Protego was a rather basic spell, which meant that Copernicus had spent quite a while sitting quietly at his desk and casting little bursts of shield spells over his head to block the acorns that were raining down. The downside, of course, was now his wand hand was getting tired. He sighed and rose to his feet.

"Protego!" He jabbed his wand, and the resulting shield was quite satisfactory. Much like a little acorn-proof umbrella, and Copernicus focused his attention on the shape of it based on how the acorns slid off. Whoops! Much the way a heavy rain would send rivulets of water in a stream from an umbrella, Copernicus's shield was sending acorns sideways at his classmates. That was unfriendly. How could he fix that?

"I clearly instructed everyone to only perform the basic shield charm. Five points from your house for disregarding instructions." Professor Kazimeriz glared at her.

"Very good." Kazimeriz nodded.


"Superb, Miss Toussaint!" Kazimeriz nodded in approval.

"Excellent. Far better than the simpering cowardice you showed us at the beginning of class." Kazimeriz nodded happily. Most of them were getting it.

"Less drama; tighten your moves." he said as he passed the wildly gesticulating girl.


"Good... well done." he said. "Excellent control."

Kazimeriz was distracted by a crash and turned in time to see Newtington skid to a stop into his feet. He hopped back in a nimble fashion to avoid falling down, then drew out a pocket watch. "Ten minutes. Do you have your wand?" He glared at the boy as though he might eat him.

"Good-- slight more upward arc and you'll have it..." he coached her.

"Very nice." he nodded. Yes, they were getting it.

"It would, but it would be a waste of your energy reserves and magical resources to do so. Protego totalum uses quite a bit more focused energy that could be better directed toward protecting only the essential area and then retaliating swiftly and efficiently. But good thinking- two points." He nodded with approval.

Kazimeriz nodded to the students as they began to find success. "I do not expect perfection- practice will help immensely. Especially when... under fire." he said in a dramatic tone.

"A long, outward arc upward, child. Keep trying." Kazimeriz said.

That is what I expect from a Gryffindor prefect." he said with an approving nod. "Much better."

"Try again with the confidence of your first time. Sustain it. You can do this." Kazimeriz said, nodding to the girl.

"Good question- two points. The short answer is yes. But that is a little more complicated so we will be covering that in a later lesson." Kazimeriz nodded at the boy.

"As I told Miss Yaxley, using either of those charms in an attack utilizes more energy and resources than is prudent in a single attack situation. The goal is to use the most efficient form of protection you can so that you save energy and focus for counterattacks and further protective measures."

"Good work... a little less snap on the wand would be ideal, but you're showing promise." Kazimeriz told the boy. The way that boy snapped his wand, he was going to put an eye out if he wasn't more careful.

Mariel could feel her shield wavering even more as she listened to the professor answer her question. "Thanks, Professor," she said in response to his answer, as a small smile tugged on the corners of her lips at his Ravenclaw comment. And he actually liked her question. Nodding at the useful information he had provided, Mariel realized that trying to focus on the professor's words and remembering how to cast an enlarged shield charm caused her to lose her concentration on the task at hand.

Looking up in horror as spiky acorns came raining down on her unprotected head as the shield charm faltered and disappeared, Mariel again threw a protective arm over her head. Owwww! These ones really hurt. Focusing all her energies on her extended wand as she swept it upwards and ended it in a flick, Mariel commanded, "Protego," through gritted teeth. Again her shield hovered above her as she was protected once more. Although the lesson was a bit painful, she was actually quite proud of her progress. That was the longest she had ever sustained a shield charm. Taking a deep breath, the Ravenclaw girl continued to concentrate on her charm. She hoped to get a chance to practice the enlarged shield charm, but for now she wanted to make sure she had mastered a basic sustained shield.

Theo scrambled to his feet and dusted himself off. He nodded weakly, "Yes Sir." He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a piece of wood covered in purple and green paint. "Here it is."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief as she came back "Thank you" he smiled "Ok, ok, protego" he cast, it immediately appeared again "That's better" he breathed deeply

Buuuuuuuurn acorns BUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN

'Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.' Qaz said apologetically. Dang it...I hate losing points.
'No worries. I'll just hang out here while the acorns are still falling' Qaz said, as she moved aside to that he was only protected by his own shield.

