of someone getting lost and gave him a small reassuring smile. He doubted that would happen - he trusted his students to have enough common sense not to go wandering off alone- and if it did, he would be able to find them pretty fast if they sent up red sparks. The announcement was more of a precaution than anything else.

The hike was almost over when the Ravenclaw's voice caused him to turn around. Blink, blink. Did he just say a ginko tree? Here? He looked around, and sure enough, he saw the tree in question. He couldn't blame the boy's surprise; gingko trees weren't exactly indigenous to Scotland. Pushing his questions of how the tree got here out of his mind, he listened to Jace's answer. "That stands to reason, Mr. Reed," he said, nodding approvingly. "I don't personally know of anyone with a gingko wand - do you know if they're commonly used in Japan?" His knowledge of Japanese culture was fairly limited. "But based on the looks of this tree and the information you've given, I'd say it would make a fine wand wood." The story he told about the Japanese gingko trees earned him a beam fromthe professor. "What a beautiful story! Three points to Ravenclaw for you answer and one extra point for sharing that story with us."

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

Gaston stopped as he came to a quiet spot int he middle of the forest. There was a fallen log sprawled across the ground and a few stumps nearby. With a wave of his wand, he transfigured the log into a bench. Another wave turned the stumps into stools, and one last flick of his wand cast a nonverbal cushioning charm. There, that should make things more comfortable for the students! "We'll stop here for lunch," he addressed the group.

He took a seat on one of the stools and opened his bag. "If anyone forgot their packed lunch, I have extra food in here." He took out his own lunch - a croissant sandwich, a small cup of fruit, bottled water, and a slice of opera cake for dessert - and set it aside for a moment as he produced several energy bars and packets of trail mix. "Here's also some snacks to share; help yourselves, everyone!" This was the guy who never held a class without providing some sort of refreshment, remember?

"So far, we've established that different wand woods match well with different personalities, and we went over a few of those matches already," he went on. "While we're eating, I'd like you to take a look at your own wand, and tell us what kind of wood it's made of and what you think that wood says about you." He paused to give time for the instructions to sink in. "I'll start..." He picked up his wand and turned it over in his hand. "My wand is made of beech, which tends to favor people who are tolerant and rich in understanding. When this wand is matched with a young person-" Which had been the case when he got it back when he was a child. "-it means they are wise beyond their years." Was it weird that he felt like he was bragging by saying that? He never felt wise beyond his years, but maybe his wand saw something in him that he didn't.

OOC: You have ABOUT 24 HOURS (11 PM EDT March 16) to participate in this discussion. Then we'll start the main activity.

