Charlie's face brightened the moment he stepped into the classroom and noted the pink and red decorations. Valentine's Day was a day he had always liked, even when he had been single. But now that he was dating Keighley, he had grown to like it even more. Char couldn't help but wonder if the decorations were there because Sayse too was a fan of Valentine's Day or if whatever was planned for today's lesson had to do with the occasion.

Regardless, the Puff was here for it. He gave Sayse a friendly greeting before claiming a seat somewhere in the middle of the seating arrangement. Admire the decor was what he was going to do while he got his books out.

It was hard to keep her face from wrinkling up at the decorations as she stepped into the room. Valentine's day was being met with a mixed bag of emotions this term. Though... Truth be told she'd had like no emotions about it previously, other than the fact it was another day in which to consume copious amounts of chocolate. Not like she usually needed an excuse to do that BUT it was nice to have one. But this year? This year had confusing teenage hormones mixed with a dash of.... Gryffindor, considering the plans she had for the day of.

But she was digressing.

After initial face was made as she stepped into the room, Vera quickly reverted it back to her normal expression. Or what she thought might be her normal expression since she didn't consider that often. And she shot a smile Professor Sayse's direction before then turning it to Charlie. "hello!" A short and simple greeting for both, as she then made her way to an empty set of two desks. She could have tried to sit next to Charlie, but considering this was probably a coupley class, she'd leave that rightful spot to Keigh.

With OWLs drawing closer by the day, Desiree was starting to feel the pressure. The dark-haired Hufflepuff was looking less than her usual perky princessy self as she entered the charms classroom, but she still spared a smile for Professor Sayse as she arrived. This was her favorite class, after all! “Hello, Professor,” she greeted politely.

Her mood brightened a bit as she noticed the pink and red decorations. Ooh, how very romantic! While Desiree had not yet found her Prince Charming, she could appreciate the holiday. Speaking of romantic… she eyed the desk arrangement. Was Professor Sayse trying to play matchmaker pairing everyone up like that? She supposed she’d find out soon enough! Taking a seat at an empty pair of desks, she waved to Charlie and Vera. Hi, everybody!

Charms. Sigh. Edric had hoped he was getting better at these, especially with NEWTs coming up sooner than he would have liked, but...

He stopped, paused, and grimaced at the decorations. Nope nope nope nope. He would turn around and leave right now if he weren't (hopefully) graduating in a few short months. As it was, he groaned and slid into an empty desk near the back corner. He also put his bag on the desk his was paired with, as though he were saving it for someone. Of course he wasn't. Hah. Who had friends here? Not this guy.

The Charms classroom was a riot of color and motion, and Mercer actually paused in the doorway to take it all in. Meeeeeerlin, it was so lovey dovey. Perhaps he was supposed to be super into Valentine's Day, since he was attached as one half of a couple, but since it just confused him, he opted for a Mercer-version of a scowl and stepped into the room.

"Good day, Professor." It didn't go unnoticed that seats were grouped in pairs and that no one had opted to sit with a buddy yet. Should he grab a seat and make a friend? Or trust that someone would come along and want to sit with him? HMMMmmmm. Probably Mitsuki would be along shortly, and maybe she'd be mad if they didn't sit together amidst pink and red hearts. Didn't sound like something she'd care about, but she could be finicky. Mercer dropped into an empty pair of desks, his brow still furrowed.

"Hi Professor Sayse." Brandon noticed immediately after walking in that the room was decorated in Valentine's Day colors. That was cute! But he had his very own crush, so he picked an unoccupied set of seats. He didn't want anyone else to think that he liked them! Unless they were Xander, of course. Because he had a very big crush on Xander and he knew Xander liked him back... plus, he liked to sit with his friends during lessons.

Hmm was the chalkboard magical itself, almost like a muggle tablet or did the Professor charm the chalk to move independently? What about those decorations…conjured? Made by hand and then adhered to the walls and ceiling…? Did they need to be “uncharmed” to take down?
Auden still didn’t know if that was even a word.

All these thoughts and many more raced through the mind of the almost twelve year old as she scurried quickly into the classroom, giving the Professor a smile and shy nod in greeting as she slipped onto one of the paired desks.

