Text Cut: Kyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

Movement, incantation, intent, and control. And he needed to push magic out through his fingertips as he felt it inside of him. With a lot of intent. "So, with wandless magic, you have to make up for the wand with intent and determination, huh?" That sounded about right. "So, like when I was trying to call my broom into my hand during flying lesson, and I felt my magic, and reached out to it with it. That sort of thing?" It was the only thing he could compare it to.

He considered the Professor's question. Did he actually want to learn wandless magic, or just learn about it? To be honest, it was fascinating. But to actually learn to do it... "I think I would like to learn wandless magic. After all, what happens if I get stripped of my wand somehow, like during a battle or a duel? One expelleramus and if I don't stop it, I could otherwise be left defenseless." And to be honest, it would just be kinda cool to do wandless magic.

Hirsch nodded along as Mr Erikson summarised his previous response. That connotation? Being someone who was more into duelling and combat, he couldn't say for certain that he remembered exactly how it felt to fly. His Durmstrang days had been a long time ago. But Mr Erikson's question reminded him of the time when he was eleven and learning to fly for the first time. The rush, the adrenaline and, of course, the magic. "Exactly like that. Do you remember having to say it in a strong voice with a lot of intent and determination behind it? And it's only through that determination that would make your broom fly up? The same rules apply here." More or less.

He wanted to learn wandless magic? Hirsch's eyebrows shot up. If he was completely honest with himself, this was the first time someone at Hogwarts was asking him about this area of magic. But what was even more fascinating was the reasoning behind it. It reminded him all too much of his first ever lesson at this school: combat.

Defenceless was not a word he liked.

"Firstly, I'm glad you're interested in wandless magic and you want to learn it. If you want help, I can help you with extra tutoring." Now. Let's talk about this defencelessness, shall we? "Defence doesn't stop short at your wand. Even if you don't have your wand on you or you can't use your wand, it doesn't mean that you're defenceless. There is always a way to defend yourself. Think about Muggles: they don't have wands and can't do any kind of magic but they still manage to defend themselves, don't they?" Granted, they also had other measures of defence but that wasn't the point. "In that last situation, it's important to realise that even if you don't have your wand on you, there's always a way to defend yourself. Use your fists, your feet, your elbow are sharp and likely to cause pain to whoever you hit with it."

Sure, Mr Erikson hadn't asked for this lecture on combat defence but he was getting it. Sorry, kid.

Text Cut: Noelle

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChanceCoeur

It wasn't until recently that Noelle had realized a few things about herself. Thanks to a little disagreement with Ava, her eyes had been open to things. One, that she was afraid of being lost in the void, so to speak. She didn't want to be forgotten like she thought she had been back in the dungeon days. And two, she hid behind her training. Sometimes it was easier to hex something than it was to actually talk to someone and overcome it.

So it was hard to find a balance. She wanted to continuously train like she had been. In some way, shape, or form. Whether that be studying, tutoring, training, etc. In fact, it took up majority of her time. So speaking with Hirsch, she knew that she needed to find the balance. A whole balance.

Not to mention she was ecstatic and pleased that Hirsch said she was one of his top picks. Merlin. Up there with Rooney, Henry, Rula, and Char? She'd seen them all duel because for the last two years prior to this one, she'd been a prospector due to crunch in time. She smiled widely when Hirsch said that though. How could you not when Hirsch was telling you something like that? "I'm excited." Noelle blurted out, with a little wiggle in her seat. "Of course nervous too." VERY nervous... but... somehow, Hirsch believing in her gave her that little extra confidence. "I think its a great idea. I got to admit. Hexing those dummies can only be so exciting." She said, offering a grin.

The Yati/Auror training would happen in March. Noelle nodded and bit her lip. She'd need to work on her schedule to make sure she was whole. "Okay. So... like tomorrow before classes then?" Yes Hirsch... she was an eager beaver. Mornings used to be hard to wake up to. Not so much anymore.

"Well, I figure your time is only so limited. There's only so much Professor Hirsch to go around." She said with a teasing grin. "So I'll ask Char, Rooney, Henry, or Rula... or maybe a combination, for them to help me out." It was true... Rooney kind of intimidated her a bit, but he was a great guy with firm beliefs. Char was one of her friends. Rula... she'd probably go ask first because she wanted to interact with her more. And Henry would definitely be a good opponent.

Hirsch's beam was a sight to see. Where was a camera when you needed it?? "I am too." She said about her own progress. She'd improved a lot... but there were definitely things she needed to work on...
"Hey professor Hirsch??" Noelle asked, moving to play with the corner of her parchment paper. "Question. How do you become more confident? Like... I know confidence is a big thing for me when performing spells. When I'm comfortable, I can perform better magic. But when I'm intimidated... or out of my element, and I'm not in competition..." Because competitions made her competitive... which made her cut off all emotions and focus on the task at hand. "My magic is less. And then I get frustrated because I KNOW I can do better. There are people that intimidate me a lot. I'm trying to find a way... in life too... to not let it change me when I'm not confident enough." Did that make sense?

That level of excitement? It showed. And not just in the words she was saying either. It was probably one of the reasons why he preferred teaching to, say, Ministry work. While being an Auror and acting like a hero sounded like a great job, nothing compared to the feeling of teaching and inspiring young minds, as cheesy as it sounded.

"Frankly, I'd be surprised if you weren't nervous. It's only natural but I don't doubt your capabilities." Her next few words earned the Gryffindor a laugh. A proper, amused laugh. "You're lucky that those dummies don't have feelings otherwise they would feel very hurt right now. But you're right: I think you need something more challenging than a few dummies."

Before class? Before?! His eyebrows shot up. Was he talking to a teenager who actually liked to get up early? "Someone's eager." It was probably lucky that Hirsch had an early morning routine so being available before classes wasn't out of the question. "That works for me. After you've had breakfast or before?" Though, he didn't want her being overcome by fatigue but it also wasn't healthy to do any kind of training exercise straight after eating so it was up to her.

"I have more than enough time for my students." Which... wasn't the entire truth. There was no denying the fact that he was a busy man but he liked to think that he had time for as many students as possible. "Sounds like a good idea. Is there any one of them you get along with well? Or would you rather face someone you hardly know?" He knew that her and Charlotte were dormmates so that might make it easier.

It was a good thing that she was proud of her own progress. She probably didn't know it but her progress was something he would mention in vague detail to those who were struggling. The smile still lingered on his face, until she decided to mention something about...... confidence. Ironic, wasn't it, that this was coming from a Gryffindor who was beyond her years at a subject that required confidence.

The smile faltered slightly as she started to explain her situation and her feelings. "Firstly, that's a very deep question. But between you and me, it's completely normal to feel like this. Everyone, even the most confident person out there, has probably felt this way. Confidence is a huge part of spellcasting and without it, you can't cast even the simplest of spells." Pause. "As cheesy as it sounds, confidence comes from you. Think of it in the form of a dark creature: dementors are the living embodiment of fear and desperation and the way to overcome that is to drive as many happy thoughts, thoughts that make you feel better and more confident, through towards the fear. When you find yourself in a situation where you feel lost or hopeless, try and think about all the challenges you've overcome. All the situations where you thought you wouldn't make it but you did." There was one in particular that he was talking about but didn't want to mention in case it upset her. But, well, it was the one that fit the most in this case.

"You are confident and you are an exceptional duellist and spellcaster and just because you get scared or don't perform as well as you can, it doesn't make that any less true. You just need to believe it yourself." Merlin, this really was cheesy, wasn't it? Wrap it up, Hirsch. "I think......" He paused to take a deep breath. "..... what might help is putting you in situations that might be scary. Situations that'll teach you how to overcome your fear so that, Merlin forbid, if you find yourself in that kind of situation, it won't be hard to bring up that level of confidence." He paused again before continuing in a much softer voice, "They'll be in a controlled environment and I'll be there but this is only if you want to. If you don't want to, we can go for something else."

Text Cut: Jessa

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

"Oh yes, it works brilliantly!" Jessa enthused. "I don't hear a thing outside of my space when I'm there. It's amazing." Granted, the Ravenclaw Common Room didn't get wildly loud and rambunctious but sometimes the chatter and discussions got to her when she was trying to get something figured out. It was the distraction of them really. Loads of interesting topics that tended to take her away from her own.

The change in the Professor's expression flew completely over her head. Not for the life of her could she figure what may have gotten him like that so she would proceed with the conversation as normal.

You're right, plenty of time and plenty of willing test subjects." But she was more interested in what he had to say about the punishment correlating with the severity of the damage. That....was an interesting bit of information she would save for later.

