"Don't jinx me like that," Copernicus laughed as he backed up and pointed his wand. "It certainly helps that I was able to observe your efforts with this spell. I already know how to hold my wand and pronounce the incantation to get the desired effect, thanks to your doing it correctly." He flicked his wand experimentally a few times.

Celandine watched everyone partner up and stood up herself, humming slightly as she picked up a chest and, instead of returning to her seat, she planted herself down next to Daphne.

"You can go first." Cela offered, taking a moment to look over her notes. If only she'd had some candy before class; she'd be a whole bunch more focused on the awesomeness known as charms class.

Anna playfully stuck out her tongue at Copernicus and then nodded towards the chest, ready to see for herself if Copernicus could be able to get the spell correct in the first try. Knowing him, he would be able to do. The good thing about Copernicus, though, was that he wouldn't make gun of Anna---not even jokingly---for her not being able to do it so quickly. Who knew, though? Copernicus was coming out of his shell a bit more. Maybe a little prankster lied somewhere inside him. "Alright, Cop, show me what you're made of!" she teased.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

It took the girl awhile to speak, since as per usual, she seemed content with her own little world. Independent thinker, this one was ... But when she finally did speak, a subtle smile came to Dominic's lips as she appeared to reluctantly agree. "Great," he replied quickly, but then frowned at her next comment.

Tense? Him? If anything, it'd be because of the other students in here, but nope... he thought was feeling just fine.

"No, I'm not tense," he replied, waiting for her to return with the locked chest. "So uh, do you want to go first?"

"Yes, you are," answered Willow, though there was a chance that he might not be able to hear her, for she was already near to the Professor's desk when she responded to him.

Without difficulty, the young Ravenclaw grabbed one of the locked chests and carried it easily back to her desk where Dominic was waiting. Her small hands fluttered around her robes for a second, before remembering that the reason why she was doing this was because she wanted her wand. Swiftly taking it out, Willow's heald tilted to one side slightly as she listened to him speak.

Did she want to be first? Normally, in order to show off, Willow would have accepted his offer and go first. Now, though, she was not so sure. What if she ended up sticking her wand into Dominic's eye? What if the charm didn't work out for her, and then she would end up making the fool of herself in front of Denton? Why was it taking her so long to reply to his very simple question?! "No, I think you'd better go first," she managed to say at last.

Cam frowned when Jake had rejected his offer of letting him taste his wand and suggested that he do it on Dominic's instead. He didn't know if that wand looked like chocolate but he knew it that it was probably infected of Dom germs. Those germs were the meanest and deadliest germs in the world but he couldn't resist himself to look where that guy was. Aha! He finally found him but managed to make himself look away. He was a psycho, it could have been possible he might have found Dom's wand more tastier.

Then when looking back at Jake he found the chest opened so he jumped! Jumped in excitement that the two could finally do the spell together. Oh yeah, they rocked sooooo much. "Let'ssss do something now, I guess."

He looked around and then took out his wand again, pointing at the chest. Maybe one more try would help. "Alohomora!" Yay, he did it again and it wasn't moving that much this time! Cam closed the box and then gestured for Jake to do it too. "I think we needa mastah this."

Well, now that he felt like the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders, Copernicus was sure he was going to fail. His hands were sweating, and he rubbed his wand hand against his robes before picking up his wand again. This was totally doable. Completely possible.

"Alohomora," Copernicus raised his wand and flicked it. In fact, it seemed that everything was going perfectly, until the wand continued flicking after he was done. It slid from his fingers and crashed into the chest. "Er... whoops. Over polished the wand."

Anna clenched her fists into tight balls and waited to see if Copernicus would be able to open the chest on the first try. At first, it looked like he'd be able to succeed with no problems whatsoever, but when the wand slipped from his hands and crashed into the chest, it was evident his luck would probably equal Anna's. She smiled and headed forward to retrieve the wand. "It's okay, Cop. I didn't get it the first time either," she said. No sooner had she picked up the wand, she'd lost it again. It slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor once again. "Oops," she said, picking it up once again and handing it to him. "Birds of a feather..."

