Lexi continued her twist and flick and FINALLY she flicked and HELD ONTO HER WAND. YUSH! Trying again, just to be sure it worked then toooo. Lexi fought the urge to jump up and down and shout, instead she began reapeating the incantation over and over. "Loricatus, Loricatus, Loricatus, she kind of chanted quietly to herself. Steeling herself she did the wand movement a bit more quickly than she had been practicing and it worked too. WIN!

Taking a deep breath she did the wand movement and said, "Loricatus" Immediately she felt heavier... not so heavy that she couldn't move... but heavier. Raising her hand she said, "Professor am I supposed to feel, like, heavy. I can move... but I feel heavier."

And so, he continued to practice.

Twirling, flicking, Loricatus!

Ooooooh, his arm and upper arm felt...well, he certainly felt something there. The spell WAS working, apparently. But when Professor Truebridge spoke, he lost focus, and the heaviness was all gone.

A volunteer. Hmmm. Well, that depends, exactly how he could prove that the spell had worked? "Well, I could...volunteer" he said, after raising his hand, and then frowing because the heaviness was now back...did it come and go? Or he thought it had gone away when in fact it didn't?

Bahahaha!

He was joking right? It really depended on what kind of 'testing out' he was going to do on them.

Frowning, she looked back down at her arm, for a moment having forgotten that she already did the spell. But one twitch of her hand confirmed the fact that it was still there. Was it good enough? ACK! She didn't know!

"I'll try professor." she mumbled, moving her arm around to see if the armor thing was going to disappear. Aw wait, there it went...

Just when Kate managed to do the wand movements in the correct way, she started practicing the full incantation.

"Loricatus...Loricatus...Loricatus!...I feel the same..we are supposed to feel heavier, don´t we?" She thought, after several failed attempts of casting the armour. "Why I get always everything wrong?" *snif snif*

A few minutes later...

"Stop the weeping Kate! Back to work" With renewed energies, she started over and practiced the movements with the incantation again and again and again, ´till she felt heavier.

"I did it!" She said, with a big jump in the place, "Professor, look! I could do it!"

"I will volunteer too". She added, seeing other students offering their help.

Fun.

Celandine might have been the only person to manage the wand movement in one go, but she had learned a few spells with a similar wand movement in the past, and in general this sort of thing did come easy to her. So of course:

"Loricatus!" She twisted and flicked and then looked at her arm with interest. Felt sort of like she was wearing an extra layer of clothing, like a thick wooly jacket.

"Professor," Cela's hand went up, slowish. She examined it for a minute and waved it around. It didn't actually slow her down once she was aware of it. "The wand movement, even if you did it non verbally, might be a bit of a give away that you've cast this spell on yourself right? So an attack could be adjusted to be something like a knockback or a blaster, something that wouldn't be negated by this spell. Oh and I'll test mine out." Totally.

Oh. "Right, professor." Gold tried the wand movement again, found that she wasn't dropping her wand or messing it up, and then re-tried it. Well. She could carry it out, now.

She cast the spell, then. "Loricatus!" It wasn't actually a hassle, once you had the hang of the wand-movement -- and it didn't actually feel heavy, like Gold had somewhat thought it might. Mostly like she had worn more clothing than she ought to have. Gold swooshed her arm around, checking out how much she could move it. The spell wasn't really a hindrance.

She raised a hand. "I would like to test it out, professor."

She cast Finite to nullify the effects of the spell, and then tried it again. The wand movement felt all natural, now. Gold didn't have to force herself to execute it, anymore. It let itself happen, and that made it feel more like a spell she would be likely to use, in a duel. One she didn't have to force herself to cast, something that felt comfortable.

Like last year's jeans, and worn-out combat boots, and all those other awesome, old things life has to offer.

"With thumbtacks." Truebridge answered gravely.

"Usually so. The more you practice, the less heavy you will feel." Truebrdge answered Dianna.

"Precisely. Are you ready to test it out?"

