Well, today was it! Project Muggle. A final exam that actually didn't beat anxiousness into the hearts of those who were concerned with their marks. In fact, the buzz of excitement in the classroom was nearly palpable.

..or, maybe that was just Levi.

Nevertheless, the Hufflepuff would openly admit to his enthusiasm. Not only did they get to study these muggles first-hand, but they got to do so without having to conceal their magical backgrounds. They got to show off the wonders of the wizarding world directly to the non-magic folk. Spells. Puking pasties. Firewhiskey. Quidditch. Hell, it'd be half the fun.

And so with his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, Levi sort of sat, sort of leaned against the counter lined with snacks, and munched while he mingled. Conversation wasn't any struggle with him, but it flowed even easier with a content stomach and a drink in hand.

In point of fact, he was in the midst of some chit-chatting when Willoughby gave a rather apparent clearing of the throat and began his spiel. Didn't take long for Doherty to be singled out for his lack of attention, and Levi took this opportunity to claim a few of the crackers that the other boy had basically been hoarding. It was a wonder how the guy was able to speak with all those wads of chewed-up cracker stuffed in his cheeks. After leaning forward some, he patted the other quidditch player's back and spoke lowly. "Classy, Doherty." Leaning back with an amused grin, he shook his head and took a bite out of his own cracker, sans the cheese.

Anyway, groups. Willoughby was announcing the groups.

It was convenient that he didn't have to wait long to find out who would be working with him. Group A, Levi Baker-Mae with Lina Keller, a Hufflepuff as well. When his eyes landed on his housemate, he was greeted with a wave and a 'Yo partner.' And a wink. He flashed a smiled and returned with an exaggerated right-eye wink. It was a dying gesture, winking. Unfortunate.

But it was Willoughby's next unveiling that had Levi's full attention. The muggles. One by one, they exited their professor's office with all eyes on them. A single girl, three boys. Briefly, Levi wondered how exactly Willoughby had managed to even introduce the idea to these four. The idea of coming to a school of magic after being completely oblivious to it all these years before.

Maybe it was a spotted spell or some sort of act of magic the muggles witnessed that allowed the professor to broach the subject with these four.

But the rumination left his mind when Willoughby announced that Remy Cooke would be in Group A with Lina and him. A smile spread on his face, and he pushed his body from the counter and moved in the direction of the girl. Lina was already there making introductions. "And I'm your other group member," he said, warm smile still present. "Levi."

Alice had been minding her own business of to one corner of the room. Occupying a comfortable chair with her back to the wall so that she could watch the other people as she cared to from over the top of her book. As soon as she heard the professor ask for attention however, she had the feeling something unpleasant was about to happen to her.

Once the music that had been protecting her from having to listen to the others banter had been turned down, she frowned just slightly. It was muggle time apparently. Reminding them that the muggles weren't guinea pigs.....where was the fun in that? She had hoped that she would be safe in her corner and forgotten about but oh no. The professor wouldn't just leave Alice there to her books now would he....what a shame. She hid her disapproving sigh behind her book to look at her team mates.

How.....unappealing. Oh for Circe's sake she got stuck with the cheer squad!? What did she do to deserve this, she thought as she looked at the pretty blonde Gryffindor girl whose company would have to be suffering. And who else? Oh wait.......wasn't he in her house? Nerd alert, but at least he was smart , in case she was forced to speak to her team.

Whoa whoa wait, back up there professor. Equals? With MUGGLES !????? Had he lost his dusty mind? This......was going to be awful. She saw the team 'muggle study buddy' that they were appointed and bit back another sigh as she rose to stand with the group as she would be forced to, much to her chagrin. She was the shortest one here, probably wouldn't be much above armpit height for muggle by over there.....just splendid. Now they were expected to 'mingle'. She only ever 'mingled' at her parents get togethers, at their request, in order to be a good daughter. Now she had to do it for school? And what in Merlin's name.....she was supposed to socialize with the entire class!? Would she even survive this class, let alone pass it!?

Muggle Studies was boring, this was a fact. Flick. Professor Willy was trying hard, this was fact number two. Flick. Mira only took this subject this far because it was easier than Potions, this was also a fact. Flick. This term's project, though, changed everything to the better!

Mira straightened up from where she leaned on the table flicking cherries at people's necks. She stretched out a little while the professor went on explaining what was going to happen again, then she moved to sit on the table next to her yearmates, Colin and Levi. A grin at the former for being disgustedly munch-y. Aaanyway. Yes, yes, muggles are real people blahblahblah they should treat them nicely blahblahblah, get ooon with itttt, she wanted to play with one. Heh heh. Good thing she was paired with Colin and not someone who took this seriously, he could be on board on anything. He better.

