Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston blinked. Was he imagining things or did he just see Derf squirming? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised. The boy always seemed a little... jittery around him. He gave the Hufflepuff prefect an encouraging smile that only grew as he listened to his answer. "Yes, that's exactly what that spell is used for!" he said. "As a matter of interest, I used a mild form of that spell on these mugs, just enough to keep the tea and cocoa warm but hot enough to burn anyone. Good answer, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne."

If Derf was squirmy around the man...it was completely unintentional and he wasn't even aware of it - that one instance in the Room of Requirement during play rehearsal all but a forgotten memory for the fifth year now. No, unfortunately his squirming was not for any conspiracy reasons regarding his professor or his howling habits.

And the reminder of the hot chocolate did woooooooonders for said squirming, by the way. Though Derf did manage a meek nod of the head while doing his best not to look at the Gryffindor seated beside him nursing his own mug of hot chocolate.

"....yeah...it's a pretty nifty charm...."

SPOILER!!: Professor & Skylar!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

He didn't know why, but somehow Gaston didn't think Skylar was convinced by his pleas not to worry about him. A pang of guilt gripped his heart, and he shot her a quick apologetic look but nothing more was said on the matter. Her answer got a smile from him. He could always count on Skylar to come up with a good answer, and he was not disappointed! "Indeed they are conjuration spells. I'm glad you mentioned that, Miss Diggory!" he said.

Soon after, Hattie spoke up and added on to what Skylar said. Gaston thought for a moment. He'd heard many theories about the reasons behind some conjuration spells' classification as charms in school and in his time at the French Ministry but never a definitive answer on the subject. So he asnwered the only way he could. "That's a good point, Miss Paton," he said. "This is a subject that is still debated by wizardkind, so all I can do is give you my best guess. I think Incendio and other similar fire spells are classified as charms because they, as Miss Diggory mentioned, create the fire from nothing, rather than turn an exisitng object into fire. Do you have any ideas why this is?" He hoped he didn't sound like he was passing the buck by asking; he genuinely wanted to hear her thoughts on the matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

When Hattie spoke up and added onto what she said about conjuration spells being a form a Transfiguration, Skylar was literally about to speak again on the fact that yes it was, but they were charms for well, the reason Marchand just said. Incendio and the others create from nothing. Transfiguration refers to creating and conjuration from something else. "I think it has to do with, like you said, creations from existing objects. There's Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration which talks about creating from nothing. So Transfiguration itself refers to having something else there. Whereas Charms, you can summon or multiply items or enlarge them. So while it seems like you're conjuring them, it's ... different." At least that was her thoughts on the matter, which was very confusing indeed.

Derf was busy scribbling down a few additional notes on his parchment - Bluebell flames were already something within his wheelhouse but the shape of them always left something to be desired. Nothing spherical about those floating blobs he had created down in the underground chambers earlier on in the term, though they had still served their purpose. So he was sorta only half paying attention to the discussion around him when he half heard the professor addressing Skylar...and then he had himself all KINDS of confused.

So...up went his hand again because this was OWL year and he COULD NOT be confused on the very FUNDAMENTALS of the differences between a charm and a spell - though it seemed to come up quite often and he really needed the officials who decided this business to come to a more comprehensive conclusion for his own sanity and anxiety.

"Uh...um...sorry to just jump in but...er...isn't the very definition of a transfiguration based spell falling under the branch of conjuration that is does produce something from nothing unless its one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration and a charm is magic that adds or changes properties of an object?" Okay, he really just wanted to work on making his bluebells more spherical but here they were. "So...um...I dunno...I always reckoned that charms like Incendio and Aguamenti were like...modifying the air molecules or something like that and those are just so small that it sorta looks like we are conjuring something out of nothing but really we aren't?"

And was there a connection between water and fire being ELEMENTS and Gamp's Law of ELEMENTAL transfiguration? POSSIBLY?!

"Sorta kinda similiar ish to, you know, Newton's third law that governs Physics?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Gaston waited another moment or two, and when he was sure the students were done answering, he spoke again, "Nicely done, everyone! All of your answers were correct examples of heat and fire spells. Today we'll be focusing on two methods of making fire and, therefore warmth; the first spell we'll be practicing is, as Miss Primeaux mentioned, the bluebell flames..." His voice suddenly caught, and he turned away, taking a quick sip of coffee to soothe the burning in his throat. Merlin, he wasn't going to lose his voice, was he?

"Flames made by this spell are waterproof and radiate heat to objects held above them. They can be held or touched without burning a person or can be carried in a jar, but they will burn things like fabric or plants," he went on. He hoped they'd forgive him for the lack of lengthy explanations today. His throat was bothering him, and he didn't want the students to freeze while he was talking! "To cast, wave your wand in the direction you want the flame to go and say the incantation Flammae Caeruleum."