"Excellent, you certainly can test it out."


"Good." Truebridge acknowledged.

"Good, I knew you could. Practice makes perfect and you certainly may test it out."

"Thats right. As it is with any wand movement, if you recognise them you can certainly identify or at least narrow down what the possible spells might be. Of course it only gives you a split second to react, but often that split second is enough to sway the duel. It is certainly something to keep in mind. Excellent point." Truebridge answered.

"Great, I'd like you to test it out too." Truebridge answered.

He withdrew a matchbox from his pocket and opened it to reveal several small brass thumbtacks.

"Everyone who wants to test it out, take a thumbtack and try to stick yourself with it. If you were successful, and indeed you may feel a bit heavy, or like you are wearing an extra layer of clothing, perhaps a thick jacket or something, then you are likely to be successful. Of course you can't test with a thumbtack every time you cast it, but it is a good way to learn how to judge it and of course to get used to the feel of the armour spell." Truebridge explained.

"If you have the loricatus spell in place -only test on your arm for now please- when you attempt to stick yourself, you will feel a pressure, and some sensation, but the tack will not break your skin. If you press too hard you might end up with a bruise though so keep that in mind and don't overdo it. If you are squeamish, try simply scratching your arm with the point of the thumbtack, even try it on your unarmoured arm, so you can compare the sensation."

ooc: Even if it doesn't work for your character, its only a thumbtack so nobody better be dying or bleeding to death while I'm not around. In about 12 hours we'll wrap up.

Alexa took a thumbtack from the Professor and went slowly back to her spot by the door. Giving Dylan a skeptical look she took a deep breath and attempted to stick the tack into her arm. "Cool," she said in a far off voice as she watched the tack look as though it would penetrate the skin, but did not.

There was a little bit of a tingle as Truebs had said there would be... this was the coolest thing EVER. Hehe. Looking to Dylan she said, "Cast it and let me try to stick you."

Dylan eyed Lexi. "You want to stab me with a thumbtack?" He gave his wand a flick, "Loricatus." He suddenly felt an enormous weight on himself. It was like he was carrying Freddy. "Go ahead then Lex. I am ready for it." "Don't stab too hard!

With a little grin Lexi stepped closer to Dylan and jabbed the thumbtack at his upper arm. "Did you feel anything? Did I hurt you?" she asked with as straight a face as she could. It would be pretty funny if she had in fact stuck him like super hard... but whatever. The point was that he needed to learn to cast it correctly, right? Right.

Dylan frowned, "Owww." He whimpered slightly, as he saw the pin go in his shield. He could feel the pressure against his skin, but thankfully not the pin itself. "I feel nothing I shouldn't. Next time stab harder." Unless he wasn't meant to feel anything. Hmmm.

Rolling her eyes at Dylan she said, "Were you listening at all? Professor Truebridge distinctly said you will feel a pressure, and some sensation. You aren't meant to feel pain if you have cast it correctly." With the last word she jabbed again... maybe it would leave a bruise. Teehee.

Dylan nodded, "Then all is well. I just feel a pressure. No pain at all." Apart from the pain in the bum he was experiencing right now. His 'sister' obviously enjoyed causing him pain. He could feel the pressure increase as she pushed harder. Not good at all. He could actually see his skin pushing in. Witch!

"All's well and good then... you can do more with that wand than scratch your bum I see. Good show," she said teasingly as she took the tack away from his arm. He wanted a little sister... he got one. MWAHAHAHA. Too bad for him this little sister wasn't so little and could already use magic. Double Mwahahaah.

Dylan smiled, "You know full well that I can do more than scratch my bum with it. I am rather good at my spells. Just because you want to stab me. I am sorry my magic is so good that you can't actually cause any damage." Oh when they got home, they would have so much fun. Maybe he could turn her into a dragon, like next door's cat.