Jessa nodded at his question. "Mhm, walking through the dungeons, getting a first hand of what I'd be expected to do. Thing is, I know enough of what I'm scared of that if it was simulated I'd know for sure if I'd be able to tolerate it or not. Kinda like how I know I'm not gonna be walking into any small, closed spaces any time soon." Comparatively speaking, how much bigger were the dungeons? Was that gonna be a potential problem? All questions she needed to be down there to see.

Also, was he agreeing she go find someone to give her detention He probably was. "Who do you recommend?"...To give her detention.....Hirsch would still have to supervise. Couldn't stress this part enough.

"I'm glad to hear that, especially with it feeling like your own space." She did need her own space to experiment, after all, and the common room should provide that. Maybe there should be an experimentation booth? Huh. "Do you have enough resources? Books and the like?" He wasn't a Potions person and therefore, didn't know exactly what she needed so it was a little hard to give her exactly that.

Test subjects? Test subjects?! Hirsch stared blankly at her. Was she talking about detentions or kissing? Because if she was talking about going around kissing people as though they were test subjects.......

............. he didn't get paid enough to deal with this.

"This is about the detention thing, right? Not.... the other thing?" He had to make sure. He just had to. Please ease his soul, Jessa.

There was something remarkable about the way she talked about this stuff. Something very logical in her thought process that not only made him marvel at her level of thinking but also at the way it was far beyond her years. How many thirteen/fourteen year olds talked like this?

Right. Focus. "So if I was to tell you right now what you had to do in detention, you'd know if it would scare you into not wanting to get another detention in the future?" And he was going to make a note of the tight, enclosed spaces thing for the future. "Do you want to go down and have a look? Or run through some scenarios?" Meaning, throw a scenario at him and maybe he could think about what detention would best serve that.

But, seeing as he'd never had to give detention before, he was new to this as well.

Who did he recommend? "I trust Healer Reed but he's along my lines of strictness, to be fair. Professor Myers would probably give a fun detention" If such a thing existed. "but it would be hard to get a detention from him in the first place. Professor Marchand is another good bet but I don't know how well you get along with him." Hmmm. "You could mess with the crystal balls in Professor Vance's Divination rooms but I can't guarantee whether she'd be strict enough to give you a detention or not. And getting a detention from the Headmistress might be a bit too much." But she was a good option as well.

He still didn't like the idea of her being stuck in detention, no matter who it was with. Not at all.

Kyle thought about what the teacher said. Fists and feet were good, but not grand if you were at a distance. But you could always close the distance, right? He had learned a little about fighting from his father, but he wouldn't say he was particularly skilled in it. He was promised he would learn how to use weapons when he was a teenager. But it was true he had to know how to fight if he was ever disarmed.

"I think I would like some private tutoring. Both in wandless magic, and in fighting, if you're willing. My father taught me a little on how to fight, and I've sparred with my siblings, but they've got more experience than me and always beat me, still. I've got no one to practice with here at school."

It was probably a good thing that the door swung open, else Sam might have questioned whether in fact Hirsch had invited her in, or whether she'd just heard what she was hoping to. She tended to be awkward like that when waiting outside of a Professor's office. Though at least she knew her Head of House would in fact have a desk and chairs, and not that large pit of plastic balls Myers had one term. That had been...odd.

"Good day, Professeh," Sam greeted, nerves harshening her London accent some...although it was still nowhere near as rough as it had been on her arrival at the castle nearly five years ago. She'd grown a lot after being sorting in Ravenclaw, that was for sure. From almost illiterate to considering whether University should be something to aspire to after her NEWTs.

"I was wonderin' if yeh 'ad some time to talk careers?" Her glanced fell on the open book and parchment. "But I can come back if yeh buseh?"

Glad that the DADA professor was in his office. Although sometimes she wondered if some Professors often left theirs and hanging out somewhere... Like in the staff room or perhaps a secret lair that the students wouldn't find them. Ava entered Professor Hirsch's office as he let her. "Hello, Professor. I hope you're not really busy because I kind of need a consult about something very important." She said directly. "Mind if I sit?"

Let's get down to business, Burton. "You're not my Head of House, but you've been teaching here longer than Professor Marchand so... I think you would've known me better than him." Although the Gryffindor would not be surprised if he would've not, that's fine. But still, she would like to hear his opinion. "I still have no idea what to pursue after graduated from here, and probably I'm one of the few sixth years who still has that issue."

Text Cut: Kyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

Kyle thought about what the teacher said. Fists and feet were good, but not grand if you were at a distance. But you could always close the distance, right? He had learned a little about fighting from his father, but he wouldn't say he was particularly skilled in it. He was promised he would learn how to use weapons when he was a teenager. But it was true he had to know how to fight if he was ever disarmed.

"I think I would like some private tutoring. Both in wandless magic, and in fighting, if you're willing. My father taught me a little on how to fight, and I've sparred with my siblings, but they've got more experience than me and always beat me, still. I've got no one to practice with here at school."

Wandless magic and fighting? "You're very ambitious, aren't you?" Not to deter the young Slytherin from his goals but it was a fact. "But we can give it a try with the extra tutoring. Did you want to learn both of them simultaneously or start with one and then move onto the other in a few years' time?" He wasn't fussed with which path the boy chose but it would make a difference as to whether he got to see Hirsch once a week or more.

The backstory was something that intrigued Hirsch a lot, especially since the man himself was very into boxing as well. "Well, we can change all of that. I have a room on this very floor that's dedicated to combat defence. It looks like a gym, I have to say, but in there, there are some pieces of equipment that you're more than welcome to use as well as dummies that are charmed to fight back." Just a suggestion to sort out that 'no one to practice with' comment. "Unless you're looking for another student to fight with?"

Text Cut: Sam

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

It was probably a good thing that the door swung open, else Sam might have questioned whether in fact Hirsch had invited her in, or whether she'd just heard what she was hoping to. She tended to be awkward like that when waiting outside of a Professor's office. Though at least she knew her Head of House would in fact have a desk and chairs, and not that large pit of plastic balls Myers had one term. That had been...odd.

"Good day, Professeh," Sam greeted, nerves harshening her London accent some...although it was still nowhere near as rough as it had been on her arrival at the castle nearly five years ago. She'd grown a lot after being sorting in Ravenclaw, that was for sure. From almost illiterate to considering whether University should be something to aspire to after her NEWTs.

"I was wonderin' if yeh 'ad some time to talk careers?" Her glanced fell on the open book and parchment. "But I can come back if yeh buseh?"

If he was completely honest with himself, he was rather surprised to see this particular Ravenclaw in his office. Sam Tyler wasn't the kind of student to get into trouble, you know? And while she did do well in her subjects, he hadn't been approached by her to do any kind of extra work or help with her subjects. In short, he hadn't had any kind of problem with her to warrant this.

So this visit was....... curious.

"Hey, Miss Tyler." At the mention of being busy, his green eyes found the book in his hands and the parchment on his desk. Was he busy? "No no, you're fine. This can wait for another time. Come in, take a seat." He gestured to the seat on the other side of his desk before starting to clear away the desk. There wasn't much to it: he simply closed the book and placed that and the parchment off to one side to think about later.

"Now," he said, sitting up straighter and giving the fifth year his fullest attention, "You wanted to talk careers? Did you have one in mind? Or.... have a subject you particularly enjoy?"

Text Cut: Ava

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

Glad that the DADA professor was in his office. Although sometimes she wondered if some Professors often left theirs and hanging out somewhere... Like in the staff room or perhaps a secret lair that the students wouldn't find them. Ava entered Professor Hirsch's office as he let her. "Hello, Professor. I hope you're not really busy because I kind of need a consult about something very important." She said directly. "Mind if I sit?"

Let's get down to business, Burton. "You're not my Head of House, but you've been teaching here longer than Professor Marchand so... I think you would've known me better than him." Although the Gryffindor would not be surprised if he would've not, that's fine. But still, she would like to hear his opinion. "I still have no idea what to pursue after graduated from here, and probably I'm one of the few sixth years who still has that issue."

A secret lair for the professors sounded like a good idea, didn't it? Huh.

Hirsch glanced up as the door opened, a smile spreading across his face. Yes, this was much better than trying to reason with his mother. "Hello, Miss Burton." That directness? Not exactly surprising. Having taught the girl for five years, this was something to be expected. "Not at all. Please, come in and take a seat." And no, he wasn't busy either.

Again, things could wait.

There were a lot of facts being thrown around, one of them being that he wasn't her Head of House and another being that he has been teaching here longer than Gaston. But even through all of this, he couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the man, considering. But seeing as it wasn't the time, he decided not to concentrate on that. "I think it's safe to say that that's true. Five years is a long time and I've seen you grow a lot during that time."