The first year hadn’t exactly gotten the hang of how to observe her surroundings without being constantly surprised. Her large expressive eyes were almost comical in their hurry to drink up the magical details of the room. Being a muggleborn and having been thrust into magical society was still something she was getting used to. A part of her still thought that any moment now she was going to wake up from this amazing dream where magic was real. Thankfully, that part of her was getting smaller and smaller every day and hopefully one day soon it would all start to feel a bit more real.

What was this? Keighley smiled as she entered the room and took in the red and pink decorations. Was this something to do with the days lesson or did their professor simply like the upcoming holiday? Even back before she was in her relationships, Valentines Day was never bothered her. She had always had a habit of giving out flowers or chocolates to friends and family anyhow.

"Hello, Professor." The blonde's greeting may have been kept simple today but it was said with her usual warm tone and smile.

The fact that the desks were in pairs of two, well that didn't go unnoticed either. Honestly, though, she was all for it. As long as no one was sitting where she wanted to sit that is. Blue eyes already searching for a very familiar someone and smiling brightly when she saw the empty seat beside him. Making a beeline directly that way, Keigh slipped down into the seat beside Charlie. "Hey you," she greeted quietly, brushing her hand lightly against one of his as she began to take out her own things for the lesson.

Maxine was ready for today's lesson. The paired seating through her off just a bit that was different that what she was used to. But charms was usually a fun class so she was ready and prepared for anything.

Taking a seat at an empty pairing, she wasn't prepared to make a decision on partners if that's what it meant just yet. Smiling at the professor "Hello Professor" She added pulling out her wand, books, and parchment just in case and got ready.

'No'

That was the first word that came to mind when he walked into the classroom. Just. No.

He wished he could turn around and leave, but a voice in his head asked, 'What if the thing we learn today is going to be an exam question? You don't want to fail, do you?' So he walked a little further into the classroom.

"Good day, Professor" He said, trying to sound casual before taking a look around the room. He didn't want to sit with people on a normal day, let alone in this situation. The problem was, by the time he had entered the classroom, many students had already taken an empty seat. The Hufflepuff looked around before he walked over to Desiree because they were both in the same House. "Mind if i sit here?"

Logan meandered his way to the third floor for Charms as he did any other day. He expected the day's lesson to go just as it normally did. Only it wasn't. He did a double-take in the corridor before entering the classroom. What were the decorations for? He may or may not have then made a face at the sight of the pinks and reds that had been vomited all over the place.

As he walked through the threshold, he gave the professor a simple nod for a greeting and then, taking in the sight of the desk pairings, it hit him: Valentine's Day. The mushy-gushy couples' holiday (because that's all it meant to him -- though having an excuse to eat an absurd amount of chocolate was a plus) was just around the corner. His stomach churned for reasons that, surprisingly, didn't involve being hungry.

So far, upon scanning the room, Logan considered his options: quickly make up an excuse to go to the hospital wing, find his own pair of desks to sit at like basically everyone else had, or ... put the contents of a certain note to the test.

The Gryffindor plopped himself at the empty desk beside Vera. "If we don't get chocolate, I'm going to riot," he said to her as he took out his things.

The upcoming holiday was not one that often, if ever, occupied the Ravenclaw's mind. It was not to be contrary, though some would assume this to be the case, but she just never quite could grasp why humanity as a collective had decided that this was the 'best' day to highlight the human affection. The social construct and emphasis on marketing confused, even more so that in the West there was no White Day. The inconsistencies were perhaps the most interesting aspect of it all and capable of holding her attention on the rare occasion. More so than anything else, February 14th was her oldest sister's birthday and that was where any innate focus went.

Stepping into the Charms classroom, Mitsuki made no assumptions out of the paired seating. Many of their lessons consisted of working in pairs regardless, so why would this set up be particularly unique? The decorations did draw her attention briefly, itching her subconscious and making her a little hungry, but the fifth year was soon moving forward towards the open seat beside Mercer without much additional thought. The professor did receive a small bow of the head in greeting before she sat. Whilst in the middle of setting her things out on her desk, her gaze shifted towards Mercer and his wrinkled brow...which she then felt a certain inclination to smooth and did so by reaching forward and rubbing the space between his eyebrows with the tips of her fingers.