Gaston sighed, his trembling hand tightening around his wand. He reminded himself that it was going to be fine, that the bluebell flames couldn't hurt him, but it did little to calm his racing heart. Good Godric Gryffindor, he hated fire! But this was something his students needed to know, so he swallowed his fears and aimed his wand in the air in front of him. He repeated the incantation, and a little ball of flames the exact color of his eyes hovered over his right hand.

Now there was just one last thing he needed to cover. "To extinguish the flames, wave your wand again and say, Extinguo." He demonstrated the spell, and the blue flames disappeared. Hopefully, the students wouldn't need to extinguish anything, but it was important to teach them, just in case of any mishaps.

"I'll give you time to practice the bluebell flames," he said. "If you don't feel comfortable holding the flames -" And he could certainly sympathize, if that were the case! "-you may use a jar instead." With a wave of his wand, a pile of jars that he'd hidden under a disillusionment charm appeared at his feet. "Just aim the spell into the jar instead of the air." He picked up and opened a jar then waved his wand, sending a jet of blue flames into the jar. He screwed the lid back on and set it at his feet. "I've charmed the grass to be fireproof, but please be careful not to aim at the ground or near another person! If you need help, just raise your hand. You may start NOW!"

Okay. But notes. Namely writing down the two spells for now...which brought his hand up AGAIN because the one to extinguish was new and, well, pretty nifty. "Professor! Does Extinguo work on all flames or just magically created flames? Save for, you know, Fiendfyre." Since that was unstoppable and all.

And, well, in all the hustle and bustle that was concern over the professor...Derf did as he usually did in these circumstances and fished a chocolate frog from his pocket which he then rested on the man's desk while he went up to retrieve a jar. Not because he wasn't keen on holding flames or anything, but because MAYBE the consolidated environment the jar provided could help him in getting his bluebells to maintain a more spherical shape.

A boy could hope, right?

Sitting back down at his desk, Derf cleared his throat and gave his wand a bit of a flourish. "Flammae Caeruleum," he commanded, his wand pointed at the opening of his jar. Sure enough, though he didn't doubt himself HERE, a jet of blue flame poured out of his wand and began to slosh around and swirl much like he had seen in emulations of the creation of planets and stuff - which was pretty neat but made zero sense to him.

But alas, at the end of the few seconds it took for the spell to do its thing...Derf was once again left with a lopsided sphere that looked more like a punctured quaffle than anything else. But hey, it was still effective and the sides of the jar WERE warm to the touch?

Meh.

Oooooh, so they'd be quite literally playing with fire!

As he watched the demonstration, it didn't escape his sharp eyes that professor Marchand's hand had a slight tremble to it, and he briefly wondered if it was anxiousness or cold - but he'd soon brushed it off as cold. Many of them were probably shivering.

Now, would he cast the flame on his hand like his head of house had done, or should he try a jar first?

... he was feeling strangely brave. So hand it was. Besides, the flames didn't seem to hurt at all, and even if he did end up burning his hand off, professor Marchand was there... right? But he hoped it wouldn't get to that.

Holding his wand in one hand, and the other one with the palm facing up, he pointed his wand at the air above his other hand, and spoke clearly, "Flammae Caeruleum," but only a wisp of a smoke appeared at first. It was only on his second try that a flame was conjured and hovering above his outstretched hand. He grinned. "Wicked." And he felt slight warmth heating up his frozen palm, how awesome was that?

Pointing his wand at the flame, he said, "Extinguo," and watched the flame disappear. He'd have to keep this charm in mind!

So, no water bags. Hot water bags seemed much safer than flames. She listened as carefully as she could to the instructions, but still felt as if it was a very bad idea for her to try and make any sort of flame. Especially one that could really set things on fire. With all the layers she had on, she could easily light up like a Roman candle.

Thankfully there was the option to put the flame in the jar. That seemed a bit safer. Although, she would have to aim well to get it in the jar and not on anything else. She quickly scampered up to collect a jar, happy to be moving and generating a bit of heat, and headed back to where she was sitting.

She knew she needed to practice both the wand movement and incantation before attempting the charm. “Flammae Caeruleum” she said at a whisper. “Flammae Caeruleum” It felt almost smooth rolling off her tongue. Then she practiced the almost more important charm to put the flame out. “Extinguo” she cleared her throat and repeated “Extinguo” a few more times before picking up her wand.