The muggles trailed out of the professor's office next, and Mira's eyes set on their pet subject. "Follow my lead," she whispered to Colin with a nudge of her foot before the muggle, Hugo, was there in front of them. "Hi! I'm Mira, nice to meet you," she smiled widely at him, then pinched his nose with her two fingers and pulled down gently. Their greeting as 'wizards and witches'. Hehehe. Oh this was going to be such a fun class!

As long as professor Willy didn't catch her....

Remy was unimpressed with the hospitality so far. Way to make promises of experiencing magic and then lock a bunch of teenagers in your office, professor guy. Willow-something, was it? The blonde was already thinking up a way to defend herself against the crazy man if this all ended up being a sham when they were being paraded out like contestants in a beauty pageant. Lucky she was so pretty, she supposed. Also lucky that the guy seemed to be telling the truth about what they'd be doing here. Meant she could get rid of the knick knack she'd borrowed from his office, lest hitting him over the head needed to happen. She was just...going to casually put that down, yeah?

Right, she was being announced. Remy gave her signature lopsided smile and then headed over to the Ls. She'd be referring to them this way from now on, okay? L1 and L2. Lina and Levi. Both looked like they'd walked out of the Harrods catalogue. Was this a magic thing, the being good looking? Well news flash, witches and wizards, she might as well be one, too.

The blonde slapped the girl-Lina's- hand in a high-five rather than shaking, her own smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, you too." She'd expected them to be different. Look different. Maybe even dress different. Sadly, these two didn't seem that different from her at all. Hollywood really needed to do their research on this type of stuff, hm? She was let down.

"Levi." Holding her fist out for a fist bump, the sixteen year old regarded the boy-L2- curiously.

"So no pointy hats and brooms, then? Pity."

Lina didn't expect the high-5 slap on her hand and was taken aback a little by the pretty blonde-haired muggle's spontaneous greeting towards them. Oh, she must be like one of those trouble-loving types! This ought to be fun. Pointy hats and brooms? Was this how muggles always interpret them in their storybook? She wouldn't be surprise if she asked them if they melt by throwing a pail of water at them.

Lina chuckled as she crossed her arms,"Yes we do, but its not like we wear them everyday, only on special occasions...besides there are plenty of designs nowadays not just the 'pointy' ones,my mother had a collection of them actually but personally I don't think it suits me at all," flipping her long brown locks behind her and smiled back.She pointed her thumb at her partner,"Levi here is in the school Quidditch team, they use brooms to fly around the school grounds and play, you can talk to him about it if you want to know more about wizarding games," she added.

Now, it was her turn to ask the muggle a question."Where do you school at?"Lina asked. "Is it big like Hogwarts? Do they have ghost in them?"

Colin had found his way into more crackers as the muggles were paraded out before them, sending brief nods in their direction before continuing with his snacking. As far as he was concerned, this assignment wasn't a big deal. Get along, get a good grade, put in as little effort as possible. Perfectooooo. And paired with Mira? Perfecto. She was always game for fun and little effort. Or he hoped she'd be. Before he could think too much on this or get too many more crackers in his mouth, Mira had approached him, suggesting he might follow her lead. Eyebrows raising, he gave an immediate nod ("Done and done"), not even bothering to ask and immediately knowing it would be entertaining.

As they approached their little muggle pet, he finished the remainder of his snack and scanned the little guy up and down. Petite little fella wasn't he? Before he could say a word, Mira had introduced herself and quickly followed it up by pinching the young man's nose in a greeting.

Without missing a beat, Colin had pinched his own nose, re-enacting the 'scuba' dance move by using his other hand to wave above his head haphazardly as he blew air through his lips in a trill. He moved up and down as if sinking further into water and then floating back up. Together, they successfully made the picture of two aliens attempting to greet a humanoid.



Ezra was practically so giddy he could giggle. Could giggle. He could, but he wouldn't, because he didn't want to seem undignified in front of their guests. This was incredibly exciting for the young man who had been studying muggle culture from a very young age. He'd never held a full conversation with a true muggle, only in passing on vacations and things like that. Now, finally, this class would truly get some hands-on experience.

Watching them follow Mr. Willoughby, Ezra gave a polite smile, trying and succeeding at concealing the majority of his excitement. He stood quietly next to Alicia and Alice, his smile faltering just slightly at the company. How had he gotten paired with Sunshine Barbie and her matching counterpart, Dark Storm Barbie?? It was like Willoughby was truly trying to make this difficult for him. He gave a brief nod of recognition as Alicia said something to him, but he became more interested in waving the new muggle over as he joined their team.