Now. Careers. A hot topic during this time of the year. "Well, even if that's true, I think it's still acceptable to change your path anywhere down the line, if you really want to. People change their minds all the time and asking a sixteen/seventeen year old to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives is a little much." But that was just his opinion. "So, let's decide from your subjects and hobbies. What do you like doing? What subjects do you do well in and could see yourself studying further?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

Talking about someone else's work was probably a boring topic, which is what he was taking from the lack of conversation. Or, simply, she just didn't know what to say. Whatever the reason, he wasn't about to pursue a clearly dead conversation.

He was, however, glad that she wanted to go into his office, instead. The seating area was fine but it was too open for a one-to-one conversation. Hirsch gave her a smile before moving towards his office door, taking out his wand in the process. He gave the lock a tap, making it CLICK as it unlocked itself before opening it out for her. "After you, Cassandra."

Office it would be.

Cassie watched the man moved to his office door, obviously opening it with his wand that he took out. A part of her wondered if the man used just a normal locking spell or a more complicated array of spells. Her dad had stories of dealings with defense experts and other ministry workers who were known to feel the need for the later. Was Hirsch one of those like others in his field?

"Thank you, Professor," she answered, moving into the office instead of letting her curiosity wander further. The Ravenclaw's gaze flickered around the bright and polished room as she walked, taking in the man's chosen surroundings. She was briefly stalling as she debated how to start the conversation. "Professor..." she finally started, "I'm looking for advice."

Now that was vague, Cassandra.

"Advice about future plans...and trying to figure out a focus."

"A dummy would be fine." Kyle smiled. Would they be really skilled dummies? Did they have different levels? He asked about those too.

Then... "I think I would like to learn wandless magic first, and I'll practice against the dummies for now. After all, I kinda have the basics of one already, and not the other. Maybe we can switch off each year, and I'll practice one on my own for that year while I learn the other."

"If yeh sure..." She tilted her to head the side to catch the title of the book he was pushing aside, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Had she seen a copy in the Common Room library, perhaps? If she had, it was probably worth a flick through before next lesson. Her Defence had come on leaps and bounds, with Dora's help, but she knew there was still room to improve.

Sliding into the offered chair, Sam gave a reluctant sigh. Unusual, from the girl that was usually so determined to overcome her past, and make the best of her time at Hogwarts; the girl that had showed up with practically nothing, and had expanded her horizons in so many ways.

"I do...but's that's the prob'em, sir. I don't know where teh begin. Me grades are pretteh good across the board..." She rubbed the nape of her neck. "Me best are probably Astronomy, Herbology and Arithmancy...but I don't see meself doin' that in the future." Dora's Uncle was an Experimental Herbologist, and although she loved it when he invited her to help out in his greenhouses, she knew she didn't have the same passion for it he had. As for Astronomy...she wanted something more practical. To give something back. Sitting and looking at the stars was a hobby, a thing she did when her room felt claustrophobic and she couldn't sleep.

"I'd like teh be able to 'elp the kids growin' up like I did..." she said after a while staring at her hands in her lap. It was something she'd thought about a bit, but was difficult to verbalise. "But like...a safe space, to talk and show that they can still go on 'n' do something awesome. That it don't matteh, their background." Perhaps like a Healer, but for young minds overcoming troubles - whether it be growing up homeless, with a parent in Azkaban, an illness, or something else. She'd experienced them all.

"Is...that something I could do at a university?" Dora said she should aspire to going to University, but how could she when it seemed so foreign to her? And she had no idea what she'd do once she was there?

It seemed like her decision to see Professor Hirsch rather than her own head of house wasn't wrong. See? The man had been teaching her for five years and he did say by himself about seeing her grew through the years. Ava just smiled when the Professor said that.

The Gryffindor did expect that she would be asked about subjects, hobbies and stuffs that related. That's why she had prepared a copy of her OWL results and handed to him. "I think you could see my OWL result as a reference, Professor." She said. "But uh... I don't really see myself to pursue something... creature related and healing so..." Care of Magical Creatures was such a fun subject but Ava just didn't feel like it was her thing. And for healing.. Well, just no.

And as for hobbies, snogging and spoiling the boyfriend didn't count, right?

"I do love dueling, though maybe my performance is not as good as Char or Noelle..." Professor Hirsch saw how she had done on dueling club so maybe he had his own opinion about it. "And also, martial arts in general. I stopped doing it on my fifth year but I'm recently back and thinking to get my black belt in karate." She was a brown before leaving muggle primary school.

Actually, she did think about a particular career in her mind. But Ava didn't know if she's suitable for it so... Maybe she should tell the Professor about it.

Text Cut: Cassie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Office it would be.

Cassie watched the man moved to his office door, obviously opening it with his wand that he took out. A part of her wondered if the man used just a normal locking spell or a more complicated array of spells. Her dad had stories of dealings with defense experts and other ministry workers who were known to feel the need for the later. Was Hirsch one of those like others in his field?

"Thank you, Professor," she answered, moving into the office instead of letting her curiosity wander further. The Ravenclaw's gaze flickered around the bright and polished room as she walked, taking in the man's chosen surroundings. She was briefly stalling as she debated how to start the conversation. "Professor..." she finally started, "I'm looking for advice."

Now that was vague, Cassandra.

"Advice about future plans...and trying to figure out a focus."

It was always interesting to see what someone's reaction to his office would be. While there had always been a generally negative approach to his colour choices - Dante Barrington was not forgotten - there was also a number that didn't really care. Maybe Cassandra was in the latter category.

A smile crossed his face as he went to sit in his seat behind the desk. Once seated, the man gestured towards the seat opposite him. Surely, the Ravenclaw didn't want to stay standing for the duration of the meeting, did she? That would get tiring really quickly.

Advice about the future? It really was that time of the year, wasn't it? "Of course! I'm glad you're thinking about the future." Which was actually a very daunting and confusing topic to figure out on your own. "Is there a subject you can see yourself pursuing? Or have you been interested in a particular career path?" Or was she not sure?

Text Cut: Kyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

"A dummy would be fine." Kyle smiled. Would they be really skilled dummies? Did they have different levels? He asked about those too.

Then... "I think I would like to learn wandless magic first, and I'll practice against the dummies for now. After all, I kinda have the basics of one already, and not the other. Maybe we can switch off each year, and I'll practice one on my own for that year while I learn the other."

"Dummy it is," Hirsch said, nodding his head, "They..... can be charmed to have different skill sets so you can move from one mode to the other. I can get that done." And he'd need to find a way to differentiate between them. "Right now, I have dummies that don't fight back, if you're just looking to practice lightly first, and then there are ones that fight if you want something a bit more difficult."

Wandless magic first. "That's a smart reasoning." Especially since he already had the skills to do combat defence in the first place: he just needed somewhere to practice. "If you want, we could dedicate a lesson every month or two to see how you're getting along with your parsing?" Unless he would rather be left alone for it. "What do you mean by switch off?"

"As for wandless magic, remember that it's a long and complicated process. It might not be something you'll pick up over the course of a lesson or two, so don't be disheartened, okay? This stuff takes years." It is complex magic, after all. "To get to casting wandless magic, we have to start with spells you're very familiar with. Very simple spells first. Over the course of each year, as you learn more and more spells, we could use the lessons to make sure you've harnessed that spell entirely and try and cast it wandlessly." Practice makes perfect, after all, and something told him that a lot of practice was going to be needed here. It was that kind of magic, after all.

"How does that sound?"

Text Cut: Sam

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

"If yeh sure..." She tilted her to head the side to catch the title of the book he was pushing aside, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. Had she seen a copy in the Common Room library, perhaps? If she had, it was probably worth a flick through before next lesson. Her Defence had come on leaps and bounds, with Dora's help, but she knew there was still room to improve.

Sliding into the offered chair, Sam gave a reluctant sigh. Unusual, from the girl that was usually so determined to overcome her past, and make the best of her time at Hogwarts; the girl that had showed up with practically nothing, and had expanded her horizons in so many ways.

"I do...but's that's the prob'em, sir. I don't know where teh begin. Me grades are pretteh good across the board..." She rubbed the nape of her neck. "Me best are probably Astronomy, Herbology and Arithmancy...but I don't see meself doin' that in the future." Dora's Uncle was an Experimental Herbologist, and although she loved it when he invited her to help out in his greenhouses, she knew she didn't have the same passion for it he had. As for Astronomy...she wanted something more practical. To give something back. Sitting and looking at the stars was a hobby, a thing she did when her room felt claustrophobic and she couldn't sleep.