Despite being bundled up, Septimus couldn’t help but be enthusiastic about the talk of fire and warmth spells. Certainly useful ones that’s for sure, especially in a Scottish winter like Hogwarts always experienced. Bluebell flames were to be first and as he listened to Professor Marchand explain about the spell, the second year copied the vital information down into his notes. The better to help as he practiced his own casting of the spell.

Holding the flames? How cool!

Although it didn’t seem the professor was as pleased with the concept. Unless he was completely misreading the man as he demonstrated the casting. Not that Septimus was going to call him out on it. Nope…he was just going to try his best to do it himself. “Flammae Caeruleum,” he spoke, trying out the incantation. “Flammae Caeruleum… Flammae Caeruleum… Flammae Caeruleum” The flam-may part wasn’t too bad, but the car-rule-lee-um took a few more tries for the Ravenclaw to feel satisfied enough to actually cast.

“Flammae Caeruleum”

Kye hadn’t meant to disturb the professor, although it seemed she might have by accident. She was NOT in the habit of using Fiendfyre, Sir! She didn’t say anything at this though, simply smiling and nodding slightly. Okay, learning bluebell flames certainly made sense. Flammae Caeruleum. Flammae Caeruleum. Okay, got it. Extinguo she had already learned, so that one was easy. The pile of jars appeared, and Kye took one although she did not really want to use it. Holding the flames sounded way cooler. Kye sat practicing her wand movement a time or two before actually casting the spell, as always, leaving the jar in her other hand.

Flammae Caeruleum

Apparently, first time was a charm because Kye watched the little flames dance out of her wand’s end and into the air in front of her. She cupped her hand, letting the bluebell flame get very close.

Extinguo

Okay well that had been surprisingly easy... She continued practicing, noticing the flames were a little brighter this time.

Bluebell flames.

She didn't quite think that was the charm she was speaking of but it very well could be now that Marchand was explaining it more. When she had seen her older sister use it the flame had been bright orange not blue though. Perhaps it was some sort of variation of the spell that Rian uses. When she wrote to her again she would have to ask. For now, Rylee set her mug of cocoa down on the ground between her feet so it wouldn't spill and pulled a sheet of parchment and a quill from her bag.

For a few minutes the second year quietly took down notes on the different types of fires and heating spells and what each was used for. So many different types of fire and loads and loads of different reasons for needing it. Fiendfyre was something she had not only heard about but read about too and was also warned not to use for how seriously dangerous it could potentially become. Rylee had to admit though that it did sound pretty cool and to see it in action must be both amazing as well as frightening... it wasn't something she would mess with though.

Now getting to hold a flame on the palm of her hand verse putting a flame into a jar. She would be casting that flame onto her hand! She wasn't afraid at all. "Flammae Caeruleum... Flammae Caeruleum... Flammae Caeruleum..." she started to repeat over and over getting herself used to the incantation. The wand movement was simply pointing so there wasn't anything to practice there. Moving on she then spoke the incantation to put out the flames when she was ready, "Extinguo... Extinguo... Extinguo." The movement of her wand was simple for that too, only a wave at the flame.

After a few minutes of practicing the incantations, Rylee tugged off her glove and stuck it in her pocket. Pulling out her wand she cleared her throat and pointed her wand above her outstretched right hand. "Flammae Caeruleum!" she recited clearly light blue flames hovering across the top of her open palm. "Whoa.." How cool was this! This was a charm she would be getting a lot of use from she was sure.

Staring at the flame she nearly forget she was meant to practice extinguishing it as well. Waving her wand at the bluebell flame she spoke, "Extinguo!" Just like that it was gone with only a tiny bit of smoke to prove it had every really been there before.

As quickly as the bluebell flame disappeared was as fast as Rylee was trying again.

After practicing several times, there was no longer an excuse to put of performing the spell. She placed the jar on the ground, just a few feet before her and readied her wand. Her eyes glanced up to see Derf, only a few feet beyond her jar, successfully making a bluebell flame. Although, it appeared to be a bit off in the shape. She wanted to make her prefect proud by being able to cast the spell on the first try. With all the extra spell and work she had been doing, she was sure she could do it.

Without realizing her wand was still pointing where her eyes had been looking, at not at the jar where she intended the flame to go, she commanded “Flammae Caeruleum” and a tiny blue sphere flew out and landed near? On? Derf’s foot. It was too close to tell from her perspective. “Oh no! Oh, Derf. I’m sorry.” In her panic, she tried, rather unsuccessfully, to put the flame out “Exit wing o. Exituengisho. Go out flame!”

