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Felixir · 06-12-2021, 05:14 AM

Given they weren't really watching the rest of the room very closely, Nem had no reason to believe Varma had noticed what it was that they were doing, except maybe a vague sense she had eyes on them at one point, and the fact that she didn't stop by them or make any comments. A lot of professors largely left Nem alone, one or two outright ignored them, but a couple were in the watchful category, for all kinds of reasons. Nem knew they'd sparked a certain curiosity in Varma, figured it was unlikely she'd give them any less of her notice than she did anyone else in the room, understood that she sometimes noticed more than she might let on. They had that in common.

Point was, they had an idea that she'd taken note of their small-scale experiments, and that wasn't an issue. Nothing untoward here, of course; they were unlikely to do that mid-lesson, just a handful of innocent investigations. The professor might even have been intrigued to learn what else they'd explored in the past, potions-wise, but that was a conversation for another day. Maybe.

After having packed away the last of the ingredients, and cleared and cleaned up their workstation, Nem looked up just as Varma was reaching the instructions pertaining to developing the photos, though they'd listened to every other word so far as well. Their eyes flicked towards the backdrop and the box of... props... and then back to the professor. No, they already knew what they'd be photographing; they had something close at hand. Once the activity was underway, they silently Summoned a camera from the front of the room, plucking it out of the air when it reached them at the back.

Nem reached into their pocket again, and pulled out the full handful of metal matchsticks. Even as they started forming into a shape, Nem poured them out of their hand and onto the surface of the workstation; for a moment, they sat in a pile, then started rearranging themselves again.

There was the possibility that the camera was the crux of the issue - camera plus magic (plus potion(?)). Before moving on, Nem studied it closely, pulling open shutters and pushing or twisting anything that could move or open, stopping short of exposing the film inside. They shook it by their ear, waved their wand over it a couple of times, looked through the viewfinder, inspected ever millimetre of it before finally pointing it at the matchsticks, which had now taken on the form of a small moving tree with an uncanny resemblance to the Whomping Willow... in both appearance and behaviour. Every now and then it would flail its 'branches' or slam into the surface of the desk with a tiny metal-on-wood crash. Nem snapped a picture of it, bothering only to make sure it was well-lit enough to be seen in a photograph.

And then, suddenly, nails on a chalkboard. Or, rather, music. Holiday music, in particular. It all amounted to the same thing.

At first, Nem only stared, their distaste not exactly evident, but certainly present. A moment later they were up out of their seat, scooping up their matchsticks with unnecessary force, so that they scraped harshly against the surface of the desk. They shoved them back into their pocket, and picked up their cauldron by the handle to bring it back to the darkroom with them. Nem didn't bother to grab the page of instructions; hearing them once was enough, and they were more interested in finding out if this darkroom shut out sound as much as it did light.

06-12-2021, 05:14 AM	#70 (permalink)
Felixir Book Club Mod Alley Proprietor Banshee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Posts: 50,132 Hogwarts RPG Name: Charlie Upstead Gryffindor Fifth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Aurelio Kaiser Slytherin Third Year Diagon Alley Proprietor: Ezekiel Ransom-Kruus Ollivanders x12 x12	Lovely™ \| Captain Hurted \| Ariana's Bane \| Resident Antagonist \| Unparalleled Delight Given they weren't really watching the rest of the room very closely, Nem had no reason to believe Varma had noticed what it was that they were doing, except maybe a vague sense she had eyes on them at one point, and the fact that she didn't stop by them or make any comments. A lot of professors largely left Nem alone, one or two outright ignored them, but a couple were in the watchful category, for all kinds of reasons. Nem knew they'd sparked a certain curiosity in Varma, figured it was unlikely she'd give them any less of her notice than she did anyone else in the room, understood that she sometimes noticed more than she might let on. They had that in common. Point was, they had an idea that she'd taken note of their small-scale experiments, and that wasn't an issue. Nothing untoward here, of course; they were unlikely to do that mid-lesson, just a handful of innocent investigations. The professor might even have been intrigued to learn what else they'd explored in the past, potions-wise, but that was a conversation for another day. Maybe. After having packed away the last of the ingredients, and cleared and cleaned up their workstation, Nem looked up just as Varma was reaching the instructions pertaining to developing the photos, though they'd listened to every other word so far as well. Their eyes flicked towards the backdrop and the box of... props... and then back to the professor. No, they already knew what they'd be photographing; they had something close at hand. Once the activity was underway, they silently Summoned a camera from the front of the room, plucking it out of the air when it reached them at the back. Nem reached into their pocket again, and pulled out the full handful of metal matchsticks. Even as they started forming into a shape, Nem poured them out of their hand and onto the surface of the workstation; for a moment, they sat in a pile, then started rearranging themselves again. There was the possibility that the camera was the crux of the issue - camera plus magic (plus potion(?)). Before moving on, Nem studied it closely, pulling open shutters and pushing or twisting anything that could move or open, stopping short of exposing the film inside. They shook it by their ear, waved their wand over it a couple of times, looked through the viewfinder, inspected ever millimetre of it before finally pointing it at the matchsticks, which had now taken on the form of a small moving tree with an uncanny resemblance to the Whomping Willow... in both appearance and behaviour. Every now and then it would flail its 'branches' or slam into the surface of the desk with a tiny metal-on-wood crash. Nem snapped a picture of it, bothering only to make sure it was well-lit enough to be seen in a photograph. And then, suddenly, nails on a chalkboard. Or, rather, music. Holiday music, in particular. It all amounted to the same thing. At first, Nem only stared, their distaste not exactly evident, but certainly present. A moment later they were up out of their seat, scooping up their matchsticks with unnecessary force, so that they scraped harshly against the surface of the desk. They shoved them back into their pocket, and picked up their cauldron by the handle to bring it back to the darkroom with them. Nem didn't bother to grab the page of instructions; hearing them once was enough, and they were more interested in finding out if this darkroom shut out sound as much as it did light. __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!