"I'd like teh be able to 'elp the kids growin' up like I did..." she said after a while staring at her hands in her lap. It was something she'd thought about a bit, but was difficult to verbalise. "But like...a safe space, to talk and show that they can still go on 'n' do something awesome. That it don't matteh, their background." Perhaps like a Healer, but for young minds overcoming troubles - whether it be growing up homeless, with a parent in Azkaban, an illness, or something else. She'd experienced them all.

"Is...that something I could do at a university?" Dora said she should aspire to going to University, but how could she when it seemed so foreign to her? And she had no idea what she'd do once she was there?

Being someone who constantly preached constant vigilance, he didn't fail to notice Miss Tyler's attention on his book. He glanced over at it before looking at her, smiling. "Darkest Arts of the late 21st Century and what to do about them. There's a copy in the common room library, if you wanted to read it. Or if you want to borrow this copy." In case someone had taken that copy.

While the girl talked, Hirsch didn't say anything to interrupt her but showed some recognition by nodding along every now and then. Astronomy, Herbology and Arithmancy was an odd mix of subjects and he was silently glad that she didn't want to pursue all three of them at the same time. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to help with that.

Then she mentioned her past.

And somewhere deep down, something tugged at Hirsch's heart.

He wasn't sure if the students knew or not but he had files on every Ravenclaw that happened to pass through here, even if he hadn't always been their Head of House. He'd spent countless hours in here when he'd first been given the role of Head of House, reading through files to be up to date and, of course, Miss Tyler's file had been one of them. Which was why he found himself keeping quiet when she mentioned helping kids who'd grown up like her.

When he did finally find his words, it was to say, "I have to say, that is very nice of you and an honourable field to go into." Pause. "We haven't exactly been close so I'm not sure how much these words will mean to you but I am very proud of how far you've come. You've come here, with hardly anything, and have grown throughout the years and continued to try your hardest to achieve something. For that, I commend you." Smile.

Anyways. The main topic. Let's get back to that, shall we? "It sounds as though you want to go into therapy work? Or do social work? Or become a youth worker? Be a voice that they can talk to and get advice and help from." Specialising in those underage, of course. "Do you want to specialise in magical young people or any?"

"This is something you can do in university. They tend to offer a much wider variety of subjects than we do at Hogwarts and one of them is 'Youth and Community Work'. Maybe you could focus on that with a bit of a focus on psychology as well?" It was an option if she didn't want to do just psychology. "Because you want to work with young people, you'd need a qualification or some kind of certificate that says that you're allowed to do just that. Because the first course is focused strictly on young people, it'll give you just that. But if you want to look at psychology on its own, you'd need to do another test that lets you work with kids."

That was.... a lot of talking.

Text Cut: Ava

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

It seemed like her decision to see Professor Hirsch rather than her own head of house wasn't wrong. See? The man had been teaching her for five years and he did say by himself about seeing her grew through the years. Ava just smiled when the Professor said that.

The Gryffindor did expect that she would be asked about subjects, hobbies and stuffs that related. That's why she had prepared a copy of her OWL results and handed to him. "I think you could see my OWL result as a reference, Professor." She said. "But uh... I don't really see myself to pursue something... creature related and healing so..." Care of Magical Creatures was such a fun subject but Ava just didn't feel like it was her thing. And for healing.. Well, just no.

And as for hobbies, snogging and spoiling the boyfriend didn't count, right?

"I do love dueling, though maybe my performance is not as good as Char or Noelle..." Professor Hirsch saw how she had done on dueling club so maybe he had his own opinion about it. "And also, martial arts in general. I stopped doing it on my fifth year but I'm recently back and thinking to get my black belt in karate." She was a brown before leaving muggle primary school.

Actually, she did think about a particular career in her mind. But Ava didn't know if she's suitable for it so... Maybe she should tell the Professor about it.

She had a list of her OWL results? "I see you've come prepared!" This is what he liked to see. Hirsch readjusted his glasses slightly before taking the list from her and giving it a scan. Unless the student was in his house, he only knew a student's Defence grade and nothing from the other subjects. So this was interesting for him to see.

"So no Creatures and nothing to do with Healing either..." he started slowly, "Your Defence grade is excellent, I have to say. Congratulations!" Biased, he was. "In fact, all of them are great." His eyes focused on the ones she'd gotten an E in, especially.

And then Miss Burton mentioned duelling which diverted his attention entirely. "Well, they've been getting extra help with duelling and have been practising with much more difficult spells." If that made her feel better. "You're not bad at duelling. And even if you're not as good as someone else in a subject, that doesn't instantly make you bad at it. And it doesn't mean you should give up on it if it's what you really want to do." Again, he'd been teaching her for five years, hadn't he?

Oh, martial arts! This was something else he liked. "Good luck! Black belt is very difficult to achieve but you can do it." He gave her a smile before glancing down at the list again. Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Muggle Studies and Transfiguration..... hmm. "Is there anything you really want to do in the future? Where, if you close your eyes and see yourself working in your ideal field of work in the future, this is what you'd do?" Otherwise, she had a wide choice of subjects to choose from.

"Switch off, like one year learn wandless magic while practicing my fighting on the dummies, then next year learn more about fighting while I practice wandless magic on my own." Kyle nodded. "I think that way would be most efficient."

He listened to Hirsch speak about the complexities of casting wandless magic and not to get disheartened. Takes years to learn, huh? Well, that would be something Kyle would have to keep in mind. And then, using spells he knew well, first. "So, spells like wingardium leviosa and expelleramus?" He knew those spells pretty well so far. "Would practicing spells with my wand help in learning to cast spells wandlessly as well, then?"

"Thanks, Professor Hirsch." The Gryffindor smiled at that man as he complimented her OWL results. She did work very hard and sacrifice everything to earn those score and getting O for potions and muggle studies were quite unexpected. Was she satisfied about the score? Well, pretty much.

When the DADA professor talked about the dueling thing, Ava listened to everything what he said and she felt a little bit much better. Maybe she need to stop comparing herself to other people. And no, she didn't think that she would give up dueling. "Well uh... What do you think about my performance at the first round with Henry?" He should give her a little feedback so on the next round, she could do better.

"Thank you, Professor. I'm kind of excited and nervous about that." Ava said truthfully. It's been a while since she's practicing karate so she had to work his bum off to achieve. "By the way, do you practice martial arts Professor?" She curiously asked. And as for career options, Hmmmm.... "I was thinking about... something in law enforcement like Auror or Hit witch... What is exactly the difference between them? But also... I need a back-up plan if this doesn't work." Probably he had other options based on the scores that she had because honestly, she's clueless about this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

It was always interesting to see what someone's reaction to his office would be. While there had always been a generally negative approach to his colour choices - Dante Barrington was not forgotten - there was also a number that didn't really care. Maybe Cassandra was in the latter category.

A smile crossed his face as he went to sit in his seat behind the desk. Once seated, the man gestured towards the seat opposite him. Surely, the Ravenclaw didn't want to stay standing for the duration of the meeting, did she? That would get tiring really quickly.

Advice about the future? It really was that time of the year, wasn't it? "Of course! I'm glad you're thinking about the future." Which was actually a very daunting and confusing topic to figure out on your own. "Is there a subject you can see yourself pursuing? Or have you been interested in a particular career path?" Or was she not sure?

From her point of view, Cassie didn’t outright mind the room, even if it wasn’t her style. She did spend most of her time surrounded by the cooler tones of blue present in the Ravenclaw common room and dorms which reflected in what she found most comfortable the rest of the time. But it also wasn’t her office so she only had to be there occasionally, this being the first time having been in this particular one. At Hirsch’s gesture, the fifth year moved to take the offered seat as she awaited the reaction to her question. At least grounded, there was less willingness to wander in both thoughts and physical movements.

Well at least he was glad that she was thinking about her future. It made her head spin at times. “Hard not to with OWLs right around the corner.” Looming was definitely the word for it. Looming like an ugly monster. “That’s…part of the issue,” Cass remarked in answer to his probing questions. “There’s nothing that stands out. No career path…no class I feel particularly strong in. And I’ve thought about waiting to see how the exams go, but I fear if just study everything, my brain is going to shut down.”

Forgive the hyperbole, but this Ravenclaw was just a little bit flustered.

Dark Arts in the 21st Century? That was a whole lot more recent than a lot of the things their lessons covered, as far as she was aware. Most of the spells were at least decades old, if not centuries, and Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were both based on foundations older than that. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Since you're using that one for now, I'll check out the common room first." She could always come back, or collect it after class.

But now onto why she was here.