To be honest, Hattie didn't really have an opinion on the topic too much. She hadn't gone into too much detail on the subject, mostly because she didn't care too much. It was pretty interesting though. It was pretty cool how spells could overlap like that, and she didn't want to be the Professor trying to work out what spell went with what subject. The blonde nodded, listening to what Sky was saying, and she took in what the professor had said too. She wanted to reply, she just wanted to think about what she would say. "I wonder then why conjuration is classed as Transfiguration, when most of the spells that conjure things, such as Avis for example are classed as charms. It's kinda confusing, but that could be why Conjuration is considered an advanced form of Transfiguration....." She trailed off with a shrug. She didn't really understand it, but it was pretty cool to think about.

But now onto the mini activity. Time to practice the bluebell charms. She collected herself a jar, so she could concentrate on the spell without having to worry about things burning. First of all, she decided to just go and practice the spell incantation. So she spent a few minutes just saying "Flammae Caeruleum." over and over.

Casting bluebell flames was definitely a cool charm and one he had been wanting to learn, so Gunnar was fairly eager for today's lesson. He really didn't think he would have a problem holding the non-burning flames in his hand, but he did get up to retrieve a jar for them anyway.

As he returned to his seat, he caught sight of his sister sitting with some older Ravenclaws. Good, they could help her out with the spell if she needed it. He just hoped he didn't have any trouble with it because he didn't need the humiliation of being shown up by younger students again.

Right. The spell didn't seem too difficult with a fairly straightforward wand movement and... well, he supposed the incantation could be a little tongue-twisty until he got the hang of it. He practiced it quietly to himself a few times. "Flam-maaee Cae-rul-e-um... Flammae Caeruleum.."

Pointing his wand into the mouth of the jar, he flourished it a bit as he spoke the incantation. "Flammae Caeruleum." A little spark that sent whisps of blue flame up the sides of the jar before going out again startled the thirteen year old and he lost his grip on the jar, dropping it into the grass. Ahem. No one saw that. He cast a furtive look around before casually picking up the jar to try again.

Heh heh. Heating charms? He was quite the expert now.

Max purposely tried to avoid glancing in Bel’s direction for fear he’d start grinning like a lunatic and instead set down his coffee mug so he could practice the bluebell flames.

He had quite a natural flair for Charms so he felt pretty confident as he aimed his wand at his left hand and clearly said the incantation. "Flammae Caeruleum!" It was a bit of a mouthful, but he knew he got it right when the little ball of flames hovered above the palm of his hand.

"Extinguo!" And poof, the flames were gone. Woop, first time! Easy peasy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

After practicing several times, there was no longer an excuse to put of performing the spell. She placed the jar on the ground, just a few feet before her and readied her wand. Her eyes glanced up to see Derf, only a few feet beyond her jar, successfully making a bluebell flame. Although, it appeared to be a bit off in the shape. She wanted to make her prefect proud by being able to cast the spell on the first try. With all the extra spell and work she had been doing, she was sure she could do it.

Without realizing her wand was still pointing where her eyes had been looking, at not at the jar where she intended the flame to go, she commanded “Flammae Caeruleum” and a tiny blue sphere flew out and landed near? On? Derf’s foot. It was too close to tell from her perspective. “Oh no! Oh, Derf. I’m sorry.” In her panic, she tried, rather unsuccessfully, to put the flame out “Exit wing o. Exituengisho. Go out flame!”

Poking at the jar with his finger and watching his attempt wiggle like jelly - that was one of the pleasant side effects of lopsided and half melted looking bluebell flames, they wiggle and jiggled since their form had not solidified properly - the fifth year sighed with a smile and pointed his wand inside the jar once more. "Extinguo."

At least there was little room for error with that particularly bit of magic.

He was just in the middle of rolling up his sleeves to give things another go, and sleeve rolling meant SERIOUS business, when he heard Emmalyn and....he honestly had no idea what she was talking about. "Sorry?" he blinked in her direction, unaware that her bluebell flame had spilled on to his shoe. At least not immediately. It didn't take too long for the smell of burning faux leather to reach his nostrils ... and then there was a bit of a sharp pain in his big toe. "YEOUCH!"

He nearly dropped his wand in the scurry that followed, his knee jerk - literally - reaction to stomp out the flame with his other foot which merely resulted in the sole of his other shoe to melt and add to the unsavory smell. Thankfully for everyone involved, the Hufflepuff recalled his wand in the next second and thrust it at the magical flame. "Extinguo!"

Flame out, Derf was able to assess the damages - namely that it had burnt right through his shoe and sock so now his slightly singed big toe was on display to the whole world. It HURT, but he was trying to keep a calm and collected exterior for the younger girl's sake. "It's fiiiiine, really" he winced. "Accidents happen, you know? Remember me with the butter?" Where he had scalded half the classroom using a heating charm?

Maybe this was karma coming to collect?

