This spell seemed useful, and Ash did enjoy opportunities to practice nonverbals... it seemed she'd be participating for the rest of class after all. It was a marked improvement from last week. She looked around for a partner. A partner she'd never been with before??? She liked to pick close friends. People she barely knew were scary. She looked around and picked the first person her eyes settled on. "Aria?" She and the other girl didn't exactly get along, but they didn't NOT get along. It was better than partnering with someone she didn't know at all.

Margaret thought a cheering charm was a fun diversion from...well, normal charms were fun, in her opinion, so maybe not really a diversion. Just adding to the normal fun with something literally cheerful. She whispered the incantation to herself, not bothering to practice the wand movement as much. She wanted to be able to do the charm nonverbally, but she would try it verbally first. As Ash quickly found a partner to practice with, she looked around, trying to make eye contact with whomever she could.

Partners, anyone?

Daniel made a conscious effort not to roll his eyes in front of the professor. He didn't want to lose House points after putting in so much effort. But her response had been predictably unhelpful.

However, he was the one who had asked the question, and he now recognized that it had been a dumb one. He sighed tiredly and nodded, acknowledging her response without saying anything.

He perked up when the professor mentioned that they could use nonverbal spells, but then he remembered that he hadn't been taught how to do it, so he slumped back in his chair a little. He was too tired to even feel annoyed today.

Looking around for a partner, Daniel's dark brown eyes looked over at Margaret who seemed to be looking for a partner as well, before he stood up from his seat and walked towards her. With the exception of the little study group he was in, everyone knew he preferred to work alone. But this charm could not be used alone. And he was not about to wave a wand at himself. He wasn't Atlas Flamsteed.

"Do you want to partner up with me?" he questioned.

SPOILER!!: Ash! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

This spell seemed useful, and Ash did enjoy opportunities to practice nonverbals... it seemed she'd be participating for the rest of class after all. It was a marked improvement from last week. She looked around for a partner. A partner she'd never been with before??? She liked to pick close friends. People she barely knew were scary. She looked around and picked the first person her eyes settled on. "Aria?" She and the other girl didn't exactly get along, but they didn't NOT get along. It was better than partnering with someone she didn't know at all.

Aria was waiting to be surprised about who would take up her offer. Personally, she didn’t mind if it was someone she worked with or not. Surprised she was when Ashley asked her because the Slytherin always thought that Ashley might dislike her, despite them both being polite to each other. “Hi!’’ There was a big smile on Aria’s face. She was quite willing to forget about their erm… whatever it was that they had going on between them.

“Would you like to cast the Charm first?” Ms. McLeod twisted the brace her brother had given her around on her wrist. “Also, fair warning but I’m going to try it non verbally when it’s my turn.” She just thought it was nice to give a little warning. Anyway, she was ready whenever Ashley was.

The sixth year inwardly groaned as they were moved on to the actual activity. And now the part of the lessons that was often tricky…. working with a partner. Especially when Rajesh looked around the classroom and it seemed like everyone was quicker in pairing off than he had been able to act. Not even the chance to work with someone he hadn’t worked with before like the professor and nurse had suggested. So this was going to be interesting. Maybe he was missing someone, he mused to himself as he looked around those gathered students once more for options to go on.

Practising charms on others was not something that Luther felt comfortable about. He knew the consequences of magical errors too well. Sighing, Luther looked around to see if anyone was interested in practising the charm with him. Then he noticed Rajesh looking around so he approached him. "Hello, Rajesh! Would you like to practise together?"

Ash didn't dislike Aria. They hadn't ever got along great, and Ash was pretty sure that Aria had offended her at some point, but she couldn't remember what happened. So basically they were starting over! She smiled involuntarily at seeing that Aria didn't look annoyed to see her. "Sure, I'll cast it first, also nonverbally. It's fine to do it nonverbally, as long as you say you're going to do it first." And... she would prefer that Aria cast the spell correctly so that there weren't weird side effects. "Ready?" When the other girl agreed, Ash concentrated to cast the spell silently. Gaudeo. "How do you feel now?" She took out her notebook to take notes on the effects.

