He glanced nervously at Anni, wondering if this was some kind of a trap. On one hand, this could very well be one of those reverse-psychology gambits, like when your Slytherin stepfather told you you didn't want to play outside so you would go outside just to cheese him off and he have 'alone time' with your mum, yuck! Slytherins always thought they could pull off a reverse-psychology gambit, but they never could on a Ravenclaw. They would be outwitted every time.

On the other hand, he didn't know the head girl. While she was a Ravenclaw, it was entirely possible that she, as Head Girl, would have to do any professor's bidding. Even a murderer's. He considered and decided that the devil you know was better than the devil you didn't know. Especially since it was just to learn a simple charm.

Eli shrugged. "I can learn it from you, if you want." he said. After all, he was a professor. It was, as he said, his job to teach him to use his wand.

"Good. You'll have less bruises if you don't have to wait." Truebridge pointed out.

"Now the most important thing here is intent. You certainly have a good reason to want to succeed, but while that hammer might be a motivation, you must also be careful you don't allow it to become a distraction. Understand?"

Hmmm. He had bruise healing paste in his desk drawer, he was certain. Right by the cracked picture frame containing a picture of himself with Jake Upstead when they'd gone rock climbing a few years back. He'd been meaning to get the thing fixed.


ooc: its crazy late for me, 3am so... bed. I'll post in the morning when I get up.

Not let it be a distraction? Was the professor daft? As if in answer, the hammer smacked him on the left foot. He burst out with a crude expletive (which shall be censored here for the sake of the children.)

Eli nodded and listened to the professor, already feeling skeptical about the possibility of success. He'd heard the other professors go on about intent and focus, about posture and pronunciation, and about movement and motivation. But it never seemed to keep his spells from seeming slipshod and sloppy. He even sometimes wondered if he had a faulty wand. He wasn't a squib; he could do enough basic spells that he knew that with certainty. But it just seemed that many of the spells that the other first years mastered quickly eluded him. It made him feel stupid and he hated feeling stupid worse than probably anything in the world. Well, worse than anything other than his stepfather and Slytherins and that dratted HAMMER.

He folded his arms across his chest, still standing flamingo style. Why wouldn't this professor stop the hammer and THEN teach him? Apparently he was not only into murder and thievery, but child-torture too.

No wonder he had been in Azkaban.

He waited for the professor to teach the next step.

BAM! "Ow! Oi, this thing is stupid!" he cried as the hammer whacked him again.

"Then concentrate and do your best." Truebridge answered, apparently unconcerned about the swearing. Had he heard it? Who knew, he did not indicate that he had or react in any way.

"The incantation is Immobulus, the wand movement a nice and simple flick and swish like so." He demonstrated twice and then slowed the movement down. "You want it to stop, do you not? Hold that feeling, that is your intent. Put it behind the incantation."

Eli watched carefully and then raised his wand. Of course he wanted the hammer to stop! But right now, the only feeling he was holding on to was frustration toward the professor. He wanted to learn his lessons, but he thought this man was a sadist for letting the lesson be quite literally beat into him.

Nevertheless, he had to try.

He practiced the swishy-flick and then focused.

"Immobulus!" he cast.

Nothing happened.

He stomped his foot and grunted. He refocused to try again.

"ImMObulus!" he cast. The hammer dodged left as he sent the spell out; he overcompensated, sending his spell directly at...

The professor!

Eli scrunched his eyes closed, afraid to look. It probably would cost him twenty zillion house points if he'd been successful, because instead of the hammer, he would have immobilized a professor.

ooc: Completely up to you as to whether or not it worked, of course!

Okay. Professor Truebridge said she could come back later right? Right.

Now was later!

She just had to find out if these rumors she was hearing were true! Crazy Lafay as the Slytherin head of house?! Violet couldn't think clearly ever since she overheard that rumor. Plus, Truebridge was her favorite professor! She hesitantly knocked on the door and anxiously waited.

Truebridge looked down at his leg. His... immobile leg and then up at the little Ravenclaw in mild surprise.

...

....


"Good. Now aim for the hammer." He quietly released his leg and might have helped things with the hammer simply by ensuring it wouldn't hop around too much or have another serious go at the boy's toes. Not that it was obvious he was doing so; the hammer was still smacking and bamming, just a little slower and with a little less aim.

"Come in." Truebridge called, glancing up at the door. "Come in and take a seat."

...

O_O

HE DID IT! Only a little, and wrong target, but still!

He felt like doing a little dance. In fact, he did do a little jiggy dance before raising his wand again.

"ImMOBulus!" he said, doing the motion again.

Nuthin'!

He shook his head, frustrated, and cast again. Nuthin'. Nuthin'. He stomped his foot, determined.

He raised his wand again, tracking the hammer, and cast. It still didn't work, and on top of that, now his forehead felt a weird prickly-heat.

If he had had a mirror, he would have been able to see the word 'THIEF' appearing on his forehead in welts. Alas, he had no such reflective device.

He turned to the professor and shook his head. "I can't do it. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

ooc- I think the muggle studies professor has to take the spell off? The muggle studies professor didn't specify, but as the tool was stolen and he instructed me to have Eli be tormented by his theft I'm RPing him as not being able to solve it himself. I'm not sure how you guys want to resolve it; please let me know.

