This really wasn't what Julien had made this room for, but he had to have this detention somewhere. Yes, this place would do nicely for what he had in mind. Setting the room up with one desk and a box on the desk, he had stopped the changing charm just for the time being. Checking the time, Julien moved to a chair he had placed near the desk and sipped on his cup of tea.


He would wait right here until Daxton came in. His paperwork in hand, Julien double checked a few things before putting it away in his briefcase. Yes the boy should be along any moment.

The more Daxton had thought about this detention, the more it had started to make sense. Professor Primeaux had mentioned giving him help with his shellwork - in front of other students, no less. Daxton had not reacted at the time, but it was clear to him the the detention, the punishment, was to force him to accept help (something he was abjectly opposed to) and make sure others knew about it.

So he was tempted to not show up at all, and indeed to not show up to any more Charms lessons. But he had his reasons to be there, so here he was. A few minutes late, yes, but there had been yet another moment where anxiety had gripped him upon being faced with the closed door.

Daxton stepped into the room and stood just inside the door, spotting the professor at once. He did not move any more, nor did he announce his arrival, and instead simply regarded the man intently, with an intense and thoughtful (and, needless to say, suspicious) glare.

Looking up Julien noticed the door open and Daxton come inside. He wasn't surprised not to get any acknowledgement, but he wasn't going to take not getting one either. "One always greets another as they come into a room. Respect is something that is earned, but being respectful towards others should be a trait that everyone has. If you aren't going to speak when coming into a room, you should at least give a wave." He was there to teach the students and he was going to teach them manners as well.

"Please join me over here Daxton. I have been reading some of your paperwork. I think I can at least give you some ways to help during your lessons. Nonverbal spells are very difficult for second years, so you can practice those, but I was hoping to do something else."

Moving out of her chair he went to the desk with the box and waited for the child to come over.

Needless to say, Primeaux's statement received nothing more than a blank look. Primarily because it was not true; the professor had stated it as fact, when it was quite simply not a fact that everyone always made the effort to greet other people. Plenty of people did not - Daxton had spent a good part of his almost-thirteen years watching and observing the inexplicable social habits of those around him - and Daxton himself did not. If he did, the professor would not have mentioned it. As for respect, and that it should be a trait everyone had, Daxton did not have it, he could not see the point of it, and seldom ever felt it (and when he did, it manifested in the most bizarre of ways). Daxton did not see the point, either, in pretending to respect someone when he felt zero respect towards them, and whether he 'should' do something had very little bearing on whether or not he actually did it, especially if he did not want to.

Take greeting people. Daxton saw little point in 'hello's and 'goodbye's, and rarely provided them. As for waving, he did not like nor understand why flailing his arms at people in greeting should be expected of him. Respect... manners... all of it was lost on the Ravenclaw, filed away under 'inane things people do that have little meaning or purpose'.

All of these thoughts, and then some, had began coursing through Daxton's mind at that very first statement, but by the unreadable expression on his face it would have been easy to believe the words had sailed right past him. He considered Primeaux for a long moment, his stare edging towards cold and calculating. There was that word again, 'help', pushing Daxton steadily closer to his feelings of dislike towards the teacher. Another moment passed, before Daxton stepped over to join him at the box on the desk. So far, this did not sound promising; all Daxton wanted to do was focus on non-verbals - anything else was a giant waste of time in his eyes, but it would be stupid to not at least see what the professor was talking about first.

So the boy was going to continue to just stare at him. This got a very disapproving look and Julien was not going to have it. "Daxton this can go one of two ways. You will do as I say in this room and in my classroom or you can find another way to pass charms. I will give you all the accommodations that I am suppose to, but you have to give effort even with those. It is your choice." He paced a bit in front of the desk.

Stopping he picked up the box, "There really is no way around doing charms without speaking in the early stages of learning that you are in. We need to figure out a way for you to do that or to find a different way. You have to at least attempt to try in my class. I will not be letting you just slide by on an excuse. Trying is all I ask in any of my students. I do not tolerate trying to take an easy way out." Breaking glass and getting another student to do the work was an easy way that he didn't like.

"What I'd like you to do is unlock this box or at least attempt to. You won't speak, I get that, but what I would like you to try at least is to get close to the box and whisper if need even if you just mouth the word that will get your concentration into the spell. It will get your focus there. A nonverbal is done with concentration and confidence. You need to practice and get better to be able to obtain this. That is what you will do today, practice. I do not believe you cannot learn Mr. Prince, I fully believe you could do anything even with the obstacles you have. You were placed in Ravenclaw for a reason. My house does not bring in just anyone. Your stubbornness and possibly hiding behind your accommodations is what is holding you back."

