Grounds: Spring Fling (transfiguration RP)

[MadMadamMalfoy]

It was a beautiful mid-May day on the Hogwarts grounds, perfect for an outdoor gathering. The weather was unseasonably warm, and the sun beamed down, bathing the courtyard in golden light. The birds were singing and the flowers were in full bloom, as evidenced by the decor.

The courtyard was decorated with flowers of varying types and colors. Some were in vases, others in wreaths or garlands, and others still decorating the benches and folding chairs set up for today’s gathering. The flower motif carried over to the floral print tablecloth covering a long table at the far end of the courtyard. The table was full of healthy refreshments for the students and professors to enjoy: finger sandwiches, trail mix, fruits and vegetables with dip, and various flavors of tea and juice.

Professor Carton stood beside the refreshment table, patiently waiting for arrival. “Hello, welcome in,” he greeted each person, gesturing toward the refreshment table. “Have a seat anywhere, There are refreshments on the table here.”


OOC: Welcome to the Spring Fling! All students and professors are welcome to attend. As this is not a lesson, you may post both of your characters. We'll kick things off in about 24-30 hours.

[FearlessLeader19]

The great weather they’d been having was enough to keep Aryan in high spirits. However, the decorations and general set up that Professor Carton had put forth put him in an even better mood. Everything was so festive, in a ‘spring’ manner and right off the bat, he knew that everyone was going to enjoy whatever it was that was planned for them. Well, at least most persons would enjoy it because there were bound to have some that would turn up who weren’t in the best of moods.

Ary greeted Carton with a big smile and a signature finger wiggle-wave. He headed immediately for the refreshment table, pleased to see that not all of the options were sugary. The Slytherin got himself a few sandwiches and a glass of iced tea before making his way to a seat.

And yes, he was definitely still admiring the decor.

[SilverTiger]

One thing she had to acknowledge, upon arriving in the courtyard that usually was fairly austere aside from the usual greenery and such when she used it for fire dancing practices, was that Professor Carton knew how to decorate. At least, Giselle appreciated the wealth of flowers that had apparently been brought in to augment the normal surroundings. She’d been tempted to bring Mysaria along for whatever was happening, but her cat had chosen to stay curled up on her bed asleep in the dorm room. She wasn’t entirely certain of the Transfiguration professor’s opinions on bringing familiars along, anyway, and sometimes it paid to play it safe.

However, she was oh so tempted to snag a flower wreath for her hair as she arrived, joining her younger housemate at the refreshments before Aryan had left to find a seat. The petite brunette selected some berries and dip along with a glass of iced tea before doing the same. Only greeting the professor once she was settled.

“Hi Professor Carton”, she said with a smile, before popping a strawberry in her mouth. “Everything looks lovely”, she added once she had swallowed. Mum and dad would’ve probably been disappointed if she hadn’t been polite.

[Kolyander]

Spring time, was a beautiful time! So many flowers blooming everywhere and the weather was getting more lovely. And nad.. let's not forget about the birth of all those newborn baby creatures! Not that she would be seeing any right now but that was still a favorite about springtime. Though she did hear the birds singing merrily in the trees so that was always something!

What was something else, was this festive flower motif! It was so, so... Sooooo SPRING! Bryony smiled brightly as she skipped her way over towards everywhere, wiggling her fingers in pure Bry fashion. "Hello, Professor! I'm loving all the flowers!" So so PRETTY! "Hi, Giselle!" Bright smile for as a beeline was made for the refreshment tables. A small plate of sandwiches and other little snacks was fixed up as well as something to drink before she headed directly towards Aryan. "Ary!"

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Sydney was mildly curious about this little gathering. The notice said there would be flowers; she wondered what kind. Hopefully something exciting, like a fanged geranium! Probably not, though… most people tended to shy away from the more chaotic plants, and besides, this wasn’t herbology. Come to think of it, she had no idea what flowers had to do with transfiguration at all!

The blonde arrived, her prized venus flytrap tucked under her arm. If this activity involved flowers, it made sense to bring Alastor along! She greeted the professor with a polite nod. Noticing several of her older housemates present (Ary, Bry, & Giselle), she gave them a polite nod of acknowledgement as well.

She perused the refreshment table, pleased to see that the offerings weren’t super sugary. After helping herself to a cup of tea and a few sandwiches, she found a seat on the nearest bench.


Norman stood to one side, his bluish-green eyes scanning the courtyard in search of arrivals. It wasn’t long until he saw Atreyu-Rehman. “Hello, Mr. Atreyu-Rehman,” he greeted, acknowledging the finger wiggle with a slight smile.

His smile grew as Barrington complimented the decor. “Hello, Miss Barrington. Thank you!”

It looked like the flowers were a hit. Moments later, Paton also mentioned them. Perhaps he should decorate more often! “Hello, Miss Paton,” he replied. “Thank you!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Norman noticed Masters join the little group. He saw that the girl had added to the flowers by bringing her own plant and smiled slightly. “Hello, Miss Masters,” he greeted.”

After allowing a few more moments for arrivals, Norman addressed the small group, “Welcome to the Spring Fling! Feel free to socialize or help yourselves to anything off the refreshment table. We have a little transfiguration activity planned, so I hope you remembered to bring your wands!”