The Fox was here as well. She would do well not to disturb the natural balance of things this time - though she did come prepared with extra parchment should such events come to pass.

"Alright let's get started, shall we?" she looked around at all present, as she flicked her wand to shut the door. "I apologize for those of you not fans of Valentine's Day but I assure you I'm not trying to matchmake any of you. I just appreciate the corniness of the holiday and embracing love and friendship, which can and should include platonic love. So I appreciate you all for humoring an older witch and not completely rioting against the decor."

"So can anyone tell me what charms might be useful to express love and friendship?" A rather broad question considering how many charms were available, but alas better to be broad at first and she'll narrow it down shortly.



ooc: thank you for your patience. Had some complications in getting this going the other day, but we'll get started now!!! Feel free for catchup posts as well, at any time... Approximately 24hours until my next post <3

“Hi, Vera!” Charlie waved a quill in her direction. He quite expected her to take a seat beside him {which he was sure Keighley wouldn’t mind either} but didn’t. Just excuse him while he remained bewildered for a bit; maybe they weren't friends. Desiree too got one of his quill waves plus a questioning look. She didn’t seem to be herself today. Was she okay? But then, maybe it was a good thing that Vera had opted to sit elsewhere because his girlfriend clearly wanted to sit with him. Char really hoped that Olivia didn’t get violet with a Beater’s bat and Bludger later on because of this. “Hey,’’ the seventh year replied, smiling as he briefly caught her hand. Too bad he couldn’t hold Keighley’s hand for the duration of the lesson.

Thank you kindly, Professor Sayse. Charlie needed no help in finding a match. She was very much welcome since he hadn’t planned on rioting nor did he find all of this corny. It was nice to have a day to appreciate loved ones {though one should appreciate them everyday} but when Sayse mentioned friendship, he immediately thought of Will and Den. His best buddies. Man, he loved those guys!

“The Sonorous Charm, professor,’’ Charlie supplied, grinning as he did so. It may sound silly if not realistic, and everyone who knew him knew that he could be silly at times. “I mean, it would come in handy if you wanted to shout from the Astronomy Tower expressing how much you love your other half or your buddies.” Yes, he’d do that for Will and Den even if it would embarrass them. At least he’d get a good laugh out of it. And of course, he’d do such a thing without hesitation for the lovely and fair Kaighley Morgan Anders.

Desiree's wave got a finger waggle back from the Gryffindor, before she busied herself with pulling out her books and a quill in preparation for the class to start. She noticed Keigh's entrance too and smiled as the girl took her seat - glad to see no one else had snatched it either.

As each student entered, she nosily watched where they chose to sit - amused by the fact everyone seemed to be of similar mind in preferring to sit alone over with someone else. Just in case. Squid boy was the first one to break the trend, which was a surprise to her merely because Daniel seemed like the type who preferred to sit alone regardless of atmosphere or class, but she didn't have too long to contemplate it though because the familiar blonde caught her attention as he entered - though she tried to not look his direction. Busying herself with suddenly a very important doodle so as to not see where he'd chose to sit, when all of a sudden he was in the spot next to her.

Um. What?

It would have been nice to say she had no reaction to that, but considering everything recently, the minute he did she could feel her face heat again. A really unfortunate thing that just seemed to happen now around him, which was another factor in why she had been trying to avoid him more than usual. Couldn't do that now though?

Hoping she didn't look as tomato as her face felt, she figured the best way to act now was to attempt to be normal. "I think you and your stomach will remember your best friend happens to have a giant stash you can mooch from before you can follow through on a riot." She replied, attempting to give a usual smile though her face felt weird as she did so. Was that how she normally smiled?? Is that what it felt like? Why hadn't she ever paid attention to that before??

Professor Sayse in for the save though, as class began and Vera could relax the slightest bit when she revealed they were focusing on all types of relationships - friendship included. That took some pressure off but honestly .. still just also highlighted some thoughts she'd been having a hard time discerning, now that object was right to her left. Awesome.

Anyways.

Charms that could be helpful in expressing love and friendship? This required a lot of spell knowledge that she could not currently locate in her brain. Charlie's response got a soft laugh from her under her breath. Had he already done that for his girlfriend or merely in the works? It was a good creative response regardless. Considering more, she went ahead and raised her hand. "Any healing charm, like reparifors, could work. Having knowledge on how to take care of someone you care about and being able to act on it is a good way of showing they matter to you."