Setting the box back on the desk he moved back to his chair and took a seat. "You can start practicing now."

Finding another way to pass Charms did not sound so bad to Daxton at all. In fact, if it got him out of a formal classroom setting from that point onwards, he was fully tempted to take the opportunity. He thought about it as Primeaux started pacing, watching the progress of his feet as they went back and forth, but did not make his thoughts known.

Daxton remained remarkably unresponsive even when the lecture came. It was interesting that he was being accused of not trying, when he had very deliberately attempted the spell non-verbally before smashing the glass of the cabinet to avoid such an accusation later. All Daxton was truly learning here was that if his attempts were in fact going to be ignored, it was best to skip straight to being resourceful - because that was all he had done in class: be resourceful.

His gaze turned to the box Primeaux had as he went on listening, despite the urge to tune the professor out completely. Most of it he had heard before; how there was supposedly no way of getting around the issue of speaking, how he was making excuses, how he took the easy way out, how he was stubborn, how he was hiding behind his problems. That last one had always been a particular favourite of Daxton's. He hated appearing weak, hated anyone thinking he was held back by anything, or could be held back by anything. The insinuation that he would willingly let something hold him back would have been laughable were it not utterly infuriating. Perhaps one day Primeaux would learn that Daxton Prince let nothing hold him back; he always found a way to get what he wanted, even if that meant doing things his own way and taking slightly longer than he might have done with conventional methods - a concept that easily extended to learning how to cast magic.

Daxton had to admit, it made sense that Primeaux had formerly been a Ravenclaw. He had that misguided sense of house pride about him which was clear from just that one statement, and the belief that he knew things that actually he had no idea about. There was likely nothing more annoying than a Ravenclaw that tried to flaunt their knowledge, and yet they were everywhere. Again, Daxton kept his thoughts very much to himself, and continued to look quite bored (partly because it was simply his neutral expression), waiting for the lecture to end.

When Primeaux was done talking, Daxton stepped forward and snatched the box up off the desk to better inspect it. He gave it a good once over, even attempting to open the box before having a go at the spell, just to make sure it was actually already locked. After he had looked at the thing for as long as possible, he retrieved his wand from up his sleeve, and turned it around in his fingers a couple of times. Feeling very much on the spot, Daxton glanced across at Primeaux and frowned a little, before turning slightly so he was not facing the man but could still just about see him in his periphery, and pointed his wand at the box.

He did not say the spell, nor mouth the incantation, but Daxton did think it as hard as he could. He glared at the box, envisioned it opening, just like the box he had tricked Magdalena Traulton into opening in class, and thought Alohomora.

Predictably, nothing happened. Daxton shot a side-glance at Primeaux, then back at the box, and tried once again.

He watched the boy and personally he wasn't thrilled by this no facial expression thing. It wasn't something he cared for and when he talked he expected to be listened to, but with this one he couldn't tell and that just annoyed him. He liked to pride himself on how he treated everyone fairly and equally. Whether they needed extra things or not. He would give them what they needed to be successful, but he still expected certain things in his presence.

Sitting in his chair he watched as the child of course didn't listen to him with the mouthing of the word and tried just fully nonverbal. Contemplating his next move he tried to decide whether to speak or just let him go at it and fail as he would most likely do. "Think of something that you are very proud of. Something you have accomplished time and time again. When you are doing the charm think of that feeling of knowing you can do it. Use it to make the spell form in your head as a strong forceful spell. If you are going to refuse to do it my way and at least mouth the word to get the direction to go correctly at least try to train your mind for the nonverbal spell."

Daxton had been in the process of mustering up every ounce of his concentration and focusing it all on the stupid box in his hand. His stare had become more intense by the second and the temptation to scream Alohomora! - even just in his head - became almost overwhelming. He tried again, focusing solely on the box, until Primeaux's voice pierced the silence of the room in such a sudden way that it almost seemed ten times louder than usual. Daxton blinked and looked around at him.

... Something... he was very proud of? That suggestion earned only another blank look from Daxton. Something he was proud of... pride... Try as he might, Daxton could not locate any memory of such an emotion. He felt a lot of things, and more deeply than he was willing to ever admit, but there were some things that had the Ravenclaw completely at a loss. And that was exactly how he looked when he stared from Primeaux to the box. Lost.