She didn't know that he had a file on her, not alone read it. Although, if she'd thought about such a file existing, it might explain why several professors still insisted on calling her Samantha in class - even new ones. So whilst she assumed she knew some things about her past, like most of the Hogwarts population did, his response took her aback somewhat.

It took a moment for it to sink in, to realise it was genuine. And it was something she needed to hear from someone other than her best friend; the concept of worthiness and identity had been subconsciously playing on her mind since the night the IMPS Champions had been chosen. It was hard not to make comparisons with her dorm mate, and why she hadn't been considered good enough. She relaxed a little, and her accent softened once more. "Thanks, Professor. Although I can't take all the credit..." Dora had been with her every step of the way. Gosh, she was going to miss that girl's presence when she graduated next year.

But her smile soon faltered, and she shook her head. "Not a social worker, no." Maybe it was in the right direction, but experience from the other side suggested that social work, whatever it's overarching aims, wasn't going to be the best way to achieve what she wanted to. She'd found them less than useful when her Pa had been sent to Azkaban. Abrasive, even. If Mr. Umbridge hadn't stepped in to be her guardian, who knows where she'd be now. Probably in juvie.

"Magical, I think," she confirmed. She knew Muggles had similar problems too; she'd hung out with them around the South Bank when she ventured further afield. But one thing at a time. Youth work at university sounded a promising avenue, and then another word caught her attention.

Psychology.

She'd stumbled into some of that, when looking into ways of being more understanding with her brother's social skills and apparent OCD. It'd actually been rather fascinating, although she hadn't really pursued it, given that her OWL coursework had really started kicking in about the same time. And she knew that Robin...was just Robin, and she loved him how he was. But understanding how someone's upbringing could affect them, and how best to overcome it? That was starting to be an inspiring thought indeed.

"Is...it possible to focus on child psychology? And do the youth stuff with that, rather than t'other way round? Maybe with some...education-support type stuff?"

Text Cut: Kyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

"Switch off, like one year learn wandless magic while practicing my fighting on the dummies, then next year learn more about fighting while I practice wandless magic on my own." Kyle nodded. "I think that way would be most efficient."

He listened to Hirsch speak about the complexities of casting wandless magic and not to get disheartened. Takes years to learn, huh? Well, that would be something Kyle would have to keep in mind. And then, using spells he knew well, first. "So, spells like wingardium leviosa and expelleramus?" He knew those spells pretty well so far. "Would practicing spells with my wand help in learning to cast spells wandlessly as well, then?"

From what the boy was saying,it did sound as though he was all up for a challenging couple of years. Not that Hirsch minded, but it did give him the inclination that he would need to challenge the Slytherin in the coming years. "Okay, switch off method it is. And we can see how the practising on your own is faring for you the following year." Almost like a mini practical test but..... he wasn't going to call it that.

"Exactly," Hirsch said, giving the first year a nod of his head, "It's the same procedure for trying to cast a spell non-verbally: you have to make sure that you're familiar with it verbally and with your wand, that the spell comes almost effortlessly to you, before trying to cast it any other way. Sometimes, when you're casting spells, you feel an energy within you and that's the energy you need to harness when trying to cast wandlessly. That's also how you'll know if your spell is working or not."

Text Cut: Ava

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

"Thanks, Professor Hirsch." The Gryffindor smiled at that man as he complimented her OWL results. She did work very hard and sacrifice everything to earn those score and getting O for potions and muggle studies were quite unexpected. Was she satisfied about the score? Well, pretty much.

When the DADA professor talked about the dueling thing, Ava listened to everything what he said and she felt a little bit much better. Maybe she need to stop comparing herself to other people. And no, she didn't think that she would give up dueling. "Well uh... What do you think about my performance at the first round with Henry?" He should give her a little feedback so on the next round, she could do better.

"Thank you, Professor. I'm kind of excited and nervous about that." Ava said truthfully. It's been a while since she's practicing karate so she had to work his bum off to achieve. "By the way, do you practice martial arts Professor?" She curiously asked. And as for career options, Hmmmm.... "I was thinking about... something in law enforcement like Auror or Hit witch... What is exactly the difference between them? But also... I need a back-up plan if this doesn't work." Probably he had other options based on the scores that she had because honestly, she's clueless about this.

"You're welcome," he said, returning the smile with one of his own. The question about her performance during her duel against Henry was one that required a bit more thought. The man rubbed his scruffy chin, thinking back to that duel between the sixth years. "Well," he said, slowly, "You're exceptional with your defensive magic, there's no doubt about that. I'd say to work on your offensive magic as well. Try and work on more complicated spells. And, while you're at it, try and cast your spells nonverbally. They'll give you an advantage, should you find yourself in a duelling situation again."

"It's perfectly normal to be nervous." Her question about martial arts earned her a wide smile. "Yeah, I've been practising for years. Since before Durmstrang, actually. It took me a long time and a lot of practises and failed attempts to earn my black belt but it can be done." So really, he was talking from experience here. "Ah, so going down the Defence route? Excellent choice, I have to say." This made him very happy, indeed. "Hit Witches are trained to catch criminals, anyone who's going against the law. This could include petty thieves or someone committing murder but they're almost always human beings. Aurors, however, battle the Dark Arts directly. They go after Dark witches and wizards, and sometimes other creatures, and try to defeat them. Auror training is much more intense than the training for a Hit Witch. A Hit Witch is taught all about defensive magic and counter-curses and how to restrain law-breakers without attracting Muggle attention. Aurors, on the other hand, have to pass a bunch of character and aptitude tests including their defensive magic, concealment and disguise and how good they are at being stealthy and tracking down the Dark Arts."

Breathe.

"Personally, I'd suggest going along the Auror route since it sounds a lot more exciting and you'll have more to do." Not to mention that it was also more dangerous. "I have no doubts that you will get the grades you need and succeed in becoming an Auror or a Hit Witch. But if you need another path....." He paused and consulted the list again. "Maybe you could combine Charms and Transfiguration together since they're also your top subjects. Or, even, Potions?" Pause. "The Accidents and Catastrophe department at the Ministry has a division dedicated to charms and spellwork: would you want to look at researching and developing charms? Or, even, look at working behind the scenes in a crime scene as a crime scene specialist? That's in the Magical Law Enforcement department at the Ministry." Really, she had a lot of options. "You'll have to do the YATI program if you want to go along the route of an Auror but if you want to work in the A&C or the MLE departments, you might want to consider Wizarding University first. Study Advanced Charms, Transfiguration, Potions or, even, forensics." He didn't strike her as a forensics person, though, so Auror was probably the best route.

Another pause. "You could even study Advanced Defence at Wizarding University if you wanted to go there first."

Text Cut: Cassie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

From her point of view, Cassie didn’t outright mind the room, even if it wasn’t her style. She did spend most of her time surrounded by the cooler tones of blue present in the Ravenclaw common room and dorms which reflected in what she found most comfortable the rest of the time. But it also wasn’t her office so she only had to be there occasionally, this being the first time having been in this particular one. At Hirsch’s gesture, the fifth year moved to take the offered seat as she awaited the reaction to her question. At least grounded, there was less willingness to wander in both thoughts and physical movements.

Well at least he was glad that she was thinking about her future. It made her head spin at times. “Hard not to with OWLs right around the corner.” Looming was definitely the word for it. Looming like an ugly monster. “That’s…part of the issue,” Cass remarked in answer to his probing questions. “There’s nothing that stands out. No career path…no class I feel particularly strong in. And I’ve thought about waiting to see how the exams go, but I fear if just study everything, my brain is going to shut down.”

Forgive the hyperbole, but this Ravenclaw was just a little bit flustered.

OWLs. Hirsch couldn't help but smile at her words. After all, it was hard not to be stressed about the future with the OWLs being a present figure in her life. Probably one she was, he was going to assume, not looking forward to. "OWLs tend to have that effect on you. Good luck for them, by the way." He didn't doubt that she'd do well but it probably wasn't a good idea to mention that. "How's the studying going?"

No career path and no classes. Hm. That....... did make it difficult, didn't it? "When you're studying, make sure to take plenty of breaks in between. Short breaks but enough to let your brain relax for a while. You don't want to overload it otherwise it could have a bad affect on your overall health." Just saying. "Is there a class you feel happiest in being in? Or a class you dislike and know you definitely don't want to study in the future? Or....."

Pause.

"If you close your eyes and picture yourself five or ten years in the future doing your ideal job, one that makes you very happy, do you know what it would be?"

Text Cut: Sam

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

Dark Arts in the 21st Century? That was a whole lot more recent than a lot of the things their lessons covered, as far as she was aware. Most of the spells were at least decades old, if not centuries, and Ancient Runes and Arithmancy were both based on foundations older than that. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Since you're using that one for now, I'll check out the common room first." She could always come back, or collect it after class.