He snatched his wand back and mumbled an apology. That was mortifying, but he'd try again. Passing the class was sort of part of the greater plan of not being a fifth year until he turned 30. "Alohomora," he muttered, flicking his wand. The chest did a little tap dance number before the lid flew open. Classic.

"Really?" remarked Daphne in slight surprise. Being first to participate always made her slightly nervous, even if she would never admit it. Clearing her throat, she flicked out her hand and wand, finding the flappy sleeves of her robes hindering. "Right. Concentraaate," she told herself in a breathy whisper before narrowing her eyes at the lock on the chest, aiming and: "Alohomora!"

The lock rattled briefly, buzzing with magical energy before returning to its normal inactive state. Hmph! "I think I did something wrong," admitted the blond reluctantly staring at her hand dubiously. Maybe it was the whole arm movement.

Jake gripped his wand, the right way round, in both hands. Then, in an overly dramatic way, he flourished it at the box...

"AL-O-HOM-OR-A!!!!!" he yelled, flicking the wand. And nothing happened... What the-?! "Alohomora..." he said again, as if to test the spell. And the box flung open.

Jake eyed his wand suspiciously... "You planned this..." he muttered to it, sounding like a total and utter loon. He reached over and slammed the chest shut again, locking it.

"Your turn, Karsten," he quipped, pushing the chest aside.

Anna blinked when Copernicus snatched the wand back. She knew he didn't mean that in too harsh of a manner, though, so she let it slide. She made a mental note to throw a jelly slug (a yellow one, since she didn't mind wasting those) directly at him later on, though. She focused her eyes on the chest once again, positive that Copernicus would be able to unlock it this go round.

...and when he did, Anna bounced a little, rushed over to him, and hugged him excitedly. My how she tended to get excited over the little things. "I knew you'd beat me, Cop! Lock that chest up again, though! I've just got to get it on the first try!" she exclaimed.

Was she honestly going to disagree with him over whether he was tense!? Surely he would know better than she would over the fact of his inner tensions and whatnot. Narrowing his eyebrows in shock at the girl, Dom tilted his head slightly too. "No, not tense," he repeated insistingly. "What makes you the expect on this anyway? Are you like the tension police or something now?" Perhaps that was harsh, but Dominic honestly didn't care. She was arguing with him over his own tense or not!

Watching Willow set the chest on her desk, he waited to see if she would take up his offer in going first. Most witches would, but then again, Willow never once during his conversations with her fell into that category of 'most witches'.

Finally, after much hesitation, she suggested that he go first! Which wasn't really unexpected and actually preferred, since he was Dominic Denton. "Oh, well if you insist," he sighed, rolling up his sleeves casually as he removed his wand and gripped it loosely, practicing the wand motions. "You're absolutely sure?" For some odd reason, Dom felt compelled into asking for confirmation.

'I, well, okay. I can do this when I'm alone, but for some reason, when I'm around people, I have a tendancy to choke. Embarrassing, really.' Qaz picked up her wand and closed her eyes for a few moments to center herself...and try to block out everybody else.

Opening her eyes, she pointed her wand at the lock. With a flourish, 'Alohomora!' Voila...the lock popped open. 'Well, I'll be!' Qaz remarked, rather astonished. 'Maybe all the practicing was finally paying off. Alright...your turn. If I can do it, you certainly can.'

"That wasn't a first try!" Copernicus hugged her back in a distracted sort of way. "I dropped my wand the first try, and I think we learned a new dance move from that chest there." He stepped forward and flipped the lid closed.

Upon hearing the boy's tone, both of Willow's dark eyebrows jerked up. Why was she surprised, though? Males were usually rude, after all. Hmph. Still, though--it was a bit surprising considering that he had never been rude to her. Or had he? No, he had not "Well, you are obviously not tense anymore, Dominic" began the girl calmly, but looking a little bit superior, "And you need to learn some manners. You are being rude." Rolling her eyes a bit, and using a tone of voice that indicated the finality of the pointless discussion, Willow's attention returned to the locked chest.