Drew sauntered away from the snack table and over towards Benji the Hippie Boy as Willoughby announced their pairing. It wasn't the worst fate in terms of the rest of the class -- at least she wasn't stuck with Doherty. Still, she couldn't help but stare in mild amusement and concern as her partner turned towards the rainy windows as though questioning the night sky for life's meaning. A dark smile crossed her sharp features, knowing it was wrong to get amusement from making fun of another person, but Ben was just too much. He was asking to be mocked. Just a little.

She called out, "Hey happy hippy, let's do this thing," as they grouped up, turning to see the muggle (Will) approaching their area and flashing him a bright smile. Before she could reach out a hand, Ben seemed to come out of nowhere with a warm hug, treating the poor boy as if they'd known one another for years. Leave it to Ben to scare the living daylights out of their project subject within the first two seconds...

As the bizarre hug ended, Drew quickly stepped in for damage control, extending a hand to the muggle with a warm smile. "Hey... I'm Drew. The guy who practically just assaulted you, that's Ben."

Right...

Matthew hadn't been sure that they'd get out of that office any time soon and had propped himself up in a corner, arms crossed over his chest, and silently observed the others he had been stuck with. He'd agreed to this thing just for a change of pace, but so far, it just seemed a little stuffy.

So it was with great relief that he made his way into the room with the "magical" students to be assigned to a team. A small part of him still wondered if this were some sort of elaborate prank, but he was beginning to be convinced. "Hey," he said in greeting, raising his hand in a bit of a wave as he walked over to them.

"I'm Matt."

Levi watched as Remy opted for a high-five over a handshake then made a fist for him to bump. And hey, for the record, fist bumps were not foreign to wizards. So, he definitely fist bumped.

See? Magical folk were cool.

"Yeah, the hats aren't really a standard part of our wardrobe," he agreed, his fingers raking through his hair. To be honest, only the firsties and the smaller seconds managed to pull off the look. And that was simply due to the fact that they were still darling, little children. As Lina referenced him when talking about quidditch, he appeared to gain a little glint his eyes. "Or we could show you." If she wasn't impressed with the magical world just yet, some flying around on broomsticks might start to change her opinion.

Who knew, maybe one of the challenges would include flying. His eyes wandered over to Willoughby momentarily. What did he have in store for them, hmm?

But when his attention returned to the other two, Lina was posing new questions for their muggle group mate, and Levi did not miss out on the opportunity to ask one for himself. "Do you have an automobile?" He cocked his head slightly, interested.

"Huh. I don't think they'd suit anyone, actually," Remy admitted, glad to hear these guys weren't forced to wear such things all the time, despite what she'd been made to believe all her life. She didn't care how attractive this lot was, even beauty couldn't save your from looking silly in something like that.

Quid-what now? Remy raised her eyebrows and looked from the girl to the boy, curious. This was popular, then? The Quiddyditch thing. The blonde couldn't see playing a game with a broom between your legs as something that'd be comfortable but the flying... They actually flew. That was something she'd always wanted to try. She'd even jumped from a willow tree when she was nine, flapping her arms all the way down just to see if she could manage it, but these guys could. "I want to see it for myself. Yes. Let's do that!" Her eyes shone with excitement. Could she try it, too, or did you need to be a witch or wizard? How did that work? Her mind was buzzing now.

...But quid pro quo. She supposed it was her turn to share. She was, after all, their science project or whatever it was. Muggle was the word? Eh.

"I attend City of Westminster College. It's nothing like Hogwarts-interesting name, by the by. And no, no ghosts. One of my instructors is ancient, though. Wait-are there ghosts here?" The sixteen year old looked around, as if one would materialize right at that moment. Ghosts, really? She'd believe it when she saw it.

An automobile? How cute. "It's not mine, it's my family's. I am learning to drive now, though. Or well, I'm meant to be but I'm here so I'm missing out on some lessons but I'll totally make up for it when I'm home." So in short, yes.

Alicia, who unlike Ezra or her almost-namesake Alice, seemed completely unaware of the strangeness of her group (which must have looked quite hilarious to any outsider, and disappointing for those in it). Instead, her focus was on her final exam—ahem, muggle guest. Right. She totally wasn’t pouring another glass of apple juice and offering it to the Matthew boy to fall on the subject’s—guests’s—good grace and therefore earn herself an Outstanding grade on her final exam.

“Lovely to meet you, Matt,” she said, all smiles as she handed the boy his glass, practically forcing him to take it by wrapping his hand around the drink’s glass frame. She didn’t bother introducing herself as Willoughby had already taken care of all that. “What made you want to volunteer for this?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Whether Ms. Castillo was genuinely interested or simply beginning her exam, it was difficult to tell.