A relieved smile flickered across Nia's lips. "I'd really appreciate that, Professor." It was something she really wanted to conquer, and maybe the extra work with help would finally do it. She definitely wanted to have it sorted by next term. And feeling a bit more confident, she sat up a bit straighter.

Nia eyed the wand movement carefully. It vaguely resembled how she fiddled with her pencil whilst she was thinking what to write in her journal. Excpet her pencil was much shorter than her wand, and she had to somehow involve a flick of the wrist too. Practice, however, she could do.

She picked her wand up in her left hand, and twisted it round. And fumbled it, so it dropped on the floor. Picking it up, she tried again, this time it feeling a bit more natural, but the wand still falling.

Nia looked up from her practice, where the wand was now staying in her hand but felt awkward. It was getting more natural though. Soon she'd have it all smooth and sorted, so it was probably worth trying the incantation too now.

She said it in her head first. Loricatus.

Right. Now with wand movement. "Loricatus," she said, but the wand got stuck between her fingers and fell. Meh. She wiped her slightly sticky hand on her robes and tried again. "Loricatus." The wand twisted neatly, with the flick of her wrist, and Nia felt a slight pressure on her arms. Like a heavy jumper. Or when she strapped her Quidditch protection on just that tad too tight. Yay!

Did she want to test it? Possibly. She'd just get used to the sensation for now.

A thumbtack? hahaha Phew! I was thinking of a blade!! Thank God I wasn´t right!

Kate took a thumbtack and placed it on her palm. Then she casted the armour:

"Loricatus" She took the thumbtack and ... OUCH!...Dangit!!

Again..

"Loricatus"

peek ... peek ... peek...and NOTHING! yay!!!!!

I casted it right, oh yeah, oh yeah (mini dance )

Arya continued to practice the wand movements until she was able to get some sort of grip on her wand to give it a flick. It still was nowhere near as comfortable as when she would twirl her wand, but it was slowly getting there. After a mini break fro concentration, she rolled her wand and ended with a light flick aimed at her forearm. "Loricatus."

Almost instantly her forearm began to feel heavier. Not too heavy that she couldn't hold it up, but heavy enough that when she tried to move her arm it was noticeably slower. Arya flexed the mucles in her arm while twisting it this way and that, her eyes examining the invisible armor. The armor seemed strong enough, but she would need to beable to shield more than her forearm to use it as protection from anything.

Pausing her practice momentarily, she looked at Truebridge as he told them what they would be testing thier shields with and grinned softly. She should have known that the good professor wouldn't have them test it out in a dangerous way. Her mind already changed, she stood up and went to retrieve her brass thumbtack, giving Truebridge a small thank you before going back to her spot on the floor.

The shield she had up before had weakened to the point that it was of no use to her. Pointing her wand at her forearm, she cast a simple finite and the wieght on her forearm lifted. She stroked her arm with her hand, then she tested the thumbtack on her unshielded skin, making a small scratch on her skin. It didn't hurt nor did it leave any kind of mark.

Rolling her wand slowly she ended it with a flick, almost droping the wand but catching herself before she could dop the wand. "Loricatus." The armor crept over her forearm giving it the same heavy feel as before. Tucking her wand behind her ear, she picked up the thumbtack and gently grazed it over her shielded skin. She could feel the tack, but there was no pain and it didn't feel the same as when she first tested it. She could feel the shield over her arm. Arya continued to test the tack on her arm until her shield faded away.

With thumbtacks. Brilliant. Crossing her arms, Evelyn sighed as she listened to the professor say what to do and what not to do with the thumbtacks. She was pretty confident that her shield would be good enough so the thumbtack wouldn't pierce her skin, but then again, the whole own blood thing going on, was not doing it for her.

Watching others first, Evelyn took note of the fact that others were testing it on themselves on eachother. She doubted Destiny would let her stick her with a thumbtack though to test out the girl's shield, hehe. Uncrossing her arms, the Slytherin walked forward and took a thumbtack out of the match box, before moving back over to where she previously stood.