"P-Professor?" he called through a gritted tooth grin, trying not to look at his toe since, well, looking at things tended to make them worse. The burn wasn't all THAT bad either and all the damage had been caused by the fabric and such sticking to his skin anyway. "Can ....may....may I...have some Burn-healing paste...please?" Given the nature of the lesson, the man was sure to have some of it tucked away in that desk....right?


......ouchie.

Though he did wiggle his toe lightly, mostly to try and make her feel better and...er...show her that it was still functioning?

Lydia had just finished scribbling some notes about the spell in her muggle notebook when she heard a cry of pain. She turned in time to witness Derf trying to put out his...was that his toe? What in Merlin's beard had happened? Luckily, he was able to extinguish the flames himself.

At least he was able to wiggle his toes, and none of them had burned off. That would have been really gross.

"Oh my goodness, Derf, are you all right?" she asked. "I'll get the Professor for you."

Lydia hurried over to where the Professor was standing, careful not to knock over the tray of muffins on her way.

"We need some help over here, Professor," she announced. "Derf is hurt."

For a moment, Abra dithered. They were allowed to practice this by actually holding the flames in their hands, or they could go get a jar. Abra wanted to cast the flames right onto his hand, and not just because he was too lazy to go up and grab one of the jars; it would be pretty awesome to go around with a handful of fire, AND he could really warm his hands up. But... you know, he'd have to take a glove off first. And it was cold.

Huh. Well. Perhaps that would just give him the motivation to cast the spell quickly. He was unlikely to have any problems, given that Charms was one of his best subjects and he'd managed to conjure up some bluebell flames here and there in the past.

Gulping down his hot chocolate, which had now cooled off a fair bit, Abra set his cup down by his feet, then used his teeth to grab his glove and pull it off his hand. With his other hand, he retrieved his wand, and used the tip of it to sweep the hair out of his eyes. Flammae Caeruleum... Flammae Caeruleum...

Holding his right hand out in front of him, Abra pointed his wand at the air just over it. "Flammae Caeruleum," he said, with the kind of assertiveness in his voice that was usually reserved for his spellwork. At once, the blue flames shot out of the end of his wand, with the result that he had a handful of blue fire. Most importantly, it was warm, and even better than wearing a glove. Abra was not even the slightest bit tempted to extinguish the flames just yet.

And then, a commotion. Abra jumped as a great yell sounded from beside him, and turned to see Derf in a bit of a predicament. His eyes widened slightly as he tried to work out... exactly what had happened. "Are... are you okay?" Probably a stupid question since, you know, he was asking for burn-healing paste, but worth asking all the same.

Maddie had reviewed both incantations and their wand movements and was about as sure of herself as she could be. She couldn't imagine any extra practice would put her any closer to a handful of bluebell flames. Pretty much the main thing that would help her now would be to actually cast and hope for the best.

She glanced around the classroom, looking at her classmates and seeing how everybody seemed to have different levels of success. That made her feel better in a way. At least if she had trouble, she wouldn't be the only one. She drew in a deep breath and held her left palm out in front of her. With her right hand, she gripped her wand and got ready to cast.

"Flammae Caeruleum!" she called out. She kind of thought there might have been a tiny spark coming out her wand, but there was definitely nothing of substance. Sigh. She started to cast again, when she heard Derf's yell for help. Oh, no! Maddie grew wide-eyed and looked from Derf to the professor and back again. "Now do you want me to go get the Healer?" she asked the professor. Derf didn't look too well...

"You're doing great," Chloe whispered to Chloe Junior with a tiny grin. It was a hard incantation, so the fact that the younger girl was plugging away at it so hard, that was really admirable.

Chloe turned her attention back to the spell, since she hadn't actually managed to cast it herself. Intent, probably. She didn't really feel a fire, not when she was this cold, but Chloe tried to picture the flame in her mind. Feel warmth. Imagine the flicker, the kindling, and the flare of the fire coming to life. "Flammae Caeruleum." Blue flame filled her jar. FINALLY.

She just stood there, wide eyed and panicking, while poor Derf was being burned. Her wand was still pointed at his feet as he jumped and stomped around, but she couldn't bring herself to attempt any more magic for fear of what else might go wrong.

"I'm so sorry. Your poor toe. I'll buy you a new one." It wasn't until after she said it that she realized she had just offered to purchase the fifth year a new toe. She further blushed with embarrassment. "Professor! We need some help over here!"

Still standing there and pointing her wand at him like a fool, she stared at his toe and ruined shoes. "I really am sorry. It was an accident. I should have been more careful. I..." she trailed off, hoping the professor would arrive and fix Derf's toe and end any pain he was in.