03-16-2018, 03:32 AM	#22 (permalink)
MadMadamMalfoy Newbie Mod Alley Proprietor Mackled Malaclaw Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Hazbin Hotel Posts: 11,077 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: Emmalyn Quote: Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom She turned and nodded at Professor Marchand. “Just fine, sir, thank you. The spinning as stopped.” Leaning her back against the tree, she listened to the professor talk about the different answers and grinned a bit when he said she was at least on the right track. She hadn’t thought about the age of the tree, but that did stand to reason. It would be quite difficult to make a wand out of a young sapling. An older tree would be stronger, more developed, and most likely have more power within. Excited to be venturing further into the woods, Emmalyn shouldered her pack and started forward. Her path wandered to the left of the group just a bit. Her eyes were focused on a tree just a few meters before her. It was familiar and she needed to get a closer look. As she approached, she had a sudden flashback of her childhood home. “That’s a cypress tree!” She exclaimed as she gently touched the bark. She inhaled the spicy piney aroma. “This cypress tree would be good for a wand. From its size, I think it’s a more mature tree.” She let her fingers run along the needles, smoothing them in their natural direction. It was a beautiful tree. The next tree that caught her attention was quite large as compared to the cypress. Her eyes scanned up up up, looking for the top. “Oh” she whispered as her feet carried her towards the trunk, further away from the rest of the group. She could still hear the other students talking, so she knew she wasn’t too far away. This tree was very different from the first she spoke of. The base of the tree was much wider than she and the long soft needles were difficult to prick. “I think this is a cedar tree.” She inhaled deeply again, taking in the aroma of her grandmother’s closet. “Yes, a cedar. It’s an old cedar too. Look how big it is!” She hoped the professor could hear her from where she stood. She could still see him in her line of sight, so she assumed he could also see her. “This tree would also make a good wand. It’s large, so I bet a lot of wands could be made out of it. Although, does it matter how high the wood comes from? Wouldn’t the taller parts of the tree have younger wood that’s less desirable than towards the base of the tree? Um, also, doesn’t cedar repel bugs? I guess that would be a good quality as well. You wouldn’t need to worry about a bug getting on your wand.” She giggled at the statement. She paused a moment to take down notes on the first few trees she named before continuing her trek forward, deeper into the woods and closer to their lunch destination. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of lunch. Between the portkey excitement and all the walking, her appetite had grown. Hearing the group move further, she adjusted her course towards the rest of the students. Just a few steps later, she found herself flat on her face. “Ouch.” She sat up and brushed the dirt off her hands and knees, noticing what she had tripped over. “Well, this young sapling, that I just tripped over, looks like a holly tree. It’s very young and flexible, not hardly thick enough at its widest part to make a wand. I don’t think this would be a good choice at all. Far too young and soft to make a wand. " She picked herself up off the ground after taking notes on the holly tree and more carefully headed towards the rest of the group. Gaston gave Emmalyn a small smile as she told him the spinning had stopped. "That's always a good sign," he replied. He wouldn't want her to be too dizzy to go on their hike! He set off down the path ahead, looking back every so often to make sure no one was getting separated from the group... especially the younger ones. He noticed the Hufflepuff wandering a little to the left, and his eyes lingered on her for moment with a concerned look. Before he could worry too much about her getting lost, she was pointing out a nearby cypress tree. "Very good, Miss Walsh!" he said. "That tree looks like it would make an excellent wand! Cypress wands are associated with nobility and best matched with someone who is brave and self-sacrificing. As a matter of interest, Remus Lupin, hero of the Second Wizarding War, had a cypress wand." He was about to award house points for Emmalyn's answer when she drew his attention to a cedar tree. Wow, this girl certainly knew her trees! He was impressed. "Correct again," he said. "Cedar wands tend to favor those who are perceptive and not easily fooled. You're right about it being large enough to make multiple wands, and to answer your question, it doesn't usually matter how high the wood comes from, as long as the base of the tree is mature." He couldn't help but laugh a little as she mentioned cedar repelling bugs. "Very true. Nobody wants a bug on their wand!" His dark head whipped around as he heard her say "ouch", and his bright blue eyes widened with worry. He rushed to her side, offering her one hand to help her up while his other reached into his bag. But she was already picking herself up. "Oh, dear! Are you hurt?" he asked. It didn't appear so, as she was talking about the holly sapling she'd tripped over. "Definitely not a good wand tree!" he agreed. "And you're right; it is a holly tree. Holly wands are considered protective and usually pair with someone impetuous with a tendency to anger. Harry potter himself had a holly wand." He beamed at her. "Three points to Hufflepuff for your answer, and take an extra point for sharing your extensive knowledge of trees." Text Cut: Natalie Quote: Originally Posted by sarahlooo No, he was not imagining things. Natalie almost considered forgoing the field trip, but she thought some fresh air and new information would do her some good. And who knew - maybe she would find a new fascination in wandlore? It was... unlikely. But not impossible! Oh, Professor Marchand was right there, hello. She appreciated his quickness to attend to her, but she didn't seem to have hurt herself too bad. It was nice that he was prepared, though. "I'm alright," she reassured him, picking a few pine needles off her sweater. "Just hurt me bum is all." And, you know... there wasn't much he could do about that. Class moved on, thankfully, and her own answer didn't seem to be too far off. But that was about the extent of her knowledge of trees, wood, wands and the like. The rest of the field trip would likely be brand new information. Not wanting to get lost, Natalie followed closely behind Marchand as he began walking through the forest. What trees would or wouldn't make good wands? "Probably not that one," she muttered quietly as they passed a fallen tree. Really, though... Cedar? She didn't know what cedar trees looked like or what oak trees looked like. They were all TREES. The concern written all over Gaston's face lessened upon hearing that Natalie hadn't been injured (at least not seriously) when she fell. "Oh, okay," he replied, and his voice dropped as he added, "If it still hurts when we stop for lunch, just let me know and I'll give you a pillow to sit on." As he lead the way farther into the forest, he thought he heard someone mutter something, and he looked back at the Slytherin. "Certainly