Alright. "Loricatus." she said, rolling her wand between her fingers and ending with a flick at the end. Feeling the familiar heavy sensation on her arm, Evelyn was a bit smug with the fact, however she didn't smile or smirk yet. She still had to test it out and make sure it worked probably. There was no way she was sticking her other unarmored arm like the Professor suggested so might as well just go for it.

Raising up the thumbtack, she slowly pushed down on her arm, her eyebrows raising in surprise at her own actions, but not only that, it didn't hurt. It was weird, and mentally confusing. The tack was there, on her skin, but she couldn't feel it. Just a, slight pressure? Raising the thumbtack back up, she held it up to her eyes as if investigating it, before...trying again. Yup, still didn't hurt.

Huh. Weird. It didn't even occur to her that she actually did the spell right even though it didn't last all that long (well, longer then the first time she tried it), but she was still too interested and amused that the thumbtack wouldn't hurt her. Mwaha! This spell, was definitely useful.

Selena didn't like the idea of sticking something into herself. It sounded painful. She hoped the spell worked... or it would hurt... a lot. She sighed, "Loricatus," she said as she rolled her wand between her fingers before flicking it. Her arm felt a bit heavy like there was real armour around it. Selena glanced at the thumbtack then at her arm. This was going to hurt, wasn't it?

Selena sighed and stuck the darn thumbtack in her arm. What? She didn't feel anything? She poked it. It didn't hurt. It was either that she cast her spell right or else she was just being stupid and would notice the pain later. She pulled out the thumbtack and there wasn't any mark there... She smiled. Hehehe. She wondered if she would be able to cut her arm off with the spell on... Probably not. But still, the spell was pretty useful... She wasn't going to test if it really did work by sticking the thumbtack in again.

"Loricatus."
With a roll of his wand, and a flick of his wrist, the weighted down feeling returned. Patroclus' casting was now perfect, for which he was quite impressed with himself.
He picked up a few thumbtacks and wondered how to approach stabbing himself!

He position the tack between his thumb and index finger of his left hand and tried to push it into his arm. He wanted to turn away, in case the tack enter his skin, but to his amazement the tack could not pierce his skin, "This is incredible!"

"I'm sure you all understand that there are limits. None of you should be going around trying to cut off limbs to see if you've managed to get the spell right. Sometimes, in extreme circumstances, it might be the difference between losing your arm or leg, or just having it partially severed." Not precisely a pretty picture. "Knowing this spell, and even using it well, does not in any way, shape or form, make you invincible. It is just another tool for your duelling arsenal."

Truebridge walked around, watching the success of the majority of the students. "Keep practicing though, over time it will last longer and be able to withstand damage a little stronger than what a thumbtack can deal out." Some of them were likely to have some pretty uncomfortable thumbtack sized bruises later.

"Its almost time for dinner, so with that our meeting is over. I will assign first duels and post an announcement after dinner. You are all welcome to use the duelling arena at any time and of course, come to me with any questions, you're dismissed. Go eat. Or stay and ask any questions you may have."

Alexandrie nodded at the Professor reply cancelling the charm..thing on her arm. Dueling club was something she was certainly finding great. Not to mention with all the prank duels with Zane she knew a few good moves., "Hey Professor a friend and I were wondering, do Aurors have like Medi-witches or Healers on the field with them? You know as aurors to only like well Field Medi-witches?" Alex asked knowing it sounded werid, she had been blown away by Zane's statement. She had also raised her hand habit of being in class for so long.

"Not usually. We have the benefit of apparating after all and out and out wars are luckily rare in the Wizarding world. What they do have is a permanent bed placement at St. Mungos, always open for them if they get hurt. There is an entire ward for aurors I believe." Truebridge answered as everyone filed out.

He waited until they had all left before beginning to compile the duelling lists.


ooc: reminder to add your 5 spells that you want to work on to your post in the duelling sign up thread. Stay tuned.