Forceful? If he only knew her reasoning behind her forcefulness at the moment, he might change his mind. She gave a sinister smile then looked towards Theo. Oh! If only she had seen this earlier and before the boy said something to crazyman she would have accio'd his wand for him. She practiced no more until the next spell came forth.

When the old man touched him, shivers flew through him as electricity would had he stuck his finger in a socket. He watched what the Professor was doing with his hand, in case he ended up chopping it off or something, before getting the gist of what he was trying to be taught. "Thank you... so... much Professor - I shall snap my wrist sooner..." before you end up ACTUALLY snapping it for me.

He attempted it another three or so times without a huge amount of luck, albeit he had managed to make a shield, it just didn't last very long. Now to make things harder, there was sharp points on the acorns... justttttt great.

His motivation was stronger than ever now and he was going to make this dang shield, even if it only lasted for five minutes... five minutes he could use perfecting an hour long one whilst also obtaining a break from being attacked by the nuts of an oak tree!

He brought his wand up in an upward arch as instructed and flicked his wrist sharply when he got to the 'go' of Protego, as Professor Kazimeriz had suggested he do and there it was. A beautiful, magical canopy saving him from anymore violently sharp acorns. He continued to practice the spell in his head though... he wanted to be ready if his shield broke anytime soon... he doubted it would last forever.

"Sorry professor, I didn't hear the other person's question over the acorns hitting the floor." Abby thinks for a moment. Sometimes planning when one has time to do so, is the best thing to do. The acorns are falling from overhead, so the arc movement should extend from one arm to the other. It should be a wide, sweeping movement. The incantation is no problem, just say it loud, clear, and with conviction. The third item is going to be a little tricky with acorns to distract you, but then when you have a jinx or hex coming at you, you've got a major distraction. I'm going to have to try hard to keep my mind clear and focused on the shield charm and only the shield charm. I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Abby works her way from under the table her wand in her hand. The minute she out from under the table her head is belted with acorns. Abby raises her wand over her head the best she can. She holds her right arm upright, and does her best to start an arching motion. Abby yells, "Portego!" She finishes the movement with a snap tries to keep her mind on her shield and only her shield. The acorns start sliding off her invisible shield and fall on the floor around her.

"Yes, Professor," Copernicus let the shield disappear before trying again, this time with less snap of the wrist. The shield was just as good as before, but it caused less stress on his wrist. Perfect. Using his wand, he tipped the shield a bit this time, letting the acorns pour forward from the shield instead of repelling off and striking other people.

Hm. Was it possible to use this charm in more offensive way, rather than just defensive? He pulled back the shield a bit and watched as his acorns went flying off the end of his shield toward his neighbor in front of him. Whoops! Hopefully Cela's shields were up. "Erm... fore!"

Chris took Professor Kazimeriz's advice and it had work for him so know he must sustain the sheild with more concntration. "Protego." he stood with the shield over him and breathed deeply concentrating on keeping the sheild up. It worked for a very long time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

"Try again with the confidence of your first time. Sustain it. You can do this." Kazimeriz said, nodding to the girl.

Nodding and Kazimeriz comment, and looking much more brave than she felt as she did so, the girl gulped and tried not to grimace when an acorn hit the hollow of her throat. And then another one hit her right cheek.

WAIT--What if. . . what if she started to bruise? A bruise on her face? Noooooooooo!

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh!

The fact that she might possibly start bruising did it. Willow huffed in clear annoyance. "PROTEGO!" Commanded the girl angrily, with much more confidence this time as she sweeped up towards the falling acorns with a movement of her birch wand.

To her surprise -though she was still much too angry to be actually surprised- the spell worked perfectly, for the acorns were merely flicking in every direction, repelled by the shield.

Did she have to keep casting the spell now, so that her shield would not falter again?

"We are not doing nonverbals at this time; that is reserved for later classes. Speak your incantation clearly."

Kazimeriz looked at the wand with disdain. "You painted your wand?! This will never do; residue on a wand can impact your cast and frankly, you have more than enough trouble without complicating matters. Go to the boys' bathroom and scrub that wand until it is entirely clean, do I make myself clear?"

"KETTLEBURN!" Kazimeriz's voice was not raised any more than necessary to project from his position at the front of the class, but the tone was clipped and icy. He raised his wand and stopped the acorn storm. "Come stand before the class. Now."

