Lesson: Charms: Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

[Charely Potter]

It was the beginning of November. The skies were cloudy from the early snow, making the temperature on the chilly side. Not that it mattered as the indoors were nice and toasty in the kitchens. Assuming you remembered the check the notice on where the lesson would be today. A sign was left on the usual classroom door incase you missed it. So why were they here? Was this a cooking lesson with Professor Feirgrund? He was standing right by a counter island where dishes were covered, a blackboard behind him. Maybe it was a meal day? Speculate with your friends all you want until the lesson begins.

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Where are we at?
Q1 - Greetings + First question.
A1 - Revealed Charms, First practice + pronunciation
A2 - Continued practice + Using Charm(s)

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OOC: Welcome! Class has already begun, but you can jump right in posting as if they were here all along. While this is the first RP class, IC-wise there have been many beforehand. Be sure to check the rules & canon info if not familiar before settling in.

[FearlessLeader19]

Ary tried a chip and was heartily disappointed to find that it wasn’t even minutely spicy. He instantly had a mental picture of this Charm surfacing in the upcoming OWL exam and him failing miserably. It was safe to say such a thought was motivation enough for him to try again. “Condio Creo.” With intent and newfound gusto, the unicorn hair- core wand was moved over the chips in the ‘U’ shape. Before he could test his handiwork, Jan snagged one. “Did it work?” Ary asked eagerly, only to have his hopeful bubble burst when his best friend shook his head. The guy huffed. “I’d better not finish this entire plate without having that spell work,’’ he grumbled.

Then it was back to practice.

The chips pile got smaller yet there wasn’t any progress, not until there were like half a dozen left, anyway. At least Ary’s hopefulness hadn’t completely evaporated so it was with that that he bit into another chip. Immediately the mild but sharp spicy taste lit up his taste buds.

Finally!

Ary nudged the plate towards Jan. “Try them,’’ he said, thoroughly pleased with himself. “Don’t worry, it’s not spicy enough to burn your tongue off."

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Sydney listened semi-intently to the professor’s answer to her question. So it didn’t matter which way the circle went. That was good to know. Not that she had much use for the sweetening charm, but she was interested in experimenting with the placebo effect the professor described.

She lined up with the others, her gray-blue eyes scanning the food options. Already formulating a plan, she filled her plate with fish, a few fruits and green vegetables, and a doughnut. She decided to start with the Spicy Charm, as that was the one she was most likely to use, then move on to the Salting Charm if she had enough time. Her objective was threefold: practice with the fruits and vegetables as a point of reference, try to recreate the flavor of a food she enjoyed with the fish, and see if she could make a food she disliked more palatable with the doughnut.

Before casting, she nibbled a piece of broccoli for reference, It wasn’t terrible, but not very flavorful either. She aimed her wand, making the U shape. “Condio Creo,” she cast confidently. Did it work? She took another nibble. The broccoli was a little spicier, but not much. She wondered how the spell would work on fruit. For the most part, she liked fruit, as long as the sweetness wasn’t too overpowering. Would she like spicy fruit better? Only one way to find out!

She picked up a strawberry, nibbling the end. Not too sweet, good! “Condio Creo,” she cast again, making the U-shaped wand movement. She nibbled the strawberry again, This time there was a mild spiciness in contrast to the sweetness. She rather liked that flavor combination!

Sydney felt confident at casting the Spicy Charm now, though that confidence was tinged with a bit of dread as she turned her attention to the doughnut. This part wasn’t going to be fun, but she reminded herself it was for science. She pinched a tiny piece off the outer edge of the doughnut, just enough to get a feel for its normal flavor without gagging from the sweetness. Eww, too sweet! She hoped the Spicy Charm would make it better! "Condio Creo," she cast again. She pinched another small piece off the doughnut, nibbling it gingerly. Unlike the strawberries, this time the spiciness didn’t cut the sweetness, at least not in a pleasant way. No way was she ever eating that again!

Sydney focused on the fish next, glad to be done with the sweets… not that any emotion showed on her face. She wondered if she could recreate her ma’s recipe for Cajun blackened fish with these charms. Maybe not an exact copy, but something close. She took a small bite of fish for comparison, then cast the Spicy Charm. “Condio Creo!” She took another bite… not bad, but it needed something else. Maybe salt? She aimed her wand again, this time making an M shape. “Saldius!” She cast.

Did it work? She took another little nibble of the fish. It wasn’t exactly like Cajun blackened fish, but it wasn’t bad. Not a bad flavor at all!

[Charely Potter]

The class seemed to be progressing quite well. The food was enjoyed as students worked diligently on a charm or two. So in the meantime, Professor Feirgrund walked around to make sure no accidents could occur without his quick attention. Eventually, he checked the time and.., goodness, it was near the end of the lesson at last.

Feirgrund performed the sonorous charm, "Attention, everyone!" whilst standing at a distance far enough to not pierce any nearby student's ears. "It is about time for the lesson to wrap up. Congratulations to successful with using the charms. You have a few minutes left to finish up, but don't fret if you're still learning the charm, you'll still get credit for your attempts here. For homework, practice the charms on some of your snacks and meals later... and yes, you can take some with you for leftovers. Just be sure to thank the house elves on your way out for their help with making this delicious spread." As he already had and will continue doing so. With all that said, "Class is dismissed!"