But now onto why she was here.

She didn't know that he had a file on her, not alone read it. Although, if she'd thought about such a file existing, it might explain why several professors still insisted on calling her Samantha in class - even new ones. So whilst she assumed she knew some things about her past, like most of the Hogwarts population did, his response took her aback somewhat.

It took a moment for it to sink in, to realise it was genuine. And it was something she needed to hear from someone other than her best friend; the concept of worthiness and identity had been subconsciously playing on her mind since the night the IMPS Champions had been chosen. It was hard not to make comparisons with her dorm mate, and why she hadn't been considered good enough. She relaxed a little, and her accent softened once more. "Thanks, Professor. Although I can't take all the credit..." Dora had been with her every step of the way. Gosh, she was going to miss that girl's presence when she graduated next year.

But her smile soon faltered, and she shook her head. "Not a social worker, no." Maybe it was in the right direction, but experience from the other side suggested that social work, whatever it's overarching aims, wasn't going to be the best way to achieve what she wanted to. She'd found them less than useful when her Pa had been sent to Azkaban. Abrasive, even. If Mr. Umbridge hadn't stepped in to be her guardian, who knows where she'd be now. Probably in juvie.

"Magical, I think," she confirmed. She knew Muggles had similar problems too; she'd hung out with them around the South Bank when she ventured further afield. But one thing at a time. Youth work at university sounded a promising avenue, and then another word caught her attention.

Psychology.

She'd stumbled into some of that, when looking into ways of being more understanding with her brother's social skills and apparent OCD. It'd actually been rather fascinating, although she hadn't really pursued it, given that her OWL coursework had really started kicking in about the same time. And she knew that Robin...was just Robin, and she loved him how he was. But understanding how someone's upbringing could affect them, and how best to overcome it? That was starting to be an inspiring thought indeed.

"Is...it possible to focus on child psychology? And do the youth stuff with that, rather than t'other way round? Maybe with some...education-support type stuff?"

He did hope, for her sake, that there was a spare copy in the common room library that she could take. One because she might find it useful and another being that he still had a few notes he still needed to make on an upcoming class and the contents happened to be in this very book. "Good idea. Let me know what you think of it." Mostly because he was curious.

The slight change in her accent was noted and he smiled. "You're welcome, Sam." Samantha sounded very formal, after all. "Well, whatever's helped you, or whoever's helped you, it seemed to have worked." And was a sign that your past really doesn't define you and sometimes, you just need a helping hand through it all.

So not a social worker and working with magical kids. That seemed to have narrowed down the choices quite a bit, making it easier to focus on one path. Which, according to her question, seemed to be psychology. "You can focus on child psychology, yes. I think you'll have to do a year, or just a term, of normal psychology. Learn about the basic theories that are applicable to all human beings, no matter what their ages are. Then they'll probably teach you about your focus: yours being child psychology." He would probably have to order some books or check to see if the common room library had any books on child psychology. "With the specialism, you would already get the certification to work with kids but.... when you say education-support, what do you mean? Like, an educational psychologist alongside that?"

"You could use this to go on and become a child psychologist, if you want, and work for a psychologist firm, a school or, even, work for St Mungos. You might find yourself in an office or consultation room, maybe even in St Mungos, or having to visit the client's home itself. But if you want to focus on education-support, a school might be your setting." Did that help?

Kyle nodded. He was getting a good idea of what he would be looking forward to. "I'll keep practicing my spells, then. Thank you, Professor. When could we arrange some time?"

Yes, yes, of course they had been good students. But maybe that was just it? Professor Hirsch wanted to commend them on how amazing they had been this year? Honestly, Skylar had been wracking her brain for hours trying to recall defense related things Hirsch would want to talk them about and came up with nothing.

Entering the office when the door swung open, the fourth year's blue-gray eyes gazed around to take it all in first. Orange and teal? Did anyone ever tell Hirsch how horrid that colour combination was? She guessed not, given how he'd been teaching several terms now and it seemed as if it wasn't new. Of course, she couldn't be certain, because she'd never been to his office before but it was just a general guess.

Also, what was with the chests of drawers everywhere?? Was this where Hirsch slept? Honestly, Skylar had no idea where Professors slept or why she was even suddenly curious about it? Did professors even sleep at all?

Oh, she should probably say something.

"Hello, Professor. Lots of storage available in here." Okay, awkward. Should she sit?

It didn't take long until the office door flung open, which took Vivian by surprise. Well, maybe just a little. Professor Hirsch had been the one who scheduled the entire meeting, so he probably had been waiting inside his office for quite a while. But still, the Slytherin was clueless regarding the reason why she and Sky were both called here today. Hirschy hadn't told them that tidbit of information, either. Guess they had to find out when they got inside.

Vivian looked at Sky first before entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office. She had been here before and had been trying to seek for any valid reason to pay a visit. Today had been her lucky day because now she had one without even looking for it.

The fourth year didn't even mind the colour scheme and the furniture around. She had seen them here before, nothing unusual. Her blue eyes looked at the back of the door to check. "Good day, Professor! Is Miss Laughing-Woman-On-Poster still here?" Hmm, just out of curiosity. Then Vivian went over to take a seat in front of the man's desk. Was Sky going to join her or naaaah?

Ava carefully listened to what the Defense Professor said about her dueling performance against Henry. Perhaps there's something that she needed to improve for the future. As he mentioned about more complicated offensive magic and nonverbal spells, the Gryffindor nodded slightly. Okay, she wasn't able to perform nonverbal spells at that time but she's currently learning about it. "Yeah well... I am still practicing my nonverbal charm with Noelle, she really helps me very much." Her bestie was such a good mentor, Ava could say.

Professor Hirsch's words about nerve and how he failed to earn his black belt really.... inspired her to practice more and more so she could earn the belt. Aaaand... Let's get back to career path consult. Okay so... there's such a significant difference between Hit Witch and Auror. Ava clearly had no idea about that, truly. "So it's like... Hit Witch is doing more common crime cases like muggle police while Auror is more... like a special force to deal with the dark wizards then?" Because that's what came in her mind when the Professor mentioned the difference. As he suggested about choosing the auror path, Ava didn't say any words and kept thinking whether being an auror was suitable for her or not. She didn't want to choose this because her best friend was also wanted to be one of those capable person who dealt with dark wizards. Well, it's not the decision that she needed to take now, right? Perhaps she would need to think more about it. Plus, Professor Hirsch had mentioned other options too.

Potions? "Uh... Yeah, I'm considering that too." Since her OWL result was outstanding so... why not? Maybe Professor Hirsch also had suggestion for that too, or she could talk about that with Professor Canterbury later. She kept listening to the other options and had a mental words whether or not it's suitable for her. Charms Research and Development? Huh, crossed that. Even though her charms skills wasn't that bad but well... Ava didn't really have a passion for inventing new charms or anything related to that. But the crime scene one seemed interesting, though. "Wow. That's... a lot of options that I can consider." Even the Professor mentioned about the major she could take if she wanted to go to University first.

Text Cut: Kyle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zellanna

Kyle nodded. He was getting a good idea of what he would be looking forward to. "I'll keep practicing my spells, then. Thank you, Professor. When could we arrange some time?"

That was something he always liked to hear. That his students were practising as well. It showed that they had an interest in the subject and in what they were learning which was always nice to see.

"You're welcome. I'm usually free in the evenings so we could start whenever you're ready." Though, considering curfew times, he would probably have to juggle a few things around but that wasn't a problem.

Text Cut: Skylar and Vivi

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Yes, yes, of course they had been good students. But maybe that was just it? Professor Hirsch wanted to commend them on how amazing they had been this year? Honestly, Skylar had been wracking her brain for hours trying to recall defense related things Hirsch would want to talk them about and came up with nothing.

Entering the office when the door swung open, the fourth year's blue-gray eyes gazed around to take it all in first. Orange and teal? Did anyone ever tell Hirsch how horrid that colour combination was? She guessed not, given how he'd been teaching several terms now and it seemed as if it wasn't new. Of course, she couldn't be certain, because she'd never been to his office before but it was just a general guess.

Also, what was with the chests of drawers everywhere?? Was this where Hirsch slept? Honestly, Skylar had no idea where Professors slept or why she was even suddenly curious about it? Did professors even sleep at all?

Oh, she should probably say something.