He paused a moment to allow time for the students to focus on him before continuing, “I trust you’re familiar with the spell Orchideous, which we covered earlier this term. Today we’ll be practicing a variation of that spell used to create floral wreaths and garlands like the ones you see here.” He gestured toward the floral decorations.

“To cast, the wand movement is the same as Orchideous: An upward line, counterclockwise half circle, and downward curve, like this…” He drew his wand, demonstrating the wand movement slowly and carefully. “Use the incantation Orchideous Sertum, and don’t forget to visualize your intended result.” He demonstrated the spell before the group, and an instant later, a wreath of pink and white lilies appeared in his hand. He set it aside and continued, “Take a few minutes to practice the spell before we begin the activity.”

[COLOR='black"]OOC: Thanks for posting! Feel free to jump in at any time. There is no penalty for IC late arrivals, as this is not a lesson. The activity will begin sometime Saturday (40-48 hours from now).

[FearlessLeader19]

Ary sat nibbling on his sandwich {a chicken one because dad Adi clearly had influenced him} but mostly drinking his iced tea {possibly his favourite beverage ever!}; soon enough he’d need a refill. His admiration of the surroundings were cut short with the arrival of a familiar voice {and its human, obviously}. “Hi, Bry! Sit with me?” He tilted his head in the direction of the seat nearest to him. It was at that moment that he caught Sydney’s nod and he sent a smile at the firstie in return.

Sometime soon, Carton got things started, and at the mention of wands, Ary nodded. Yes, he had brought his along. He had suspected their activity today would be something that was related to one of their earlier lessons; Orchideous was a spell the Slytherin had mastered thankfully so fingers crossed that mastering this variation would go just as well!

“Shall we practise together, Bry?” he asked after polishing off the iced tea. Ary was keen to get a move on because he too wanted to create pretty wreaths and garlands. “Orchideous Sertum.Orchideous Ser-tum. Orchideous Sertum.”

[littledhampir]

The weather was nice and the flowers were so pretty. Alissa thought this little get-together slash lesson was a nice idea, and was a nice time so far. She took a few apple slices to snack on and a glass of water. She knew the spell orchideous, of course. She had practiced it many times. She was pretty excited to learn a more advanced version of the spell. She already had so many ideas of what to try out with it. It could be used to make garlands and wreaths, so did that mean it could also be used to make flower crowns? That would be fun!

Alissa set her apple slices to the side for a moment to practice the wand movement. She drew her wand in an upward line, into a counterclockwise half circle and then a downward curve. That was a lot of steps to remember, so she did it a few times in a row until she felt like she had it down in her hand. "Orchideous sertum," she said, moving her wand the way she had practiced. As she did, she envisioned a wreath of multicolored flowers. That wreath appeared in front of her, following the curve of her wand. Liss beamed at her results and reached for another apple slice. Oh, was there caramel to dip it in? That would be good.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Sydney noticed Ary’s smile in her direction as she sat on the bench, enjoying her snack. Hmm, was that a real smile or a valuable tool smile? She thought, as she always did when anyone smiled at her. Smiles could tell one a lot about a person… but there wasn’t time to think about it now.

She listened to Professor Carton’s directions, quietly sipping her tea. A variation of Orchideous for wreaths and garlands… that didn’t sound very useful for anything outside of decorating. Maybe if she conjured a garland made of poison ivy and stinging nettles to give someone she didn’t like… or conjured a wreath of fanged geraniums for herself. That could be fun. She wondered if conjured carnivorous plants behaved like the real thing. That sounded like a future experiment!

“Orchideous Sertum,” Sydney muttered under her breath, practicing the incantation. “Orchideous Sertum, Orchideous Sertum…” After a few repetitions, she set her teacup on the bench beside Alastor and drew her wand to practice the wand movement. It really wasn’t that hard, as it was exactly the same as the normal version of Orchideous.


Norman stood to one side, observing the students’ practice. Atreyu-Rehman’s pronunciation earned a nod of approval. “Excellent practice, Mr. Atreyu-Rehman,” he said. Elsewhere, Masters appeared to be on the right track as well; she likewise got an approaching nod.

As he glanced around the courtyard, he noticed that Rhodes had already produced a wreath of colorful flowers. “That’s a lovely wreath, Miss Rhodes,” he said with a slight smile.

Norman allowed a few more minutes for practice before addressing the students again. “As you may have guessed, we’re going to decorate the courtyard with flowers,” he said, gesturing toward the decorations already adorning the courtyard. “When you feel comfortable with the spell, try using it to make your own wreaths and garlands. I also have some supplies up front if you’d like to create wreaths and garlands the non-magical way….” He lifted the tablecloth up slightly and pulled boxes full of flowers, greenery, wire, and wreath forms from under the refreshment table.

“You may work alone or in groups; there’s no wrong way to go about it. If you need help with the spell, let me know. Now let’s get to work!”

OOC: I allowed extra time for replies, but we have to move on.This thread will remain open until the end-of-term feast starts. I’ll be posting Norman and Sydney periodically throughout the activity.