SPOILER!!: Howdy, partner! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Ash didn't dislike Aria. They hadn't ever got along great, and Ash was pretty sure that Aria had offended her at some point, but she couldn't remember what happened. So basically they were starting over! She smiled involuntarily at seeing that Aria didn't look annoyed to see her. "Sure, I'll cast it first, also nonverbally. It's fine to do it nonverbally, as long as you say you're going to do it first." And... she would prefer that Aria cast the spell correctly so that there weren't weird side effects. "Ready?" When the other girl agreed, Ash concentrated to cast the spell silently. Gaudeo. "How do you feel now?" She took out her notebook to take notes on the effects.

Aria could vaguely remember something about them at the Lake and Aria had startled Ashley. Then they had ended up staring at the clouds and remarking about what the shapes of the clouds reminded them of. The Slytherin had thought that they had been good after that but clearly not. Since then she had kept her distance but never harboured any ill feelings towards the other girl. Aria just figured Ashley needed space. Years and years of it.

But they seemed to be off to a great start now which was something. Aria would indeed try her best; she didn’t think she would like it if something terrible happened and Ashley hated her forever, not when she actually liked Ashley and her weirdness. There was a smile on her part. “We can both agree on that.” Then there was a nod. “I am! Fire away!”

And so she waited while Ashley did her thing. How did Aria feel? Hmmm. “Um… normal? I mean, I certainly don’t feel happier than I already am.’’ There had actually been a huge part of her rooting for Ashley to get this right on her first try. “Once more then?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyr

Practising charms on others was not something that Luther felt comfortable about. He knew the consequences of magical errors too well. Sighing, Luther looked around to see if anyone was interested in practising the charm with him. Then he noticed Rajesh looking around so he approached him. "Hello, Rajesh! Would you like to practise together?"

Rajesh heard his name and found the young Gryffindor trying for his attention. "Um...sure," he agreed to the offer of a partner. Luther he mused to himself, remembering the name from passing in another lesson. "Would you prefer to try first on me or for me to practice with you?" He'd let the lion have the choice on what he was more comfortable with, not wanting to frighten him off the bat of he worried what a 6th year was capable of.

Luther thought for a moment and decided "You can go first. Will you try it non-verbally, by the way?" He knew that 6th years learned how to do some charms non-verbally and thought 'I wonder what it feels like to cast non-verbally. Do they say the incantation in their mind? Maybe I should go to the Library after the class.'

Then trying to prepare himself mentally, he said as confidently as he could "I am ready whenever you are."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyr

Luther thought for a moment and decided "You can go first. Will you try it non-verbally, by the way?" He knew that 6th years learned how to do some charms non-verbally and thought 'I wonder what it feels like to cast non-verbally. Do they say the incantation in their mind? Maybe I should go to the Library after the class.'

Then trying to prepare himself mentally, he said as confidently as he could "I am ready whenever you are."

Rajesh nodded at his choice. ”Alright,” he answered, getting a better hold of his wand. “Nah, prefer learning it verbally, at least at first.” And he certainly wasn’t ready to try something like that on someone else. Gaudeo… Gaw-dee-oh… Gaudeo… Gaw-dee-oh he went over and over in his head to prepare himself for casting, nodding again as Luther said he was ready. The sixth year taking but a moment before he raised his wand and brought wand movement and incantation together to cast the cheering charm on his partner.

“Gaudeo!”

Ash did need years and years of space. But that wasn't really to do with Aria, it was mostly that Ash needed a while to work things out personally. Which had worked. It might have seemed like Ash was avoiding Aria still... really, she'd just been avoiding most people. Things were going on and she didn't really want to deal with people she didn't know that well. She sighed, disappointed that her cheering charm didn't work. She would have hoped that maybe Aria was too cheerful for the spell to do anything, but that wasn't really how the spell worked. Maybe if she focused better... spoke louder in her head? "I'll try again, and if I don't get it then I'll just say it out loud." three... two... one... one half...