Pride... something he was proud of...

What exactly was pride supposed to feel like? Daxton honestly had no idea. True pride was one of those fake emotions, practically non-existent to him because he had never felt it, or at least never recognised it if he had, therefore making it easiest to pretend it did not exist at all. Sure, there were plenty of things he could do, and knew he could do, plenty of things he had successfully learnt, but feeling proud of an accomplishment had never once followed. It was, frankly, too positive for him to process.

But Daxton did not want to raise that point. Not here, not now, not with Primeaux. He simply did not want to get onto the subject of something so personal, so he decided instead to merely pretend he could relate, while simply trying the spell exactly as he had been doing so before.

Alohomora. Directing his wand and his focus back at the box, Daxton tried again. Predictably, the box did not open, there was no telltale click of a lock. This time, however, he was even less surprised than before; this time he was distracted by the issue of pride. Was that really the key to non-verbal spells? If so, Daxton would never, ever manage them, and he was beginning to lose confidence by the second. Nevertheless, he kept his face impassive, his eyes on the box, and tried yet again. Alohomora.

Nothing.

The look was an interesting one, but he was not being able to read the child all that well. He wasn't one to care to read many, but he did take an interest in his students learning, their well being, and their success rates. It was an evaluation onto himself as well. Every teacher evaluated their success on the growth of their students and for a moment he wondered how the other had failed this child even the smallest bit.

He watched as the wand movement looked correct, but again he knew nothing had come of the box. Getting up he moved closer towards the student. "Daxton please take a seat." He didn't want the child getting too frustrated, not at first. With a quick movement of his own wand the box was gone.. for now.

"I want you to try to see things in a different light. This is clearly not working, so being stubborn and just doing the same thing over and over is not going to make anything easier on you. I believe you can do this, but you have to let people teach you, try new things."

Did he understand this?

"Now I want you to think of two things you consider accomplishments in your life and write them down." Summoning a parchment and quill he gestured for the boy to go ahead.

The use of his first name did not go unnoticed, and Daxton considered it as he glanced from Primeaux down to his own empty hand where the box had been up until a few seconds previously. He flexed his fingers a few times, turned his hand over and then back again, before taking a seat at the desk and looking back to the professor.

At first, he did not quite understand what Primeaux was talking about, with seeing things in different lights. He eyed the imposing man uncertainly, his expression betraying a hint of confusion, and blinked in surprise at the instruction finally put to him.

Not just one, but two accomplishments... in his life. He had to write down two of them.

Initially, Daxton felt indignant. What Primeaux was asking was for something personal, and, as a rule, Daxton was incredibly selective about what personal information he gave away. It would not be difficult to use such a thing against him; even the most seemingly innocuous factoid could have power in the right circumstances. He was just thinking about making something up, however, when it suddenly occurred to Daxton that - even if he chose to be honest - he did not have a clue what to write.

Staring at the parchment, Daxton remained still and silent. Before he could make something up, he would need to have some idea of what counted, but nothing was coming to mind. He did not accomplish things. He just did them. Nothing he did was truly worthy of pride, because the high expectations he set for himself meant that it was nothing to celebrate when he could finally do something he felt he should be able to do in any case. Nothing was ever really enough.

So, without moving to pick up the quill, Daxton looked back up at Primeaux and gave a shrug, accompanied by a shake of the head.

The boy didn't have accomplishments? Primeaux stood there in shock for a moment. Was this child, this boy so misunderstood that people didn't congratulate his success or was he that self conscious that he didn't feel the accomplishment was worth it. Julien stood there perplexed on what to do to help him. There had to be something and he wasn't giving up until he did.

Moving over to a board on the wall Julien began to write:

Turning back to Daxton he pointed at them, "These of course are not all my accomplishments in fifty years, but they are some of my younger ones. An accomplishment is not something that gets approval from others, it is something that you did that you set out to do. No matter how little or big they are. Walking is something almost all of us do, but it's still an accomplishment. I had younger brother syndrome and didn't want to talk until I was three. I didn't have to others did for me. It was still an accomplishment." He chuckled because it might have been an accomplishment his parents regretted.

Moving closer to Daxton again he looked at the boy with concern, but more friendly then he usually looked at students. "No matter how you feel about yourself, or how anyone else has felt, you have had accomplishments in your life. You wouldn't be here in your second year if you hadn't. Can you at least try to think of one." He was being hopeful that he might spark something from the child.