"Hello, Professor. Lots of storage available in here." Okay, awkward. Should she sit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kimothy

It didn't take long until the office door flung open, which took Vivian by surprise. Well, maybe just a little. Professor Hirsch had been the one who scheduled the entire meeting, so he probably had been waiting inside his office for quite a while. But still, the Slytherin was clueless regarding the reason why she and Sky were both called here today. Hirschy hadn't told them that tidbit of information, either. Guess they had to find out when they got inside.

Vivian looked at Sky first before entering the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office. She had been here before and had been trying to seek for any valid reason to pay a visit. Today had been her lucky day because now she had one without even looking for it.

The fourth year didn't even mind the colour scheme and the furniture around. She had seen them here before, nothing unusual. Her blue eyes looked at the back of the door to check. "Good day, Professor! Is Miss Laughing-Woman-On-Poster still here?" Hmm, just out of curiosity. Then Vivian went over to take a seat in front of the man's desk. Was Sky going to join her or naaaah?

Frankly, many people made their thoughts about the colour scheme in his office clear and it was something he laughed about now. In fact, when it came to new students in his office, he often liked to look out for their reactions because it was always funny to see.

"Hello, Miss Diggory, Miss Fairfield," His elbows were propped on the table and there was a smile on his face. "Please, take a seat." Though, it looked as though Vivian didn't need to be told to sit, especially since she'd been in here before, a fact he was reminded about when she mentioned a certain poster. "No no, she's not here," he said, chuckling as he shook his head, "You still remember her?"

Something else he didn't expect? The comment about the storage. An amused look shot across his face as he looked over at the numerous chest of drawers before looking back at Miss Diggory. "I guess you could say that. Being a professor requires a lot of paperwork." Especially since he had files on the members of his house in there.

"Now. Onto business." And the main reason why he called them in here. "I've heard a funny little story about a certain Ancient Runes lesson and some mischievous pixies." He paused, green eyes on the two girls to see their reaction to this. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Text Cut: Ava

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

Ava carefully listened to what the Defense Professor said about her dueling performance against Henry. Perhaps there's something that she needed to improve for the future. As he mentioned about more complicated offensive magic and nonverbal spells, the Gryffindor nodded slightly. Okay, she wasn't able to perform nonverbal spells at that time but she's currently learning about it. "Yeah well... I am still practicing my nonverbal charm with Noelle, she really helps me very much." Her bestie was such a good mentor, Ava could say.

Professor Hirsch's words about nerve and how he failed to earn his black belt really.... inspired her to practice more and more so she could earn the belt. Aaaand... Let's get back to career path consult. Okay so... there's such a significant difference between Hit Witch and Auror. Ava clearly had no idea about that, truly. "So it's like... Hit Witch is doing more common crime cases like muggle police while Auror is more... like a special force to deal with the dark wizards then?" Because that's what came in her mind when the Professor mentioned the difference. As he suggested about choosing the auror path, Ava didn't say any words and kept thinking whether being an auror was suitable for her or not. She didn't want to choose this because her best friend was also wanted to be one of those capable person who dealt with dark wizards. Well, it's not the decision that she needed to take now, right? Perhaps she would need to think more about it. Plus, Professor Hirsch had mentioned other options too.

Potions? "Uh... Yeah, I'm considering that too." Since her OWL result was outstanding so... why not? Maybe Professor Hirsch also had suggestion for that too, or she could talk about that with Professor Canterbury later. She kept listening to the other options and had a mental words whether or not it's suitable for her. Charms Research and Development? Huh, crossed that. Even though her charms skills wasn't that bad but well... Ava didn't really have a passion for inventing new charms or anything related to that. But the crime scene one seemed interesting, though. "Wow. That's... a lot of options that I can consider." Even the Professor mentioned about the major she could take if she wanted to go to University first.

Hirsch's eyebrows shot up at her comment. She'd been practising with Noelle? That was something he wasn't aware of at all but it was something that brought a smile to his face. "I'm glad. She's been doing well with nonverbals so I'm glad she's helping you with this as well." Sometimes, you learnt from your peers more and if this helped them, who was he to complain?

"Exactly," he said, nodding at her, "That's an excellent comparison. Hit Witches and Wizards deal with petty to slightly more extreme crimes that anyone could make. You have to be good with the Memory Charm because more often than not, you'll have to wipe away any memory of magic from Muggles. Aurors have to work more as a unit to defeat the dark arts, which might be more than just witches and wizards." Pause. "Is there a path you're more interested in?"

That was a lot of options to consider, wasn't it? "I mean, you have great grades so there are lots of paths for you to go down." His eyes found the grades again, especially the Potions one. "Potions could lead you down a number of paths. You could do Advanced Potions at University and then go on to do Potions Research. Maybe work in a Potions Laboratory, developing potions for companies? I assume that the Potions ward in St Mungos is out of the question? Maybe you could go down the route of a Crime Scene specialist where you collect evidence and, possibly, test them." A bit of Muggle chemistry thrown in there but there you go. "So the option is yours. What can you see yourself doing that'll make you happy." It was her choice, after all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

OWLs. Hirsch couldn't help but smile at her words. After all, it was hard not to be stressed about the future with the OWLs being a present figure in her life. Probably one she was, he was going to assume, not looking forward to. "OWLs tend to have that effect on you. Good luck for them, by the way." He didn't doubt that she'd do well but it probably wasn't a good idea to mention that. "How's the studying going?"

No career path and no classes. Hm. That....... did make it difficult, didn't it? "When you're studying, make sure to take plenty of breaks in between. Short breaks but enough to let your brain relax for a while. You don't want to overload it otherwise it could have a bad affect on your overall health." Just saying. "Is there a class you feel happiest in being in? Or a class you dislike and know you definitely don't want to study in the future? Or....."

Pause.

"If you close your eyes and picture yourself five or ten years in the future doing your ideal job, one that makes you very happy, do you know what it would be?"

There was still smiles coming from the professor so Cassie was trying to follow his lead. If the professor wasn’t worried, she should be all that much…right. “Thank you Professor,” she said in answer to Hirsch’s best wishes on her exams. “Quite well for the most part, I suppose.” She hadn’t had a break down…yet. And she had more time than she had thought she might given the lack of her continued participation within the interschool competition.

Yeah Cassie…keep trying to think on the positive side of that.

She simply nodded as the man gave advice on her study habits. Taking breaks…not overloading herself. All stuff that made sense and that she already did. Though still, overloading herself was part of what concerned Cassie concerning things. As for his questions, the Ravenclaw had to pause and think on just how to answer Hirsch. “Well I don’t see myself studying Divination for sure,” she remarked, crossing one subject off her list. She didn’t mind the subject but she sure wasn’t a seer and doubted there was anything for her without that skill.

“Charms sticks out as something I’m good at…” she added after a few more moments of thought. “But that could come in part for having a father who’s a professor in the field.” Granted she couldn’t actually use magic herself during the summers, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t watch her dad. And where did she see herself in 5-10 years? Hopefully with more a plan for herself and her future than just passing her exams. “Maybe the Ministry…or just helping somewhere.”

Ava nodded. "Yeah, Noelle has been a very helpful... coach." Maybe if it's not because of the Gryffindor prefect, she would never learn about casting non-verbals since she kind of gave up learning that. Besides giving a moral support, that's what friends are for, right? At least Noelle had been very patiently teaching and never gave up on her.

Is there a path you're more interested in? The Gryffindor bit her lower lip and nodded. "I'm... considering to choose the auror path but... I'm also thinking an alternative way in case it won't work." She gave him a small smile and nodded slightly as the Professor said that she got great score on her OWL. "It is not too late for me if I want to be an auror, is it? I mean, Noelle has prepared herself for joining YATI since last year or so..." She shrugged, although she was ready to catch up and trained harder.

"Well, I got a sister and father who are healers so... I am not really interested to follow their footsteps." Hence why potions ward at St. Mungos was off from her list. She wanted to try a different path from them. But potions research sounded good though, so did the crime scene specialist. This would need a long time thinking and she still had like a year or so before she put her decision, right? But at least talking with Hirsch had opened her mind that she actually had a dozen choices based on her OWL scores. "I'm glad that you have helped me with these, Professor."

Text Cut: Cassie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

There was still smiles coming from the professor so Cassie was trying to follow his lead. If the professor wasn’t worried, she should be all that much…right. “Thank you Professor,” she said in answer to Hirsch’s best wishes on her exams. “Quite well for the most part, I suppose.” She hadn’t had a break down…yet. And she had more time than she had thought she might given the lack of her continued participation within the interschool competition.

Yeah Cassie…keep trying to think on the positive side of that.