Bluebell Flames. Not much damage one could do with those. Or so he'd thought until the Derfael incident happened anyway. But, there seemed to be enough people gathering to help that there wasn't really anything that he could add at the time. Well, aside from just getting in the way. So, he simply kept practicing the charm, without a jar. The flames weren't supposed to hurt, so why would he use a jar? Flammae Caeruleum he thought, aiming his wand at his held out hand. Blue flames appeared without incident, giving a nice warmth to his hand.

Offering up heat based spells had fallen by the wayside in Stasya’s case, in favor of the tea cup in her hands. Besides, most of the ones she knew of had been covered already, so she’d just listened. Listened and thought, specifically. Obviously she figured that Professor Marchand wasn’t planning on them accidentally burning down the Forbidden Forest or something, so learning any really dangerous spells was out. Plus, she kind of thought he didn’t look like he could handle the class if real fire was involved. Just observation and knowing how he was around the Gryffindors. He seemed nearly as protective as Professor Hirsch was to her. Letting them even have a chance of lighting each other on fire didn’t seem likely. Nor did Hot Air charms or the water one, really.

When it turned out they were learning the bluebell flame spell, she was actually a little disappointed. She knew this spell already. She’d proved that in Transfiguration during the Halloween lesson, when she’d used one to light up her squirrel pumpkin. The one she’d turned to stone and kind of had given to her baby brother as a nightlight, assuming her mama could keep the bluebell flames going if they looked like they’d go out.

But practice never hurt. Or so she’d thought until she’d heard Derf’s yell followed by the craziness going on over by him. She’d turned a concerned grey-green gaze over in his direction, but otherwise stayed where he was, settling her teacup on the ground carefully. It might’ve been nearly empty, but she still didn’t want it accidentally spilling. Sitting up again, she retrieved her wand from its holster. She had decided to forgo the jar, for now. She could always try to cast it in her teacup if she wanted a container, after all, and Gryffindor. She’d survived getting the flame into her pumpkin, so she could handle this.

“Flammae Caeruleum,” she said softly, concentrating on the spell and visualizing the flame long before she brought her wand into the mix. Finally pointing her wand at the cupped palm of her free hand, she put it all together. “Flammae Caeruleum.”

A small ball of icy blue flames appeared in her hand, and she tilted her head for a moment, just considering if she felt it was a successful attempt, before she bent over and deposited the ball into her teacup. Hm, do liquids extinguish bluebell flames?, she wondered, even as the little flame kept burning merrily. Maybe fading the tiniest bit, but it still was there.

“Extinguo!” Now it wasn’t. But she thought about casting the spell again.

Gaston nodded, returning Bel's smile. Another quick smile was sent toward Maddie. Any other time he would've assured her that he was going straight to the healer for a pepperup potion as soon as class was over, but his throat was hurting and he needed to save his voice for the lesson. He hoped she understood.

He listened to Skylar and Hattie's thoughts on the reason behind the fire spells' classification, but before he could reply, Derf spoke up. His heart sank; now it seemed he'd just made everyone more confused! Holy hippogriffs! He hadn't expected this to turn into such an in-depth discussion. Oh well, that was one of the joys of teaching. He sighed, pinching at the bridge of his stuffy nose. How should he put this? "Sorry if I was unclear before," he said, addressing the three together. Being sick and sleep-deprived made it a bit difficult to form an eloquent explanation. "You're on the right track, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne. Spells like Incendio and Aguamenti are classified as a lesser form of conjuration because they, as Miss Diggory said, appear to create fire or water from nothing but air, but it's the way they create it that classifies them primarily as a charm. As you said, they modify the air molecules. The spell from your wand reacts with the molecules in the air and causes them to behave in a way that creates conditions where fire or water can form. Whereas a true conjuration spell would turn the air molecules into fire or water molecules." Minutes later, the boy was asking another question about the extinguishing charm. "Yes, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne. Extinguo will work on any fire, as long as it wasn't enchanted to be resistant to that spell." Wow, that was more talking than he intended!

With the spell demonstration finished (and his throat raw from talking), he retreated back to his seat on the bench. He took a long swig from his mug, basking in the warmth of the beverage and the little jar of flames at his feet as he kept a watchful eye on his class - even more so than he normally would for an activity. A voice asking if he was alright jerked him out of his thoughts, and he looked back at the younger Chloe. "Thank you for your concern, Miss McCarthy," he said with a slight smile. "I'll be okay; it's just a cold. I'll take some pepperup potion as soon as class is over."

And speaking of said potion, Skylar was offering to summon some for him. This piqued his interest. "You have your own stash?" he asked. "If so, then yes." As long as it was her own potion, not summoned from the hospital wing or (Merlin forbid!) Ignatius's stores, and she could get it without leaving class, he would take it. He wasn't looking forward to teaching the rest of class with steam coming out of his ears, but he could deal with it to ease the students' minds, if nothing else. "Two points to Slytherin for helping, Miss Diggory."