“” accurately depicted Hugo’s expression, lack of eyebrows and all.

What. Were they. Doing?
The girl was pinching his nose in the way adults do to small children (did she think he was like a cute five-year-old or something?) and the boy was… well, Hugo wasn’t totally sure what the boy was doing. It was amusing though, but the muggle boy wasn’t sure if it would be rude to laugh. Maybe the weird dance thing was a form of… friendly greeting? Would the wizard be offended if he laughed? Would he turn his head into that of a giant toad?

Hugo rather liked his head as it was, so he kept a serious face. Or tried to anyway, biting at his bottom lip slightly, and the corner of his lips twitching slightly. Rolling his right hand into a fist and bringing it up to his lips, Hugo cleared his throat softly.

“Ri—right.” His glasses had begun to slid down the bridge of his nose and he pushed them back up with his index finger. “Can I…” he looked them up and down, examining their attire and hiding the disappointment at the normality of it, “See a… magic…” Uh… “Trick?” Was that the right word for it? Magic trick? Or was that a magician thing? No, wizards were different, weren’t they? “Sorry, I don’t know if that—that was the right… term. Um…”

Just, could he see some magic please?!



Benjamin was smiling unblinkingly at William The Muggle as Ms. Carmichael spoke. He turned his head to look at her then, smile still in place, but eyebrows furrowing above green eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, turning back to William. “The gesture was meant as welcoming, not…” he looked at Drew again, “Assault.” Sad, sad world this was… Where gestures of love were seen as criminal activity…

Perhaps Ms. Carmichael just needed more hugs, was all. And it was his job, as… well, as Benjamin Thorne to rid the school, and the world, of misplaced negativity. For, negativity, as all other emotions, was completely acceptable and owning of a specific place. Hugs and affection just weren’t that place.

Still, Benjamin put his cause on pause. He pulled a tiny vial from his pocket, took a sip, placed it right back in his pocket, and continued to stare at William in an almost dream-like state. Muggles held a large amount of his admiration. Their ability to perform complex tasks without the aid of magic was admirable, in his opinion. And it was as if he expected the William boy to suddenly burst into a long speech on the discovery and application of electricity throughout muggle history at that moment. He was all ears.

And eyes. For the raindrops hitting the window behind William's head.
...Perhaps the boy was a little ADD.

And the dork strikes again.....His nerdy grin practically sprawling from ear to ear. She knew Ezra belonged in her house, the unmanly individual was brilliant at what he did know but.......well it was just a good thing he had an intellect. Alice somewhat wanted to roll her eyes as she watched her 'partners' reactions to the professor herding in the magicless guinea pigs like lambs to the slaughter. Yes, toss them to the pack of Hyena ready to pounce and expect them to act normal and like they aren't prey...sure.....Didn't he say equals blah blah blah not guinea pigs blah blah blah? It certainly seemed like he.......and pretty much everyone else decided upon guinea pig status. She resisted the urge to sigh, roll her eyes, and hide in her corner again.

Hey??? That was this grand 'muggle' person's greeting? Hey? How lackluster. His hand waved and he introduced himself via what she presumed to be his nickname. How.....unimpressed she was....and her face showed it. Still.....she needed to pass this class and keep her straight A record.

And cue Princess Sunshine and her pushy ways, with her pretty designer clothes and saccharin, pseudo-plastic smile. Yes, lets force our hospitality on the stranger. Presume that he likes apple juice and isn't allergic to it. Just open his gob and pour it down his throat for him while you are at it why don't you? Save him the trouble. And she apparently skipped the formalities and went straight to questioning and investigating the guinea pig........so much for hostess Barbie. She didn't even change her wardrobe to detective Barbie mode.

"Hello.....'Matt'." She wanted to leave it at that but much to her displeasure she was raised to be a lady.......even if she didn't feel like it. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alice Whitehall." She didn't offer to shake his hand though.....that was breaking her comfort zone, a verbal greeting and a nod was nice enough. Nicer than sunshine had been............she was lucky that she didn't burst into flames already from it.

Text Cut: Colin & Hugo

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinecone

SPOILER!!: hugo and mira!

Colin had found his way into more crackers as the muggles were paraded out before them, sending brief nods in their direction before continuing with his snacking. As far as he was concerned, this assignment wasn't a big deal. Get along, get a good grade, put in as little effort as possible. Perfectooooo. And paired with Mira? Perfecto. She was always game for fun and little effort. Or he hoped she'd be. Before he could think too much on this or get too many more crackers in his mouth, Mira had approached him, suggesting he might follow her lead. Eyebrows raising, he gave an immediate nod ("Done and done"), not even bothering to ask and immediately knowing it would be entertaining.