Gaudeo. pleaseletitworkthistime... Ash knew that nonverbals were hard and it was unreasonable to expect it to be perfect immediately. But she expected to be perfect immediately or she would be very critical. But at the same time she just KNEW she'd fail again. It was complicated.

SPOILER!!: Super proud of our girls! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Ash did need years and years of space. But that wasn't really to do with Aria, it was mostly that Ash needed a while to work things out personally. Which had worked. It might have seemed like Ash was avoiding Aria still... really, she'd just been avoiding most people. Things were going on and she didn't really want to deal with people she didn't know that well. She sighed, disappointed that her cheering charm didn't work. She would have hoped that maybe Aria was too cheerful for the spell to do anything, but that wasn't really how the spell worked. Maybe if she focused better... spoke louder in her head? "I'll try again, and if I don't get it then I'll just say it out loud." three... two... one... one half...


Gaudeo. pleaseletitworkthistime... Ash knew that nonverbals were hard and it was unreasonable to expect it to be perfect immediately. But she expected to be perfect immediately or she would be very critical. But at the same time she just KNEW she'd fail again. It was complicated.

Aria hadn’t taken Ash’s behaviour to heart, even if she thought that the Ravenclaw had a problem with her. Oddly enough, Aria had once or twice wondered if she should have apologised for offending Ash. She never got far in that train of thought, however, for whatever reason. “My fingers are crossed for you to get it this time!’’ To show she was being truthful, the sixth year raised both hands; one each, her fingers minus the thumb were crossed. If need be, she’d cross her toes too!

Hands now lowered, Aria sat quite still. Suddenly, she felt as though a balloon was inflating within her. Suddenly, everything seemed one hundred percent more beautiful. Even Ash whom Aria was now seeing in a new light. She felt like she could accomplish anything because with this level of happiness and cheerfulness, who couldn’t?

“I think it’s worked!’’ the Slytherin blurted out. “I feel SOOOOO much happier!”

Well done, Ashley!

Ash held her breath, anxious to see if the spell had worked. It... it looked like it worked, based on Aria's sudden rise in enthusiasm. High five! It was a little much, but Aria was an already cheerful person so Ash assumed it was normal. She was interested in seeing what would happen when the charm was cast on her. Would she be that excited? Would she be normal excited? Would she be way too excited in a concerning way? "I want you to do it to me next," Ash commented. "I would like to feel sooo much happier too..."

Margaret aimed an encouraging smile at her younger housemate Daniel. She knew he studied a lot, so she doubted him practicing the cheering charm on her could go too horribly wrong. So, she nodded. "Hi Daniel, yes, let's partner up!" she said, maybe a bit too energetically. She was eager to practice the charm.

Drawing her wand, Margaret was getting ready to go first when she realized it would probably be polite to let the younger Yoon go first instead. And, more importantly than being polite, it might make him like her more. She set her wand back on the desk. "You can go first," she said.

Luther braced himself for the spell. 'I hope it works. I could use some cheering.' thought Luther. Then he heard Rajesh saying the incantation.

A second passed. Then another one. And one more.

Then a subtle urge to laugh started to build up in Luther. A small smile crept across his face. The small smile turned into a wide one. Then a short giggle escaped his lips. With the giggle, the urge in him slowly transformed into a warmth that reminded him of home.

"I feel awesome. I think it worked. I am 99% sure it is not a placebo effect or something. But can you please end the charm? My cheeks are starting to ache." said Luther as he was still smiling widely.

SPOILER!!: Lovely Ashley! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Ash held her breath, anxious to see if the spell had worked. It... it looked like it worked, based on Aria's sudden rise in enthusiasm. High five! It was a little much, but Aria was an already cheerful person so Ash assumed it was normal. She was interested in seeing what would happen when the charm was cast on her. Would she be that excited? Would she be normal excited? Would she be way too excited in a concerning way? "I want you to do it to me next," Ash commented. "I would like to feel sooo much happier too..."