not that one," he said. "Good job, Miss McKinley; three points to Slytherin for your answer." He studied the fallen tree for a minute. "Hmm... this looks like an elm. Elm wands are best matched to a person with innate dignity and magical dexterity. Some people once believed that only pureblood wizards and witches could produce magic with an elm wand, and they were highly sought-after by those wanting to prove their blood status - this belief is, of course, complete nonsense." Text Cut: Daisy Quote: Originally Posted by Ginevra Daisy looked at Emmalyn in amazement. How did she know the names of all the different trees? Maybe her friend wanted to be a wandmaker in the future. The third year was having trouble and it was frustrating her as the group walked through the forest. She let out a grunt of anger. Gaston looked back as he ventured on. He gave Daisy an encouraging smile, but that smile vanished and turned to worry as he heard her grunt. Was everything okay? Was she hurt? Having trouble keeping up? Hanging back slightly, he sidled over to her. "Are you doing okay, Miss Swann?" he asked, looking at her with concern. "it's not much farther now, but we can stop and take a break if you need to." Text Cut: Jace Quote: Originally Posted by Stefan Considering Professor Marchand's expounded explanation of his answer, Jace was quite pleased with himself by the fact that his logical reasoning did not fail. He'd listened carefully to the rest of the answers thrown the man's way, taking in useful information, and discarding those that didn't make much sense to him. It's not as if he was going to make a living out of wand-making anyway, so the information was filed somewhere else in his brain as he joined the others in walking, patting Garreth on the shoulder to say a quiet 'hello' and walked alongside him and the first year Gryffindor Rylee. The probability of a lost student in the woods earned Professor Marchand a glance. If it did happen, he's got a bunch of seventh years to help him out. Also...perhaps it'd be a good idea for the senior students to look out after the younger ones. Merlin, Jace knew Professor Marchand would beat himself up to a pulp if something happened to them. And so while they made their way to a clearing of some sort, Jace kept an eye out for good trees and discreetly watched out for those too adventurous kids who might wander too far. As he adjusted the bag on his back, Jace stopped short and took a few steps away from the group to touch one of the old looking trees. "I...don't believe it. It's a Gingko tree...here in a European forest!" Again, it was another small taste of home. He really was nearing the end of his Hogwarts career. Japan's calling him back, that's for sure. Releasing his negative chi through his outstretched arm, he pressed his palm against the ancient tree's trunk, and he could swear he felt a vibration. A good one. It was as him it was trying to ease his mind...healing him from within. Feeling the heat form between his palm and the trunk, Jace carefully retracted his arm back and rejoined the group. "Gingko trees would be a good candidate professor," he started jogging back up near the man, "It's a timeless tree, and it grows more majestic over time." Jace had a smile on his face as he continued, "There's this story from my home in Japan about it, and I think it would cement the idea of strength, resilience, and...perhaps its magical powers should a wand be made out of it." the Ravenclaw paused as he looked over his shoulder to take a glance at it again. "During the wake of the second muggle world war, everything else was destroyed by a huge bomb except for the Gingko trees. They were the only living thing that survived the impact. Even physics can't explain how it didn't get destroyed when it was so near the epicenter..." he trailed off, as he looked ahead. "No wonder they are considered sacred in my home country. Monks love it." Jace gave a shrug and a chuckle, "Perhaps even dinosaurs had a grand time eating off its top leaves if it can survive for ages..." Gaston couldn't help but notice the look Jace gave him when he mentioned the possibility of someone getting lost and gave him a small reassuring smile. He doubted that would happen - he trusted his students to have enough common sense not to go wandering off alone- and if it did, he would be able to find them pretty fast if they sent up red sparks. The announcement was more of a precaution than anything else. The hike was almost over when the Ravenclaw's voice caused him to turn around. Blink, blink. Did he just say a ginko tree? Here? He looked around, and sure enough, he saw the tree in question. He couldn't blame the boy's surprise; gingko trees weren't exactly indigenous to Scotland. Pushing his questions of how the tree got here out of his mind, he listened to Jace's answer. "That stands to reason, Mr. Reed," he said, nodding approvingly. "I don't personally know of anyone with a gingko wand - do you know if they're commonly used in Japan?" His knowledge of Japanese culture was fairly limited. "But based on the looks of this tree and the information you've given, I'd say it would make a fine wand wood." The story he told about the Japanese gingko trees earned him a beam fromthe professor. "What a beautiful story! Three points to Ravenclaw for you answer and one extra point for sharing that story with us." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gaston stopped as he came to a quiet spot int he middle of the forest. There was a fallen log sprawled across the ground and a few stumps nearby. With a wave of his wand, he transfigured the log into a bench. Another wave turned the stumps into stools, and one last flick of his wand cast a nonverbal cushioning charm. There, that should make things more comfortable for the students! "We'll stop here for lunch," he addressed the group. He took a seat on one of the stools and opened his bag. "If anyone forgot their packed lunch, I have extra food in here." He took out his own lunch - a croissant sandwich, a small cup of fruit, bottled water, and a slice of opera cake for dessert - and set it aside for a moment as he produced several energy bars and packets of trail mix. "Here's also some snacks to share; help yourselves, everyone!" This was the guy who never held a class without providing some sort of refreshment, remember? "So far, we've established that different wand woods match well with different personalities, and we went over a few of those matches already," he went on. "While we're eating, I'd like you to take a look at your own wand, and tell us what kind of wood it's made of and what you think that wood says about you." He paused to give time for the instructions to sink in. "I'll start..." He picked up his wand and turned it over in his hand. "My wand is made of beech, which tends to favor people who are tolerant and rich in understanding. When this wand is matched with a young person-" Which had been the case when he got it back when he was a child. "-it means they are wise beyond their years." Was it weird that he felt like he was bragging by saying that? He never felt wise beyond his years, but maybe his wand saw something in him that he didn't. OOC: You have ABOUT 24 HOURS (11 PM EDT March 16) to participate in this discussion. Then we'll start the main activity. __________________ 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...