Aileen noted down the spells, wand movements etc. and she was waiting for next instructions. She couldn't wait to try these spells.

"Possibly. You'll need to know them by name most likely, the theory of each but only Protego is necessary for OWL level practical exams in Defense." Truebridge answered and once he was satisfied that they were all taking their notes down he continued.

"The spell in question is a flexible one, similar to protego in most respects, though it is easier to cast it on objects or people that are at a distance from you. You do NOT have to concentrate to hold it steady, but it does tend to fade away after only a few impacts, only one or two usually. The incantation is Contego and the object you are shielding. In this case, Contego Beach ball." Truebridge paused, it was kind of amusing really. "Even though there will be more than one beach ball, as long as you focus on the one you wish to cast on, it should be sufficient. If you like you may add the colour such as 'Contego Green Beach Ball', if you have trouble getting a shield around one of the balls." He paused here and glanced around.

"As you see, there are suits of armour on the duelling platform. You will not be on the duelling platform yourselves, rather you are to take positions on the ground around the platform. Beach balls will be released on the platform, a charm in place to be sure they do not fall free of that area. There will be five beach balls for each house, the house with the most beach balls at the end of class, will win the most house points. The wand movement is an upwards zig zag."

Truebridge vanished the beach ball he held and conjured five of each colour, which hovered above the duelling platform.

"The suits of armour will attempt to puncture and burst the balls, and you will practice shielding them with the Contego spell as they fall and bounce. The shields will not only stop the balls from bursting, but also help them bounce up in the air again when the suits of armour, and their weapons, make contact with the shields. Further more, you will have to shield yourselves against anything I cast at you, though I guarantee you won't be faced with anything particularly dangerous. You may work together as a house, shielding each other if you wish."

He looked around to be sure they understood. "Any questions?"

ooc: You may NOT say another house's beach ball bursts, but you are allowed to say that your house (or another house) beach ball does not due to your shielding or the shielding of someone else.


I will post occassionally with three things:
-Truebridge casting at some of you

-something happening to the beach balls that must be reacted to

- the suits of armour doing something

Be creative. Only the shielding spells taught in class may be used. If I say a ball bursts, then it bursts, but you may say it doesn't if a suit of armour tries something.

Kate added the new spell to her list of shields:

Oo! This was going to be a lot of fun, she could tell! Professor Truebridge was an excellent teacher, wasn't he? So creative and whatnot. After she finished taking notes, she put her things away and hopped out of her seat. Teamwork would be a good option, she had a feeling. Moving over to an area of the floor, she called out, "Hey! Huffies! Over here!" They needed to work out a strategy. Maybe Cadence was a liiiiittle competitive sometimes.

Dianna wrote all these things down and stood up. Hmm.. wonder if there are any Slytherins' around...

Sophia took down the new notes. Excited for the next instruction said by her professor, she wen looking for her co-Hufflepuffs. She heard a girl shouting about Huffies -- she looked for her. After a few seconds, she found the girl, "Hi! I'm Sophia!" said.

Selena made note of the the spell and closed her notebook. When she stood she saw Dianna. "Hey Dianna!" Selena called as she looked for other students. OOoh. Green beach balls. So many colours, she hoped she wouldn't get distracted...

Dianna was very nervous even though she saw a fellow Slytherin.
"So what now?" she asked.

Selena shrugged. she had no idea. "I guess we try to not get ourselves killed?" Selena said a bit sheepishly. "Or protect those beach balls from going boom~" Selena smirked.

"Eh.. I think the balls should be first.." Dianna smiled back

A GAME!! She knew it was a game!! Arya's face lit up with excitement as he explained what they would be doing. And they would be competing against the others houses, awesomeness. She gave Ivory a devious grin before hopping off the floor and skiping/running over to the other badgers. "Sooooo, what's the plan?" She twirled her wand excitedly while her eyes darted to the others. She had a plan in mind, but wanted to hear what the others had in mind first.

Amy looked up at a shout and saw the girl that had tried to tear Simon apart, she inwardly grimaced as she stood up and walked over to the girl, when she was standing with the group she introduced herself, hey I'm Amy and I'm a alcoho-no Amy, not the right time. I'm a first year

This sounded, a bit fun actually. Looking around, Evelyn stretched her legs and thought through what they were supposed to be doing. Protecting the beach balls from exploding, and protect themselves. Hehe. Well, it was a good thing that she was always aware of her surroundings now wasn't it!?