The chocolate frog from Derf hadn't gone unnoticed, and he smiled at the Hufflepuff prefect. "Thank you for the chocolate, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne," he said, putting the sweet in his coat pocket. He was going to save it to eat later, when he could swallow without pain. "Two points for your kindness as well." He felt a bit guilty for giving points to every house except Gryffindor (and twice to Hufflepuff), but he had to reward acts of kindness whenever he saw them.

Gaston's watchful blue eyes scanned the crowd. So far, so good. Most everyone seemed to be mastering the spell very quickly. Everybody received either a smile or an approving nod for their efforts. Forgive the lack of verbal praise, kids! He needed to rest his voice. He beamed at the older Chloe and Juni and was about to praise them for helping a younger student when... blue flames went flying and Derf was yelling and...

The color drained from Gaston's face as memories came rushing back... flames, orange not blue, leaping up; the smell of burning fabric; pain radiating down his arm... He automatically rubbed his left arm as a random pain shot through it, though the fire that once caused that pain was long gone. He was suddenly jarred into motion by Derf and Lydia's voice. He quickly pulled his scarf over his nose and mouth (both to protect his students from his cold and to hide his quivering lip) and rushed to their side, wand drawn, but Derf had already extinguished the fire before he could react. His eyes were glassy as they darted from Derf's toe to Emmalyn's wand, though if anyone asked, it was just the cold air making them water. How had this happened? Bluebell flames weren't supposed to harm skin! More to the point, how had he let this happen? He knew fire spells were a bad idea!

He heaved a shuddery sigh, producing a tube of burn paste from his pocket and handing it to Derf. "Here, put a thick layer of this over your toe," he said. "When you're finished, I'll cover it with a bandage to protect it." He waited for the boy to finish with the paste before drawing his wand. "It doesn't look like anything serious -" He hadn't seen any blisters or broken skin, like when his arm was burned so many years ago. "-but you should let Healer Macmillan look at it, just in case," he said, just as Maddie offered to fetch the healer. "Yes, Miss Kemp, you may go, but please come straight back." Normally he would've given her house points, but he was too distraught in his current state to think to do so.

Between his illness and his emotional state, Gaston was feeling faint. He all but collapsed onto the nearest bench, his head bowed to avoid eye contact. He caught sight of his watch and realized it was almost time to move on. He didn't want to go on to the next part of the lesson. There was no telling what else could go wrong! But he doubted Hawthorne would approve of him scrapping the rest of his lesson and dismissing class early. There was no choice but to go on.

"We'll move on in FIVE MORE MINUTES," he mumbled, his voice choked by his cold and his overwhelming guilt.

OOC: Sorry for the length/lateness of this post! I tried to do it last night, but tech issues and sickness happened. Anyway, you have 22-24 HOURS (3-5 AM EDT June 14) left in the mini activity.

Daisy couldn't help noticing how ill Professor Marchand looked. She stopped her practising and made her way over to where he was and spoke, "Sir, you don't look so well. Do you need me to get you something warm to drink? What do you need?"

Ohhh, this sounded fun! She of course already knew how to use this spell, but she understood why they were practicing it anyway, the younger student’s probably didn’t knew how to use the spell so they needed to practice. But, because she already knew this spell, she felt relaxed, she knew for a fact that she was going to get warmer SOON and also, she knew that she didn’t needed to work that hard now. Not working hard was something she had no problems with! She didn’t wanted to call herself lazy but… If she didn’t needed to work hard then why would she? So when it was time to start she grabbed her wand and pointed it at her outstretched hand of course because, well… Because of two reasons; one, she wanted to look cool and second, her hands were cold so she hoped to warm them quick this way.

“Flammae Caeruleum” she spoke with a soft voice, not wanting to look as if she was trying hard and as if she didn’t knew exactly what she was doing and… A smile formed on her lips, a beautiful blue fire appeared on her hand and it felt nice, really nice! Making fire was something she always liked, fire was cool and she absolutely didn’t understood anyone who was afraid of it, fire was something what could be controlled easy with magic so why fear it? She looked closer at the fire and brought it closer toward her face to feel the heat on her cheeks and she grinned some more. Fire was definitely cool! Hah! But, after a few minutes her hands had warmed up enough and she became bored, so she pointed her wand again at the small blue fire and she made a slight waving movement with her wand while speaking “extinguo” and… Like always, the flame slowly disappeared as if someone blew out a candle.