Daxton eyed the list on the board even as Primeaux gave his running commentary. They were more or less impossible to apply to his own life. The one about OWLs, for example; Daxton was too young to have taken OWLs, he had never had to take exams at his own school, and in his first year - though he only completed theoretical portions of the finals - the work was just so easy it was barely an accomplishment at all. Quidditch and broom-riding were utterly irrelevant, and Daxton also could not see how physical injury as a result of stupidity could be considered an achievement.

The other examples in relation to Daxton were to do with the long distant past, a whole other life, and he refused to even consider them. This was all very personal, and the entire matter was extremely uncomfortable. He looked away from Primeaux and back down at the parchment. With the discomfort growing, it was difficult to think of an appropriate response, even to make one up, one that did not negate years of a carefully crafted facade and at the same time fit the prompt he had been given enough that the professor might let the matter drop. But still, Daxton was not at all able stir up any feelings of accomplishment, or even anything close.

He looked back at the board, clenching his fists tight and frowning as he tried to think of something that fit all the requirements - both Primeaux's and his own. Before long he folded his arms over his chest with a huff of frustration and shook his head again, more vehemently this time, all the better to communicate how much he did not want to do this. Daxton could feel the rage - always just hidden below the surface - starting to climb, and tensed up, glaring at the board. This was stupid, and he did not want to do it at all.

The ever changing room. Noelle hadn't known this existed until she needed to start practicing and catching up on her spells. Of course, she didn't know the professor until she came back and since he was new, this was probably a new room.

Noelle ventured into the room. She wondered how it worked. She knew it changed but... How? She stood still for a few seconds, waiting for furniture to move or lights to go on or off. When nothing happened, she turned to leave and the door was locked. Squinting at it, she pulled on it. Nothing.

Maybe this is what the room did. Locked them in and you had to find a way out.

Abby wandered into the ever changing room and nearly bumped into a younger gryffindor student and said "Hey there this room is rather interesting wouldn't you think so" Abby thought that this room was new because of the new charms professor and she really needed to practice her charms

He breathed heavy watching Daxton and reading his face a bit. His own frustration starting to build. He was giving the child every chance he could, he felt he as showing he was trying to help him. Did he not realize this detention wasn't really a detention, but a chance at one on one help. Julien didn't want to believe the boy was unteachable, no he really didn't. He wanted to see the spark in all children's eyes that they understood or they could get it after practice, but Daxton just sat there shrugging and shaking his head.

A heavy sigh left his lips as he walked back over. "In life we have to make decisions, we have to figure out what battles we need to keep fighting and which not to. I feel it's the same in teaching and learning. I can only do so much to help students learn and help them succeed. I want to see all my students succeed and I feel like I failed when one doesn't. I feel it is a reflection on my teaching. I know I'm more strict and have higher expectations than most of your professors here, but I don't think that is a bad thing either."

He summonsed the box back and sat it on the desk. "I'm not keeping you here any longer. I do want you to try to practice on your own. I do want you to come to me for help if and when you are ready to receive it. I do expect to see you in my lessons, but only if you are going to give effort and at least try. I don't care if you fail a thousand times as long as you are giving it your best. Failure is a part of learning and many of you I feel think it is easier to give up or have someone else do it for you instead of trying your best. I hope that's not the case, but it seems like it. You are dismissed Daxton."

He wasn't going to stand here any longer and not see effort given. He was fully disappointed the boy didn't take the opportunity to get help and hoped that wasn't a reflection of him not wanting to learn at all.

So Haddie had this thing... it was minor thing, really, but a thing. She was great at casting charms, but kinda stunk at countering her own charms. Oh, sure, the counter charm would work. Perfectly. For a bit at least, then they would sort of wear off. So the charm she was countering would come back. If she used Colloportus to lock a door, for instance, and then countered it with Alohomora, the door would unlock, sure, but at some point later, the unlocking charm would wear off and the door would be locked again.

At the beginning of the year, it took seconds and minutes for the counter-charms to wear off. Now it took days. So she was getting better. At least she thought she was. Still it was annoying. And that's why she was here. Haddie figured she'd practice a little while she still had a chance too. Annnnnd the Charms practice room was in use. Natually. There was plenty of room though, right?

"Hey, Noelle. Hey... Abby, right?" She really ought to know the older Ravenclaw's name, even if they hadn't really talked yet. After all they were in the same house. She was pretty sure the girl's name was Abby though. Like 85... 80% ... 78% sure. "Is it cool if I practice too?"