Jack smiled "Thanks" he kept the shield up for at least twenty seconds, then, it failed "NYAAAAHHHHH" He yelled frustratedly as the acorns hit him, he balled his hand into a fist and started to hit the acorns away "DIE ACORNS!" he hit them away, not caring that the spikes were cutting his hand "DIEEEEE" Then, the acorns stopped "I win" he smirked

Lizzie smiled at the professor, losing focus for a while as she answered Thank you sir. But as soon as he continued to the next student she cast the spell again to shield herself. It was easier each time.

Spotting Chris near by Lizzie smiled at him, her mind still focusing on keeping her shiled complete, and she mouthed You're doing great! and giggled.

"Thanks he woreded back to her without talking


Chirs stopped his spell and looked nervously at Professor Kazimeriz he was definatly angry with Kettlburn.

'Now don't you think that you're getting just a little old for a temter tantrum like that? Get your shield back up.' Qaz said, hopefully not too sternly.

William was still terrrified but he knew he had to at least attempt to try and perform the spell. He had been in a daze ever sense Professor Meanie pants came in, his eyes glazed over. It was like he had been petrified. Shaking his head he turned to smile at Sam, his only friend in the class. Wanting to make her proud of him he stood, his hand shaking slightly. He could do this he thought; he was made of tougher things. Stuff like chocolate frogs and bones yes that made sense.

Picking up his wand he looked around as nearly everyone in class got the spell down. Well he wasn't going to be the only one to get it last he mused, a look of utter determination on his face as he held out his wand. "Protego." he muttered, saying the spell out loud before moving his wand. He knew he needed to get the incantation down before attempting the spell with the wand movement.

Suddenly he felt an acorn nail him in the head. Great, now they were attacking him! Soon he'd probably run out of there, Sams' jacket over his head and screaming. No. He had to do this, he had to show Meanie pants he was made of stronger stuff. How did the wand movement go? An arcing swoop around him? That seemed a bit weird but he looked up, as if daring the acorns to attack him once more as he arched his wand and shouted "Protego!" with all his might.

All that happened was a soft glitter which surrounded his head then dissapeared, right as another acorn hit him. "Owwww." he groaned. Before he knew it the acorn storm was over and he sighed, taking this moment to rub his head.

Celandine's eyes widened as the acorn assault came not just from above, but also from Copernicus. She ducked rather than cast the spell again and they sailed over her head harmlessly. Cela stared as Kazimeriz called Copernicus to the front of the class, restoring her shield with an arc and flick of her wand as she watched.

Garret's shield faltered when KraziKazi's voice called Perni's name in that way that suggested the Ravenclaw would end up with one less limb at the end of the day. A spiked acorn grazed his cheek and he winced, snapping his wand once again and confidently muttering the incantation.

Thanks to Kazi's unorthodox teaching methods, the almost hopeless Hufflepuff was now capable of casting a shield charm with little effort. If he had time to think about it, and less time to fear the man, he would probably be in awe.

Right now however, the shield was as much in place to protect him from the old man as it was there to ward the acorns off.

Theo frowned. He didn't understand.He had painted his wand, like the day after he got it. It had been painted for well over a year now. "B...b...b...but it has always been like that," he whimpered, his bottom lip wobbling. He didn't want it to be brown again. He liked it in purple and green. It made his special. It wasn't like the piece of wood ever did anything. It at least looked pretty in its not doing anything.

He slumped off back out of the classroom, his purple and green wand in his hand. He now had to find where the bathroom was.

Oh. OH CRAP. Copernicus dropped his wand and was hit by a wave of acorns, although he didn't seem to notice. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Cel..." He sort of choked out an apologetic whisper as he moved past her up the row to stand next to the professor. Once there, he lifted his chin and looked prepared for whatever public flagellation was about to occur. He deserved it for hitting Cela with the acorns.

Lizzie smiled back, but as Chris stopped his spell so did she, turning the direction he was looking. She'd been so focused she hadn't seen the professor was angry with a student. Curiously she watched, wondering what had happened.

Jack shook his head "No, it stopped didn't it?" he breathed a sigh of relief

Jack swallowed as he watched the 'condemned boy' walk up to the professor "Wouldn't wanna be him right now" Jack muttered

Abby hears Professor Kazimeriz call Copernicus to the front of the class. She looks to see what's wrong breaking her consentraton. Her shield charm fails, and acorns start falling on her again. "Darn!"