With a quick nod of her head, Maddie turned on her heels and headed back toward the warmth of the castle. It was too bad that she couldn't stay in the warm castle, but what was even worse was the reason she had to go back inside in the first place. Derf's foot looked really bad, even with the assurance that someone had given him burn paste. Not to mention the professor looked pretty rough himself.

...

The third year returned sometime later, only slightly recovered from the chilly air. Being inside a bit had done her some good, but now that she back outside, she could feel the chill returning. "I've let the Healer know," she said, reporting back to Marchand. She didn't say anything else. Number one, the attention was probably all on Derf, and number two, she kind of thought the professor might fall out any second now.

So with a slight bit of nervousness to her demeanor, she began practicing the spell in silence, save for the occasional incantation. Things were wrapping up soon, and all she'd managed were a few sparks. She needed something to show her hard work other than a trip to get the Healer. "Flammae Caeruleum!" she called out, waving her wand. A small ball of blue flames trickled into her hand, and she was able to hold them while they seemed to dance around. "I DID IT!" she exclaimed. She should practice putting out the flames, too, but in a way, she didn't want to see them go. She'd hopefully be able to cast them again. "Extinguo!" she said, and just like that, the flames were gone.


OOC: I did post in the Hospital Wing, and technically Maddie is still there, but I didn't wait for a reply, since class is going on.

.........holy flaming salamanders.

Thankfully the whole conjuration vs transfiguration discussion was far from the boy's mind...because he had even MORE questions and confusion now.

Derf had NOT meant to receive so much attention and fuss over this (was this how Abey had felt whenever he and others had jumped to his aid?) but here it was, and despite efforts to remain as poised as possible...most around him were panicking and shouting and it was NOT conductive to trying not to disturb things too much! "Y-Yeah...I'm good," he tried assuring Abey before his attention moved to the flock of girls who were clucking and chirping about the whole thing.

Of course Lydia was there, and for a brief moment he was actually a little embarrassed that she was witness to this when she had been the one to ultimately get the grindylow off his leg. "I'm fine...I alrea---" But to no avail as the Slytherin had called for the professor as well.

And then Emmalyn was shouting for the man too...and Maddie inquiring about seeing the healer and .... why oh why couldn't he have an animagus form that was a demiguise? Besides the obvious that those were skills outside of his wheelhouse and one couldn't exactly control what form your animagus took.

And really...all this panic over a little bluebell flame mishap? Hogwarts REALLY needed to sort out its priorities. REALLY!

"Thanks, Professor Marchand," the fifth year nodded as the paste was applied and dealt with...and of course the Healer brought up. "I...er...really don't think that's necessary...this isn't like the grindylow bite." Which the woman had treated him for and, well, he really didn't want to see her AGAIN so soon. "Burnt my hand worse touching a pan in the kitchen and that turned out just fine." Stop talking, Derf. Stop. Talking.

And then his bright blues fell back on Emmalyn and he mustered up the best sort of smile that he could. "It's okay, I promise. Not like you did it on purpose, I know that. Least you know your bluebell flames work?"

Nothing happened.

Septimus had said the incantation…moved his wand as directed…and cast with intent. Or so he had thought he’d have enough of. No dice. The second year tried not to be disappointed as it had only been his first shot. More practice was needed for sure. He gripped his wand just a touch tighter and once more took aim, dragging his wand tip towards his hand where he wished it to come and reside as he repeated the words. “Flammae Caeruleum!” This time with better results, a small flickering flame appearing above his hand.

He couldn’t help but watch it in awe, taking in the feel of it. Warmth yet not burning as mentioned by professor and classmates alike. “Extinguo.” The Ravenclaw cast to release it, waving his wand again causing the flame to go out. To extinguish just like the incantation implied. He then took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he focused and tried once more, “Flammae Caeruleum!” There was now a healthy ball of blue bell flames in his grasp in response to his Spellwork.

How cool!

So... this was another version of Incendio, then? Except it was about the bluebell flames. Vivian decided that was kind of cute as she visualised blue-coloured fire dancing around. And it didn't even harm people too, which was even more amazing. Plus, the Charms vs. Transfiguration stuff again. The Head Girl wanted to listen but she just... wasn't in the mood. Not when stuff happened.

"Flammae Caeruleum... Flammae Caeruleum... Flammae Caeruleum...." Vivian enunciated under her breath. It was a wordy incantation, apparently, so it took a few more tries to get her tongue to ease into the many syllables. The wand movement was easy enough though, so Vivian didn't dwell too long in practicing the wave.

"Flammae Caeruleum!" The blond waved and... there it was. A ball of blue flame hovering over her palm. It didn't even feel prickly or anything, which was pretty cool. Extinguishing the flame was easier though, because the spell wasn't a mouthful, so it was gone with a quick "Extinguo."