Placing her notebook down on the bench seat next to herself, Evelyn held the wand in her hand wand waited. Eh, it seemed like everyone was going into groups of their own house. But she didn't want to stand at the moment!! She was close enough to a few Slytherins anyways. Standing can wait for a moment.

Just start already!!!! Ellie thought.

She needed to go to the hospital wing now, no avoiding it.

Alex found herself looking around for any Slytherins.. She saw a few she really didn't get along with at all. One was the Flower person..or was it Flores? Whatever Alex didn't care as she finished her notes. She repeated the shield spells she learned; Protego, Contego..wonderful she thought sarsatically. She was probably on her own.

Destiny breathed out a sigh of relief when she found out she didn't have to go anywhere near those suit if armor. She didn't know what that one was holding, but it scared her.

After quickly copying down a bunch of notes, since she was too busy staring at that..thing, she placed her notebook in the spot she was sitting and walked over to Evelyn. Pfft,. Overhearing the raccoon girl's group coming up with strategies and plans, she nudged Evelyn a bit and pointed her finger towards the Huffies, "Should we be doing that, too?"

Gah. That meant talking..to other people.

Did, no one understand that she didn't like people entering her personal space without being asked first?

Raising a brow, Evelyn turned around and stared at Destiny for a moment, hoping that she'd take a step away. Too close. After a moment or so, she looked over at who her friend was pointing at, debating whether or not they should do what they were doing. What were they doing anyways?

Listening closely, she heard something about plans and whatnot. Oh. "Umm, I don't know. Why would one need to make a plan? Just...shield the beach balls...and watch out for any spells coming your way." Simple as that!

Now, if only some people could just multitask like that for real. Hmm... "Well, we could all huddle in a group, and have two people on the sides shielding everyone while the others shield the balls that we need to...make sure don't get hit."

Alcemee looked around for other Ravenclaws. They needed to work together like Hufflepuff and Slytherin were planning to. She said, "Over here, Ravens!" She hoped she did not sound bossy; she was just excited.

Chris listened carefully, with his hand on his chin, as Professor Truebridge went over the rules of the game they were about to play. Personally the game sounded pretty awesome and he couldn't wait to start.

When the rules had been given Chris called to gather all of the other Gryffindors. "Hey Gryffindors over here!" he said noticing the Hufflepuff doing the same thing. He wanted to win this sooo BAD!

Cadence smiled as some of the younger Hufflepuff students actually come over to where she was standing. Look at them all, it felt good to like, be in charge and be a leader and stuff. She didn't like having to follow orders all the time these days. "Right, so I think we need to organize. Work as a team. He said there are 5 balls of each color, right? So, here's what I think we should do! Divide into 5 teams, one person concentrate on protecting the beach ball, and then everyone else be sort of the guard. Shielding the ball protector from spells, protecting each other, and just being extra protection for the ball. How does that sound?" she asked. Yes, Huffie teamwork for the win!

Gahhhh!!!

"Professor, Professor" Ellie called as loud as she could bear to speak.

"But if we're not alive how are we going to protect them?" Selena reasoned, "but... I guess we should work with the rest of the house for this..." Selena sighed. Oh gosh. She could be so anti-social at times...

Mina glanced around after finishing her notes. Her house needed to get organized and work together to keep their beach ball in one piece. Hearing a first year, she looked in her direction and walked over. "Eagles over here!" she called. Maybe if they worked together, they could get started.

"Isn't what you said a figure of speech?""Anyways let's start." Dianna replied.

Looking around, Evelyn spotted a few Slytherins talking to one another, and others that were just...not talking at all and by themselves.

Especially that one girl. Lupin or whatever her last name was. Noting that most of the other houses were practically grouped together, and Destiny did mention that perhaps they should be doing what they were doing...AND it was a good idea, Evelyn sighed and rubbed her face. "Hey. You, you and...you..." she said, pointing to the Slytherins she saw so far at first glance. "Come over here so we can...talk strategy...or something."

Meh. Talking. Fun stuff!! "Anyways, just out of curiosity, are any of you good with the other shield spells? Not the Contego spell I mean."