She simply nodded as the man gave advice on her study habits. Taking breaks…not overloading herself. All stuff that made sense and that she already did. Though still, overloading herself was part of what concerned Cassie concerning things. As for his questions, the Ravenclaw had to pause and think on just how to answer Hirsch. “Well I don’t see myself studying Divination for sure,” she remarked, crossing one subject off her list. She didn’t mind the subject but she sure wasn’t a seer and doubted there was anything for her without that skill.

“Charms sticks out as something I’m good at…” she added after a few more moments of thought. “But that could come in part for having a father who’s a professor in the field.” Granted she couldn’t actually use magic herself during the summers, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t watch her dad. And where did she see herself in 5-10 years? Hopefully with more a plan for herself and her future than just passing her exams. “Maybe the Ministry…or just helping somewhere.”

"You're welcome." Quite well? The man considered this answer. It was probably common for students to want to pretend that they're doing well in preparation for an exam, especially in front of their professors, so he wasn't sure if this was an honest assessment or not. But, then again, Cassie didn't look like she was on the verge of a breakdown so he didn't have to worry, did he? "That's nice to hear. Keep at it and the hard work will pay off later on." So no pressure?

So Divination was off the list, that was for sure. And, in fact, shortened the list of subjects down, even if it was by just the one. Charms, though? Charms was an interesting choice. He let her speak, not saying anything in the meantime but he did flick his wand in the direction of one of the numerous drawers that lined his office. From it, a folder flew out and landed on the man's table before flicking towards the right page.

"Charms is a huge topic that's needed everywhere so you could go almost anywhere with it." Whether that helped or not, he didn't know. "If you wanted to go into the Ministry, the Accidents and Catastrophes department has a entire division dedicated to Charms. The people who work there are, in short, required to research and develop new spells. You'd be experimenting with new charms and practising them before they are available for the public to use. For this, you'll be required to get an O in Charms, an E in Transfiguration and three other Es at NEWT level. They do like one of those Es to be in Defence Against the Dark Arts." A small pause while he considered the notes he had on her, especially the part about her grades. "Considering the way you're going, I don't think you have to worry too much." Smile.

"If you wanted something a little different, you could look at analysing magical artefacts to see if they're cursed or deadly or even if they're mundane, whether by Charms or Potions or even both. So if you enjoy Potions as well, maybe this could be the way to go because you'll have the opportunity to use both subjects in the same field of work." And so, it won't feel like her job was becoming too monotonous. "If you're interested in architecture, there's also the option of going along the Magical Architecture route. You could look at constructing pieces of architecture for magical use, thereby using all kinds of charms to ensure that it goes up. Some pieces of architecture are Unplottable and need constant, strong magic placed around it, Hogwarts being a good example of that, so you could help with keeping a list of Unplottable structures and making sure that they stay Unplottable. Or, even, if you'd rather help out, you could help construct pieces of architecture in places that have been torn apart by war and other tragedies." He was talking a lot, wasn't he?

"The option is up to you. Whatever route you decide to take, you'll need top grades in Charms and Transfiguration, at least. A top grade in subjects like Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions and maybe even Ancient Runes isn't bad either." He was slightly biased but she didn't need to know that. "If you want to go along the architecture route, you'll need top grades in Arithmancy as well."

Text Cut: Ava

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

Ava nodded. "Yeah, Noelle has been a very helpful... coach." Maybe if it's not because of the Gryffindor prefect, she would never learn about casting non-verbals since she kind of gave up learning that. Besides giving a moral support, that's what friends are for, right? At least Noelle had been very patiently teaching and never gave up on her.

Is there a path you're more interested in? The Gryffindor bit her lower lip and nodded. "I'm... considering to choose the auror path but... I'm also thinking an alternative way in case it won't work." She gave him a small smile and nodded slightly as the Professor said that she got great score on her OWL. "It is not too late for me if I want to be an auror, is it? I mean, Noelle has prepared herself for joining YATI since last year or so..." She shrugged, although she was ready to catch up and trained harder.

"Well, I got a sister and father who are healers so... I am not really interested to follow their footsteps." Hence why potions ward at St. Mungos was off from her list. She wanted to try a different path from them. But potions research sounded good though, so did the crime scene specialist. This would need a long time thinking and she still had like a year or so before she put her decision, right? But at least talking with Hirsch had opened her mind that she actually had a dozen choices based on her OWL scores. "I'm glad that you have helped me with these, Professor."

A very helpful coach? Frankly, he wouldn't have expected anything less than that. "Good. Continue with this next year as well. You might find that peer support is what'll help you get through the exams more than anything else." Though, whether she wanted to be thinking about the NEWTs just yet, he didn't know.

Another Auror! This only widened the smile on the man's face. "That's very smart of you. It doesn't hurt to have a backup option." Though, he hoped this idea wouldn't make her want to take a back seat just because she knew she had another option available. "It's never too late," he said, adjusting his glasses slightly as he spoke, "Sure, Noelle has been preparing for a while but who's to say that you won't get into the program just because you haven't been doing what she's doing? You have the grades and you'll get a recommendation letter from a professor here," Preferably him, considering. "so I don't see why you shouldn't get into the YATI program. You will get in and you will work as an Auror alongside Noelle, I'm sure of it." Smile.

"Now I understand why you don't want to go down the Healer route." No one wanted to be in someone else's shadow for the rest of their lives. It wasn't how humans worked, after all. "You're very welcome," he said, smiling at her, "Did you need help with anything else?"

Wait. Wait. Vivian had been in Hirsch's office before!?! Judging from the fact that she took a seat almost promptly after asking about some poster, she guessed so, but it still stunned Skylar. How had Skylar NOT known this? And more importantly, even, WHY had Vivian been here before? Was she holding out on her with extra defense lessons and knowledge?

Quietly taking a seat beside her roommate, she tried to not think too hard about it, but these were questions that would be asked later that night. For now, her focus was on Hirsch and she half-smiled about his answer about the storage. Paperwork. Ah, right, she should have known. "I guess, and the longer you've been teaching, the more paperwork... got to keep some semblance of being orderly." Not that she was implying his office was disorganized, because she really wasn't. Her only complaints rested in the colour combination.

Oh right, business for why he requested them to visit. Wait, wait, .......... PIXIES!? Ancient runes? Suddenly, Skylar was feeling very much attacked. That was what the meeting was about? "Uh yea, pixies attacked me out of nowhere, while I was working on carving runes into this bracelet thing. I panicked because I couldn't properly see them, since they were buzzing by my head. So I ran to try and get them away from me, ended up getting one attracted to Vivian and well, the Headmistress did nothing. See, I would have frozen them, as taught, but I didn't want to risk hitting myself or missing, since they were buzzing in this unknown spot around me and I couldn't see them." Bleh, long-winded explanation but that was her defense. Because clearly he wanted to know why she couldn't handle the pixies on her own. Also, why had the headmistress ignored them was another question for the books.

She's not here anymore? Vivian honestly felt glad that she wasn't stuck onto the back of Hirschy's door. Thank Merlin! Did that mean they were no longer friends? Well, that didn't matter. It was one less woman Vivian had to deal with. Obviously, the blonde tried to look sympathetic and nodded as the Defense professor responded. "I see," Vivian said, taking one last look at the back of his office door, and sighed dramatically. "I do actually, Professor. She used to be just right there." How could she have forgotten that woman, whom she had first noticed back then?

Yup, she was being dramatic. It worked most of the time, especially on the male adults in her family... and hopefully, with Professor Hirsch. Didn't it work on him the first time she had visited? And how Skylar was intrigued by the man's storages was... weird. It didn't bother the blonde, though. Sky was a rather organised girl herself. Really, who studied and prepared for her OWLs a year before taking them? Only Skylar Natasha Diggory.

... Apparently, they were here about the PIXIES. Vivian blinked, a little alarmed. So the Ancient Runes professor, also known as the Headmistress, had told on them! Well, wow. What made Vivian a little annoyed was the fact that the Headmistress had known all along... yet didn't actually help them. But what bothered Vivian was the thought that Professor Hirsch might tell her parents about this. Goodness, that would be AWFUL. Then Sky took the wheel and sort of spilled out everything that had happened. Errr, right. "What Sky said, Professor," the fourth year nodded. "The pixies started attacking and kicking at me... and pulling on her hair." Vivian added a dramatic wibble and tremble on her lips. Just to see if her Fairfield charm still worked. "B-but Miss Ava had frozen them before they could injure us, thankfully." Ava Burton was officially this blonde's saviour.

"You wouldn't want pixies messing and tugging on your hair... right, Professor?" Vivian was definitely appealing to emotions right now. Professor Hirsch didn't seem the kind of guy who would want anyone touching his hair without consent. Hair was a big deal, thank you very much.