"Yes, I am very sure, Dominic." Again with over-using the poor boy's name. Hoping that this would not annoy him, and quickly thinking that she was being completely stupid for even caring if what she did would annoy him, Willow cleared her throat in order to distract herself from her thoughts, and then said. "Now, go ahead."

"No, it wasn't, but I want to be able to get it in one try once you've locked it again," she said. "I need to be able to unlock things quickly, not fumble around with them three or four times. What if I'm in a dangerous situation or something some day..." Her voice trailed off on the last line, for she was already back at the chest with her wand in position to try again. "Alohomora!" she forcefully exclaimed. Click. Pop. "There now," she said, standing back to admire her handiwork. "Unlocked!"

Celandine watched as Daphne almost got the chest open on her first try and she bit her lip thoughtfully. Cela was pretty much 100 percent sure she could do it straight away, but she didn't want to look like she was trying to show up her friend. "Try again?" Cela suggested, hoping she could maybe get over her little internal dilemma about whether she should just let her natural ability with charms show through, or if she should intentionally try to mess it up and be a bit more average for her age with the spell casting.

Pointedly staring at the lock, Daphne wished it ill, as much one could wish misfortune on an inanimate object. Hazel eyes brewing with an unhealthy mixture of indignation, annoyance and wounded pride, Miss Hopton allowed her blond hair to fall over her eyes. In most occasions she would find it irritating how her bangs collided with her golden lashes, this time, however, she was willing to ignore the discomfort in exchange for threatening the lock mentally.

You listen to me you insolent metallic little brat! I don't care for your attitude nor that steely look you're giving me. Do you have any idea who I am? Oh, of course not! Otherwise you'd be snapping open right now by mental power alone!

Flicking her hand out violently, Daphne pointed her wand threateningly at the lock. "I'm going to open it this time," she told Celandine, as if her friend (yes, she had given up denying it a while ago) was dubious about the entire thing. "No more mistakes!" Maybe she could just stab it open! In her maddening thoughts, the blond with the curls jabbed the wand slightly towards the lock before she could catch herself.

Sheepishly, she grinned at Cel over her shoulder. "Tips are more than welcome though..."

Daphne sat back passively. Of course Qaz did fine, she wasn't a baby firstie, she was her year. And it was pathetic, despite the reasons behind her weakness, that she couldn't do it. After taking a moment to collect her self, she slowly waved her wand in all sorts of directions, her injured wrist exploring its range of motion.

"Ok, take two," she smiled, feeling more confident and determine. "Alohomora!" she said loudly, sharply flicking her wand at the lock. She pumped her fist in the air when the tiny lock popped open. "You have no idea how glad I am that worked!" she laughed to Qaz, who didn't know the half of it, primarily why her wand arm was tightly wrapped in bandages. "So, wanna go again?" she asked the girl, now feeling like she was up to more interesting and adventurous things.

"Now you're an expert," he grinned, tucking his wand up into his sleeve. "Do you have a plan to be some sort of Auror or Curse breaker? Or maybe a cat burgler?" It was nice to have mastered the spell after only a few false starts, and he glanced up at the professor to see if it was time to move on.

Celandine looked over her notes, nodding in earnest encouragement a few times as Daphne informed her that she'd do it right.

Cela knew that Daphne would. Eventually. "Tips?" Celandine shoved her notebook, filled with... well... notes; a heck of alot of notes.

"AL-o-ho-mor-ah." Cela enunciated at Daphne before demonstrating the wand movement and finally using her wand to fix her hair into a bun. She leaned forward, one elbow on the desk and her chin cradled in her hand as she watched Daphne.

Her lips pursed on their own accord as she repeated Celandine's pronunciation in her head. Even if she wanted to, there was no highhanded way of accomplishing this task. Breathing out heavily, Daphne temporarily lost her perfect posture. Slouching was unbecoming but quite representative of her sudden loss of energy.

"Let's go," she murmured more to her wand, arm and herself than to anyone and directed the end of her wand to aim straight on at the security device attached to the case. Maybe if she told herself that there were galleons inside the chest it would give her enough motivation to pour forth all her magical power.