As they approached their little muggle pet, he finished the remainder of his snack and scanned the little guy up and down. Petite little fella wasn't he? Before he could say a word, Mira had introduced herself and quickly followed it up by pinching the young man's nose in a greeting.

Without missing a beat, Colin had pinched his own nose, re-enacting the 'scuba' dance move by using his other hand to wave above his head haphazardly as he blew air through his lips in a trill. He moved up and down as if sinking further into water and then floating back up. Together, they successfully made the picture of two aliens attempting to greet a humanoid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gryffindoll

SPOILER!!: Mira & Colin!

“” accurately depicted Hugo’s expression, lack of eyebrows and all.

What. Were they. Doing?
The girl was pinching his nose in the way adults do to small children (did she think he was like a cute five-year-old or something?) and the boy was… well, Hugo wasn’t totally sure what the boy was doing. It was amusing though, but the muggle boy wasn’t sure if it would be rude to laugh. Maybe the weird dance thing was a form of… friendly greeting? Would the wizard be offended if he laughed? Would he turn his head into that of a giant toad?

Hugo rather liked his head as it was, so he kept a serious face. Or tried to anyway, biting at his bottom lip slightly, and the corner of his lips twitching slightly. Rolling his right hand into a fist and bringing it up to his lips, Hugo cleared his throat softly.

“Ri—right.” His glasses had begun to slid down the bridge of his nose and he pushed them back up with his index finger. “Can I…” he looked them up and down, examining their attire and hiding the disappointment at the normality of it, “See a… magic…” Uh… “Trick?” Was that the right word for it? Magic trick? Or was that a magician thing? No, wizards were different, weren’t they? “Sorry, I don’t know if that—that was the right… term. Um…”

Just, could he see some magic please?!

Mira managed to keep a straight face when Colin did his little dance or whatever that was supposed to be, they should've planned this together beforehand to look united and double dorky but oh well, spontaneity was fun too. The interesting thing was that the muggle boy seemed super nervous about this whole business, she stared at him in spite of his obvious stuttering with a slight smirk on her mouth.

So much potential for games and whatnot he was giving them. So much.

Wait, what? He wanted to see a magical trick? HUh? "UH.." Mira glanced at Colin quickly then back at MB (muggle boy). "It's not the right term, but okay!" She fished out her wand and flipped it around her fingers dramatically, "How much are you willing to pay to see us do magic?" Hmm? Not necessarily in money. "Not in muggle money, they're just pieces of metal or paper," think better nerdy muggle.

Hugo’s dark eyes widened slightly when the witch pulled out a beautiful, intricately carved piece of wood. He understood immediately what it was: the magic stick.

Or, well, wand.

The muggle boy watched curiously as Mira flipped it around, expertly but carelessly, between her slender fingers. He wondered if there was any possibility of an accidental shot; sort of like a muggle weapon. Accidents were ugly and happened all the time. He certainly wasn’t eager to become part of a magical one right about now… Taking a step sideways, Hugo looked at the girl again as she spoke.

What was he willing to pay?

Hugo looked from her to the wizard boy, then back at her. “Uh…” He paused for a second. “A… good report? With your professor, I mean.” Wasn’t that the reason he was here, after all? To give a ’yay’ or ‘nay’ regarding his hosts at the end of the month?

Hugo's eyes looked funny when they followed her wand, she grinned to herself that she got his full attention with just the appearance of her wand. Imagine how his face would look like if she lit it? And so, she went ahead and conjured light from the tip of her wand, just like a muggle lighter only cooler and brighter. And just better in every sense.

Now, moving on to the payment part. A good report? Pffft, boring. She looked at Colin and rolled her eyes in a looke-what-he-thinks-we-want way. "That's nice and everything, but how about something else--" OH WAIT. She'd already done magic with her wand! Ugh, stupid. The muggle boy must've thought this spell was actually something amazing or whatever. Mira was just thinking of doing some sort of a complicated one, like transfiguring Colin's head into a pumpkin or something like that. Oh bleh. She blew her chance.

Or not yet. "Well this," she waved the illuminated wand in her hand. "lame demonstration is a preview of what we can do. Maybe you can pay me by writing both our reports," she grinned. "The one you're supposed to write, and the one I'm supposed to write," this way, she didn't have to waste her valuable time studying. "Deal, muggle boy?" she put the lit wand under her chin to look intimidating with the shadows it cast over her face. Hehe.