Mercer was delighted that Mitsuki sat with him. For one because she was one of his favorite people and for two because it meant no one else would sit next to him and have them both pretend it wasn't weird. And for three, because worse than a stranger would be if no one at all sat next to him like he was a smelly boy.

The decorations still sort of made him laugh, as did the older Hufflepuff's answer about shouting from the rooftops. Mercer crossed his eyes at Mitsuki, then pulled a few faces, anything so that she would want to laugh a little too. Please also find this embarrassing and ridiculous, Suki. Please don't ask him to shout anything from a rooftop.

"Maybe... maybe just Orchideous, Professor? Like flowers? Can we just do flowers? Being a boyfriend sounds really exhausting for some people." Unlike being a boyfriend to Mitsuki, who just required permission to occasionally salt your shoulder for luck.

A giggle snort escaped Auden’s lips at the mention of the Professor’s announcement that she was not in the practice of matchmaking. Matchmaking…heheh. Maybe it was immature of her to giggle but let’s face it, relationships were the last thing on her eleven year old mind. Though obviously not for some of the older students around her. The first year tried hard to contain her mirth at their expressions.

But on to the matter at hand…because she most certainly was not here just for some giggles even though perhaps they were just an involuntary byproduct of the lesson.

A charm to express love and friendship…hmmm. Tentatively, she raised her hand.
“Maybe Engorgio?” she piped up, her youthful voice catching at the end in a squeak. Her cheeks flushed as she rushed to explain her answer.
”Because sharing is caring and maybe if say someone had a treat that they wanted to share with their friends but didn’t have enough they could, you know… enlarge it…in order to have enough to share?” She couldn’t stop the way her answer ended in a questioning lilt. As if she herself wasn’t sure if it was applicable. But well it totally was, at least to her. If she had a big group of friends, she could totally see herself celebrating Valentine’s Day by sharing some yummy treat. She just hadn’t gotten around to the whole making friends part yet.

Whew well at least no one had sat by her and she wasn't being matched with anyone. That at least one less thing to be worried about. But now about charms about love. She had a fleeting though about potitions, but that was the wrong class.

"What about Orchideous, that conjures flowers right?" She had never actually tried to use the spell before because lets face it, who needs more flowers in their life.

Ed appreciated that the professor was aware many of them did NOT like this holiday AND that she wasn't going to force him to sit next to someone. He nodded back to her, feeling a little better since this first question seemed harmless, and since she'd mentioned FRIENDSHIP as a valid form of love too.

So from his slouched spot, he half-lifted his hand in a bit of a wave, or an attempt at answering the question. "Sure, flowers are a great option for a romantic interest or like if your buddy won a quidditch match, but some of your single friends might appreciate a cheering charm since this holiday also kinda sucks for us." He put his hand back down with something between a frown and a grimace on his face.

His textbook, a quill, and a bit of random parchment had been retrieved and placed on his desk. To keep himself from being idle, and from likely making a fool of himself by looking at a certain someone too long or paying too much attention to what she was doodling, he began twirling the quill between his fingers. That did not stop him from side-eyeing the Gryffindor beside him, hoping wondering if he'd catch any signs of what had been described in that note. Each time he cast a glance, the quill was nearly dropped.

Was it warm in here, or was it just him? He certainly felt his face getting a little warmer. Not to mention that he could have sworn that cheeks had changed colour slightly. He wasn't sure if it was quite 'sunshine' level, but it was definitely something. Or maybe he was just imagining things. Logan decided to chalk everything up to the professor's heating charms and redirected his attention back to fidgeting with the quill.

"True. But I can get Vasco's chocolate any time I want," he responded, still fiddling with that quill. "I just think us receiving a bit of chocolate would only be on theme."

Another sneaky look -- so he thought -- happened, this time taking in the look that was on her face. That smile somehow seemed ... Well, thankfully there wasn't much of an opportunity to dwell on that as the lesson had started.