Or at least enough to get the bloody lock open.

"Al-o-ho-mor-ah!" chanted the honey eyed young woman, imitating closely Celandine's previous arm movement. Once more, the lock vibrated from its spot, finding itself victim to unsuspecting magic. A click could be heard from within but aside form that, there was no visible sign that the spell had worked. Brow furrowed, Daphne hurried forward prodding the lock with her wand. "Did it work?" inquired the girl anxiously as she prodded it repeatedly, giving up on using her wand and was no tugging on the lock slightly. "I think it's stuck."

Or, you failed again. Whichever let's you sleep at night, Miss Daphne Hopton.

Ian caught wind of a couple students using spells other than Alohomora, and immediately made his way over there. "Please stick just to the Alohomora charm for now. While it is clear to me that you two are fairly advanced in charms for your age, I would like you to just use the Alohomora charm. If you need to re-lock the lock, then just do it manually like everyone else. Thank you."

After that, he returned to his classroom rounds.

Ian turned around to find a young man....dancing, although he wasn't quite sure it could be called dancing, with his wand. He swiftly made way over to the young man and his partner, his cloak flapping behind him. "Please! Be careful! I don't want anyone losing an eye during my first lesson!"

Ian waited until the young man calmed down before adding, "The pronunciation is Aloe-hu-more-uh. If you pronounce it that way, it should work!"

Ian was about to go help the Gryffindor Prefect, but she had sought help from her fellow classmate. Students helping students. How wonderful! He made sure to keep an eye out, though, just in case she had further troubles.

Ian made way over to the Ravenclaw pair and watched as the older one attempted the charm. "If I may make a suggestion," he began, "Do try to say the spell with more conviction! Be confident in your magical abilities!"

"Watch your pronunciation," he offered. "You were quite close, but it seems you added an extra 'r.' Try it again! Alohomora."

"I admire your eagerness to do more, young man, but please, just stick with the Alohomora charm for now," Ian replied.

It seemed the Gryffindor girl was still having some pronunciation issues, but she was SO close! Ian decided to let her figure it out or to wait for her to ask a question.

Ian chuckled as one of the younger boys was going on shouting about plants and some other gibberish, and chuckled even more as the boy's wand worked, other than the fact that he had it backwards. "Try holding it the other way," he said, still chuckling. "You've almost got it!"

On that note, Ian bellowed a suggestion to the class. "Remember, class, the incantation is Alohomora! When you say it, say it with conviction! Confidence is key when casting spells!"

Ian smiled at Daphne, who had spoken to him earlier. "Don't be afraid to give it a try," he said. "The only way you'll be able to get back your confidence with spells is to keep practicing! Practice makes perfect." Yeah, it was cliche. Oh well.

He turned to find a girl who appeared on the verge of tears. "Now now, miss, don't be discouraged if you don't get it on your first shot! Even I have trouble with charms sometimes! Just keep at it and I'm sure you'll get it in no time!

"Just keep at it, Daphne! I know you can do it!"






Ian watched with a smile on his face as his first lesson, for the most part, seemed to be running without a problem. He clapped his hands together to get the attention of the class.

"Has everyone had a chance to practice the charm and to cast it successfully? If so, I think it's time to move on to the second portion of our lesson. If not, it's not a problem at all! Just let me know and you all can continue practicing."

She raised her hand. "I think we can move on sir." She said casting a glance at Jake and Cam. Those two needed a nap or something.

Celandine bit her lip and as discreetly as possible, spoke the incantation and flicked her wand. She lifted her head slightly to peer at the chest as it opened and smiled brightly at Daphne, "Look! You did it..." Cela nudged the lid close with her pinky finger, listening to the lock snap shut again, "Try it again." she suggested. Cela was fairly sure that if Daphne thought she'd done it, she would be able to do it easier. Mind over matter and all that.

Celandine looked up at the professor as he spoke, "Can we," Daphne Hopton, "Practice a few more times?" She asked, her hand raised.