Noelle blinked and pulled her wand out. Okay room. You wanna play? Let's play!

Noelle twirled her wand in her hand trying to think of the spell. She had heard other students do the unlocking spell, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember it. Al... Alo... Something. Bah! She was going to get stuck in here because her memory wasn't serving her correctly.

Noelle was about to go sit on the couch when she heard the door open. Yay!! She was going to be saved! Noelle smiled at the girl that came in. "Hi! Sorry! I was just trying this room out. It's rather neat. Don't you think?" She asked the girl looking around as things started changing again.

Noelle wasn't worried about getting out with other people here. And speaking of other people, someone else had entered.

Hey, that was the girl from the robe place. But for the life of Noelle, she couldn't remember her name. "hey... You! How are you?" She was trying to be her normal self but you could tell slightly that it was forced. "Im just practicing spells. Do you two wanna help?"

There were few things Daxton hated more than hearing someone try to tell him about life, and the way in which Primeaux was currently talking to him was no exception. He fought the urge to raise his eyebrows even the slightest amount, kept his expression neutral and his eyes trained on the professor as he went on and on. Clearly he thought Daxton stupid, or rather lazy, a budding failure. Fortunately for all involved, Daxton did not care enough about Primeaux's opinion of him to get even the slightest bit offended, even at the point of realising that the professor was likely referring to him as a battle not worth fighting. In actual fact, Daxton fully agreed with him.

He drummed his fingertips lightly on his own arm, narrowing his eyes at Primeaux as he considered him and his comments; some utterly incomprehensible, others almost laughable, but all of which giving Daxton the distinct impression that Primeaux did not have a clue what he was dealing with. Which was not so significant, but for the fact that he really did seem to think he did understand, and that was the most amusing part of all.

Best of all was that Primeaux had literally just given Daxton a legitimate way out of attending Charms classes, which basically meant he would not be able to get in trouble for skipping class (and despite the high chance that this was not actually the case, Daxton decided it would be best not to ask for clarification, and to simply claim ignorance later if it came to that). Classroom learning was stupid; as long as he had books and a quiet place to sit, Daxton could learn all by himself - no doubt that would be considered 'giving up' by the likes of Primeaux, but that was just how it was. Lessons were distracting; mostly they got in the way of real learning.

When he was dismissed at last, Daxton got to his feet and headed straight for the door, keeping Primeaux in his line of sight at all times. And then he was gone - out the door, down the corridor, and out of sight.

Abby smiled at her fellow eagle and said "Yeah it is Abby your Haddie right" Abby remembered Haddie a bit fromj the start of term feast", Turing to the Gryffindor and said "Yeah it is rather neat to be honest because it is a good place to practice your charms if you need help with the spell that you were trying to cast just ask because i am pretty good at Charms, names Abby by the way" Abby thought it would be best to introduce herself to the gryffindor

Haddie smiled and shrugged. "Cool." She remembered Abby's name right!

Turning to Noelle, Haddie grinned suspiciously. "You don't remember my name do you? It's Haddie." She tried not to take offense, given all the girl had been through since that day at Diagon Alley. If the rumors were true, that is. "Oh, I finally got a pygmy puff. I named him Jared. Do you still have Mute?"

Haddie made her way around the practice room. This was the first time she'd been in it. How did it look on other days? Turning back to the two girls, Haddie shrugged. "Sure, I'll help... as long as you don't expect me to be the target of the spells. So what spells are we practicing?" There wasn't an actual reason that Haddie came in here for. Well, there was, but it was pointless. She wanted to practice her counter charms, figure out how to get them to stick as they kept wearing off whenever she countered one of her own charms. But that was pointless to practice here, since it usually took days for the counter-charms to wear off, so those were better practiced in her dorm, like she had been doing.

Why did she come here?

Pygmy puff. It had been so long it seemed since that day at Diagon Alley. It was hard to remember. "Oh right!! Now I remember. Sorry... Been......... Distracted lately." Yeah that seemed a fair description. A very vague fair description. mute. Frown. Noelle shook her head at Haddie. "Unfortunately no. He was lost after I ... After things happened. I wish I had found him." Of course, she hadn't been to Diagon Alley since, except to grab a new wand since her old one was taken.

"Nice to see you again though. And nice to meet you Anby." Noelle grinned at the two and pulled her wand from its holster. "Im getting used to this wand. So no spells at either of you. Abby, what year are you? Can you teach us anything?"