Hadn’t it been for the Charm, Aria was quite sure she would have felt sad for Ashley. Yes, she had often noted the Ravenclaw’s moods, even when she appeared to be down. Truthfully, Aria hated to be sad so she always settled for finding the smallest of things to make her happy. She wanted Ashley to feel happy too so she immediately changed her mind about doing the incantation nonverbally since she was rubbish at nonverbals.

“Think I’m going to switch to saying the incantation out loud instead,’’ she bubbled to Ashley. “I mean, just to see if I’ve got the hang of that first.” There was no need to indicate her real motive. “Brace yourself!” Here went nothing! “Gaudeo!” Focusing with everything she had, the Slytherin traced out the ‘cartoon tongue’ with her wand. The fingers of her free hand were crossed again.

SPOILER!!: Luther

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyr

Luther braced himself for the spell. 'I hope it works. I could use some cheering.' thought Luther. Then he heard Rajesh saying the incantation.

A second passed. Then another one. And one more.

Then a subtle urge to laugh started to build up in Luther. A small smile crept across his face. The small smile turned into a wide one. Then a short giggle escaped his lips. With the giggle, the urge in him slowly transformed into a warmth that reminded him of home.

"I feel awesome. I think it worked. I am 99% sure it is not a placebo effect or something. But can you please end the charm? My cheeks are starting to ache." said Luther as he was still smiling widely.

Rajesh watched his partner very curious to see if it worked and how it worked. It was unclear at first until Luther started to smile. And then smile brighter. And then filled with laughter. He had to fight the urge to ask him a ton of questions on how it felt when his companion actually spoke confirmed it was making him happy inside and not just looking like it outside. It was bothering him? Had it done it too strongly?

“Oh, sure,” the sixth year said, casting a “Finite Incantium” to break the spell. Hopefully no harm was done with the over smiling. “You can try when you feel ready,” Raj added as he braced himself for the turn around.

"Okay," Ash agreed, having no idea that Aria's decision had to do with her mood. "If it works, then you can try again nonverbally." Maybe Ash should've started out loud herself. Then she could've gotten it right the first time around. She braced herself for Aria's charm, even closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Hey... it helped a little. She opened her eyes when the spell was cast. "How do I know if it worked?" She appeared as calm as usual, but if Aria was paying attention, she'd notice that Ash's lips were tipped up in the slightest smile. She did feel a little better about her spellwork right now, and she wasn't as stressed as usual... no sign of the awfulness that she'd felt at the beginning of the lesson... "I think-" -another little smile- "I think it might be working."

SPOILER!!: Our happy Ash! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

"Okay," Ash agreed, having no idea that Aria's decision had to do with her mood. "If it works, then you can try again nonverbally." Maybe Ash should've started out loud herself. Then she could've gotten it right the first time around. She braced herself for Aria's charm, even closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Hey... it helped a little. She opened her eyes when the spell was cast. "How do I know if it worked?" She appeared as calm as usual, but if Aria was paying attention, she'd notice that Ash's lips were tipped up in the slightest smile. She did feel a little better about her spellwork right now, and she wasn't as stressed as usual... no sign of the awfulness that she'd felt at the beginning of the lesson... "I think-" -another little smile- "I think it might be working."

Oh, yes. Aria fully intended to try once again if she succeeded this time around. With narrowed eyes, she waited for signs that Ashley was bubbling over with happiness. Said manner in which she was eyeing the Ravenclaw would be enough to make anyone under that particular look of scrutiny shift in uncomfortableness.

Nevertheless, the Slytherin’s keen eyes detected that smile. She RARELY saw Ashley smile, and it seemed to be nonexistent as of recent anyhow. Aria was way too excited to speak up a reply. She just clapped her hands together and gave a little squeal of delight. LOOK! Another one!

Indeed the spell had worked!

“You look a lot better when you smile!’’ Aria finally remarked. It was the truth!