As soon as Violet heard the professors voice she opened the door and ran in and sat down on a chair. She glanced around and saw some firstie with his wand out. What a freak.

She quickly remembered what she was there for and looked all serious. She was going to act casual but that didn't work out at all. "Professor please tell me these rumors that Lafay is Slytherin head of house are lies!" she said instead of 'hey whats up?' 'cause Violet doesn't do that when she was upset. Nope.

Eli turned as a girl stormed in and interrupted. He glared at the girl. Slytherin. Of course.

"Professor LaFlame is absolutely head of the snakes now. And I'm kind of in - ow! - the middle of an emergency with the professor. Maybe you should wait your turn." Okay, he knew it was not friendly and not his place to speak when she had addressed the professor. But his toes were being hammered to death by a Slytherin-cursed hammer, couldn't she see that stopping it was what was important at the moment? Besides, he was embarrassed that another Slytherin would get the chance to see how bad he was with his hand. She would probably take this information back to the reptile zoo so they could all torment him together.

ooc: I'll have a little chat with her to see what she wants to do

...

Interesting. Truebridge didn't comment on the welts though it gave him pause for thought. He decided that he'd send off a little patronus or perhaps... a messenger. He eyed Violet as she came in and then looked at Eli again.

"Try to doubt yourself a little less. You managed to cast on my leg well enough." Truebridge flicked his own wand, making it a little more obvious that he was holding the hammer back a little, though he let it twitch violently.


...

Yeah that.

"Absolutely." Truebridge agreed. "And its Lafay, Eli. Both of you, mind your manners." He added sternly.

"If you have an issue with it, Violet, I suggest you speak to the headmaster. My hands are tied."

:O So Lafay was the Head of House! Grrrrrrr. And who did that kid think he was talking to her like that? Anyone should've known that she was more important than any kind of emergency. She just gave him a glaaaaare and turned back to Truebridge.
Nooo! She still couldn't believe how crazy this was. Who was she going to tell all of her drama to? Lafay would probably like... eat her or something. *Cue sad face*. "But..." Well she couldn't just say that Lafay scared her, that wouldn't sound nice. "Can I still tell you my little problems?" she blurted out.

And then he said she could bring it up to the Headmaster... yeahhhh she would pass on that, since she still wasn't sure that he was a big fan of hers.

Eli lowered his head and flushed as the professor chastised him. Okay, yes, it was bad manners to make fun of her name, but wasn't it bad manners to flash fry students? Ah well, the Professor of Azkaban might cast an unforgivable on him if he didn't behave. He nodded and raised his wand again, aiming for the hammer.

"ImMOB-U-LUS!" he cast with determination. He COULD do this. Right?

Sure!

Nothing happened. He rubbed his forehead, which felt hot and achy. Side effect of casting?

"I told you I was bad with my wand-stuff." he grumped.

"... I suppose."

Truebridge wasn't sure how he helped, but he supposed it didn't matter and he didn't really mind lending an ear if it made Violet feel better. And she really was doing much better than she had been.


"Alright. Stop." Truebridge gave the boy a look. He was still being very negative and that always effected casting. He stopped the hammer, took it and then solemnly handed it handle first to Eli, along with a tube of bruise healing paste he'd summoned from his desk.

"I think you had better return this to its rightful owner and track down one of your house prefects to help you with practicing this spell. I recommend Celandine, the head girl, she's very good with her wand. At the end of the next class, which I expect you to attend, you'll have a chance to show me how you are doing and I'll help you work on it more if the head girl fails." Which was doubtful. For one thing, Miss Toussaint had far more patience with the younger students, particularly the ones who were having difficulties. "In any case, take the hammer back to where you got it from."

Yayyyy! That made her feel a little bit better. "Your my favorite professor, so I feel more comfortable telling you my problems." she said. Oh yeah, she totally could be teachers pet someday! What she said was true but another thing was she was just really scared of Lafay.

Eli looked at the hammer- he COULD stop it at any time. Mean old professor probably got his kicks watching a kid suffer! He took it, sighing. No WAY was he going to seek out the Head Girl. She had shown him up in Arithmancy and was obviously therefore so mean and out to get him!

He knew better than to argue the point, however. He merely nodded and shrugged. "Thank you for stopping the hammer, sir." he said in a meek tone. "I'll be going now."

He turned and scurried out of the classroom, hammer and bruise healing paste in hand.

"Alright Eli." Truebridge nodded and watched him and his friend leave, puzzled by the outbreak on the boy's face.

"Well, thank you Violet." He supposed that was a compliment. He did genuinely have an interest in her well being and was glad she had sorted herself out a bit though.

An owl arrived, tapping on the window and scratching at the glass. Truebridge flicked his wand at the window and it opened enough for the owl to enter. It dropped off a letter and flew off again after Truebridge had scratched its head and given it a treat from his drawer.

He opened the note, read over it twice without his expression changing and then looked up at Violet.

"Apologies, Violet I have someone I need to speak to. I am sorry to cut our talk short." He stood up and ushered her out of the office. "We'll talk at the feast if you like." He suggested and closed and locked the door behind him.