OOC: Thank you, everyone, for stopping by! Class is over, but there's still time to wrap up, post your character's departure, or even have one catch up post if needed to gain credit. Instructions for the activity are found here. The thread will officially close and lock up tomorrow night.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Nyle's frown deepened as he chewed the bitter brussel sprout leaf, the sharp, earthy flavor still very much present on his tongue and he battle with all his might not to spit it out - that would be horrifically rude and embarrassing. He exhaled slowly through his nose, a quiet sigh escaping him as he reluctantly picked up the sprout again and tried to convince himself it wasn’t as awful a first attempt as he was imagining. But it was awful, that was fact. His classmates were going about their tasks with a mix of concentration and excitement, their plates seemingly glistening with the signs of successful charms. It seemed as though everyone had managed to conjure up at least a little bit of flavorful delight, while his attempts remained stubbornly untouched by magic.

"MAA-gee-mush," he repeated again, his fingers gripping his wand a little more tightly this time, though still unsure. The wand movement felt more natural now - in his mind, at least - and he made another half-hearted swirl through the air. There was a subtle crackle of magic, but when Nyle looked down, the brussel sprout hadn’t changed. In fact, it looked... well, it looked worse somehow. The green had deepened into a sickly shade of brownish purple, as if it were spoiling right before his blue eyes, dim with self-consciousness. Frowning, Nyle picked it up, feeling a strange squish beneath his fingertips - yup, definitely rancid and there was a pungent aroma wafting into the air on top of it all. "Okay...okay...this is fine...everything is fine...I can fix this..." he rambled to himself, a private pep talk that did little to sooth his humiliation but did manage to keep him focused and not spinning off into complete panic. "F-F-Finite?" he pleaded to the rotting brussel sprout. Nyle’s face burned with embarrassment as he shifted in his seat, praying no one had noticed - perhaps he ought to get a tutor and someone that wasn't Iris for once.

Nyle let out a quiet, almost imperceptible sigh of relief as Professor Feirgrund’s words rang through the room. Finally, the end of class was upon them. His gaze flicked nervously to the plate in front of him once more, the brussel sprouts now an unsettling mix of inedible goo and fuzz but at least his Finite had ceased further goo-ification and the aroma had, mostly, dissipated as well. With a quiet mutter to himself, Nyle stood, wiping his palms on the sides of his robes before discreetly tipping the plate of ruined food into his bag - a mistake he would regret later - to toss once he was away from the classroom. His gaze slid over the students around him, lips pursed and bag not hugged against his chest. "Um, thAnks for today, professor. Really, uh, really spiced-up charmswork today!" he squeaked before shuffling himself out and was halfway down the corridor before taking a breath.

Yeah...he needed a tutor.

[PhoenixRising]

Emma felt immense pride when Professor Feirgrund praised her questions. She waited as the Professor introduced the instructions which involved food, as was to be predicted. There was all sorts of foods present and as he'd hinted at the start of the lesson, it really did all smell delicious. Had he forewarned them to come to class hungry today? She couldn't really recall but this would definitely spoil her dinner. Thinking back to what food she really didn't like - anchovies - Emma decided why not try some fish but maybe sweeten it instead? Just in case it was awful, she decidedly put some chicken nuggets and chips on her plate as well.

She wasn't sure about using the flavor charms on some of the desserts, although a spicy ice cream sounded intriguing. Perhaps she'd work on that after she tried out some main food items. "Magimus," she said, drawing a circle over the fish. "Condio creo" was a U-shape over the chicken. And lastly, "Saldus" she said, making an 'M' over the chips. All three flavor charms, time to sample.

Taking a forkful of the fish, her eyes widened as instead of the usual disgust of fishiness meeting her taste buds she found a rather delightful sweetness similar to that of honeydukes chocolates. Okay success number one. Time for a chip. Huh, that was weird, it didn't taste any saltier than normal? She perused the charm incantation a moment, trying to recall what she'd said. Had she said it incorrectly? She couldn't remember, but for now she just made note to attempt that again later. Time to try the chicken.

Immediately, her hand made a fist as she coughed from the spice. A little too intense there. Yea perhaps that one too she needed some more practice on intention since she went too much. But it seemed today's class was drawing to a close. Fortunately even if she didn't take these leftovers, they had food every day in the Great Hall that she could easily turn into practice sessions on these flavor charms. Who knew what the OWL exams would hold in terms of charms knowledge and these seemed quite practical.

She looked over to Nyle, her younger housemate, as he was leaving and had to smile as he made a punny in his departure. No she hadn't noticed his failure, but she would be more than happy to help him if he asked. At least with the sweetening charm; the other two charms she needed to practice more herself. In keeping with the pun spirit, because she had one when she came in so may as well leave with one, "Thanks for a saucy good time, Professor." She made a nod at the house elves. "And thank you all too!"

[Nordic Witch]

When it was her turn to help herself to all the dishes, Rose couldn't help but get a little frozen in place as she took in all the food smells, some delicious and some that made her want to throw up. The fifth year lioness took Professor Feirgrund's instructions to heart and placed chiken nuggets and fries as something she liked along with raw eggs that she really hated.

Back at her table Rose tried using the spice charm first tracking the U-shaped wand movement over the fries casting "Condio Creo!" in clear firm tone. Then she tried casting "Saldius!" over the chicken nuggets not forgetting the M-shaped wand movement. Lastly she tried casting "Magimus!" over the smelly raw eggs drawing a circle over the eggs which smell made her just want to throw up. She didn't see the shimmer that Professor Feirgrund had said would be evidence of successful charms, but taking up and nibbling on a piece of fries showed that it had a nice salty, and a little chili spicy taste. She tried an egg next, even though Rose really had to force herself to taste it. Just a teeny tiny bite of egg showed to her that her spell had worked, but sadly it didn't take away the awful merlin smell. Lastly she tasted a chicken nugget, enjoying the salty flavoured taste.

Next thing Rose knew it was time to wrap up the lesson. She cleaned her desk and packed up her belonging before heading for the door waving and calling up front as she exited. "Goodbye Professor Feirgrund! Thanks for a great spicy lesson!"