What charms could be used to express love and friendship? Instantly the boy's mind was going in a million different directions (whether that was because of the question or the person sitting beside him is up for debate). Instantly he thought of Orchideous, though that was kind of obvious in his opinion. Then Quietus randomly popped into his brain, though he disregarded that pretty quickly. He figured that one would be more applicable for parenting than friendship and love.

Contrasting his line of thinking, he did chuckle at Charlie's response. Then the blond started to wonder if shouting one's feelings from the top of towers actually worked. Maybe he could... What was he supposed to be thinking about again? Oh, right, charms.

"How about Aparecium, professor?" he pipped up with a raised hand, perhaps slightly inspired by a certain note he had received despite the lack of hidden writing. "It'd be useful for revealing secret messages that your friend or significant other may send you."

Keighley liked that Sayse decorated the room for each holiday, she herself was that way too. So the professor had her approval in this for sure. As for her sitting where she had, well, any chance she got to sit with her boyfriend she was going to take it. Speaking of which, that hand of his that had caught of hers was given a gentle squeeze. If she could get away with holding it the entire lesson, she surely would've.

As for the professors question well only one or two came to her mind immediately. Charlie's answer though was the one that got a real smile from her and a whispered, "By all means if you really want to, I won't stop you." Not that he needed to go and do such things for her.

The mention of flowers being given to ones friends and partner was her first thought. She loved growing her own flowers and gave them to Liv and Char all the time, she had even sent them to him when he still lived in Sweden. That had been when she had that power to grow flowers by touching things though. However this answer had already been said and she didn't want to keep repeating things.

Keighley glanced down at the blank sheet of parchment on her desk and had a thought, raising her hand. "What about a charm that lets you leave little invisible notes for those you care about?" And since Logan just mentioned the revealing charm Aparecium it worked to mention this as well. At least in her head it did.

"You could use Scourgify to help someone clean up," Hope volunteered. Like if they got themselves or something they owned dirty. Helping someone in trouble is a good way of saying you care" Goodness knows, Hope was always glad when someone else helped her clean up, especially after preparing a meal. Why was it always so much easier and more fun to cook dinner than to clean up after yourself?

Mitsuki was neither a fan nor a 'hater' when it came to the holiday. She was, perhaps, less of a fan of this particular line of thought. Particularly those responses that involved loud volumes or other more flamboyant forms of expression. It was clear that it was a form of expression that suited their personalities, which was all fine and well and Mitsuki saw no qualms about that per say. There was a deeper imbedded dislike for such forms of expression that she would much rather not discuss at this time.

Mercer did, somewhat, elicit a small laugh from her. It was more of a wistful exhale and upwards curvature of the lips than an audible giggle, but still present as the class discussion continued. Mercer mentioning the conjuration of flowers reminded her of her Peeves bestowed ability of creating flower crowns whenever she sneezed. He had been tickled by her ability then, so it was no surprise he mentioned flowers now. It tickled her a bit as well...until he mentioned it being exhausting and her attention snapped to look at him with a scrutinizing brow. What did that mean?

Thoughts of flower crowns, ones made of daffodils specifically, pushed from her mind for the time being, Mitsuki continued to study Mercer for a couple prolonged moments while her classmates continue to share and repeat ideas with one another until she heard someone (the parchment boy) mention the Cheering Charm and she found herself voicing an opinion.

"A Cheering Charm mimics an emotional response, a magical emotional manipulation. Gray in casting and overly sour." At least to her palate it was incredibly sour.

Valentine’s Day was admittedly not one of Fynley’s favourite holidays of the year. It wasn’t because he was terribly unromantic or because he begrudged other people being in love but it was because he thought it a little pointless. Fynn was at that point in his life completely single and therefore didn’t have a valentines to dote on anyway and he felt somewhat sorry for those that were disappointed in their own singledom and felt left out by the celebrations. His nose had wrinkled just slightly as he had headed into the classroom earlier and spotted the decorations. He had found himself a spot somewhat near to Charlie and Vera to sit.

Fynley was not usually one to answer questions in class. He found it difficult sometimes to recall facts and he hated being the one to have to search through his textbooks to come up with an answer but today he was feeling particularly confident. “What about Aberto? Girls love it when you hold doors open for them.” Right?! Nothing like a guy being gentlemanly. Didn’t have to be exclusively for girls either, he’d open a door for most people.