Ash looked confused and uncomfortable at Aria's staring, then smiled again at her squeal. Did other people... get happy when Ash was happy? That was nice. She needed to smile more, then, if it reassured everyone else. "It definitely worked. I feel better now." She gave the other girl a little thumbs up.

Ash only looked at her appearance when someone took pictures of her, and she didn't know what she looked like right now. Did she look bad most of the time? Or did she just look extra good when she smiled? She wasn't quite sure, but she decided to take it as a compliment for now. In her current mood, she was a little less anxious and a little more forgiving. "...thanks," she replied, taking notes on both of their observed behaviors after the charm had been cast.

This was the part of the lesson where Leanne was just observing and making sure there wasn't any 'funny business'.... beyond the typical effects of the cheering charm that is. And that no one overdid the spell. It was fortunate to have a healer in their midst too, she supposed. There was Aria and Ash, she wasn't really worried about them ... Daniel and Margaret; although Daniel worried her a bit because she wasn't sure that he'd been fully paying attention earlier. But perhaps it was because he was bored? She had fully expected this to be a review for anyone over fifth year, but she was also under the impression that the more one practiced, the more comfortable one became. And more comfort = better wizards.

It was however, when her eyes fell to Luther and Rajesh pairing that she was curious. Charms was still relatively new to the first year, but she hoped that with Rajesh's guidance he would manage.

"Alright, we'll pause for a moment, now that you've hopefully had the time to either feel the effects yourself or witness them first-hand from a casting, the incantation, gaudeo comes from Latin as do many incantations. Does anyone happen to know the root of the word and what it means?" But that wasn't what she wanted to ask. "Let's talk negative connotations for a moment. We talked earlier about overdoing the charm. How might this be harmful? And are there ways that one might use this to their benefit in say a duel? Can a simple cheering charm be thought of as a dueling spell, where you don't intend for serious damage? Can you think of other uses for this spell that might not just be cheering your friends up?"


ooc: ugh... sorrry for the delay in posting :3 ... anyway, there's a lot of questions packed in here. Feel free to just answer one... but essentially talking about negative connotations and out-of-the-box USES for this charm!! Also if your character knows Latin and wants to answer about the root question. We'll be wrapping this lesson up by Sunday, so if you wish for catch-ups on the main activity or anything prior, you're welcome do that too <3

Sorry for creeping you out, Ash! But yes, Aria at least was thrilled that you were feeling some happiness! Grinning, she returned two thumbs up. Ahh, it was so lovely that things were working out in this lesson. Also, she did mean it when she said that Ashely should smile more; that Ravenclaw had a GORGEOUS smile! “No problem!’’ They had made an excellent pair and at least they didn’t seem to have any issues with each other now.

With Mancini moving the lesson along, the more than happy Slytherin turned her attention to the woman. So MANY questions. Aria blinked slowly, trying to pick one to answer. Finally, she decided, thought of her answer and raised her hand. “Being too happy would definitely boost one’s confidence. That overconfidence could fuel that person to do tasks, let’s say a dangerous one, they would otherwise be uncomfortable doing.”

Luther relaxed and then sighed as the magical warmth left him slightly longing for it. "It was great but I don't know... I felt too happy, I don't know how to explain it. But it worked." said Luther.

Taking a deep breath, he continued "Ok here it goes." and thought to himself 'You can do it!' while mentally repeating 'Gaudeo! Gaudeo!'. Taking another deep breath, he said in an excited tone "Gaudeo!"



Luther listened to the Professor intently. He was not familiar with the incantation's origins, however, he thought he could guess. 'I should learn Latin sometimes, I guess.' he said mentally.

After raising his hand to be recognized, he spoke in an unsure tone "I don't know Latin, Professor but does it mean something like happy, happiness or be happy?" and continued in a more confident manner "Also, from what I felt, I guess, if you overpower it, your opponent can be distracted and maybe... also they can lose their ambition or will to duel properly as they are too happy."

Ash felt good. She was happy... she didn't want to go back to the way she was before. That gave her an answer to the professor's question. "The happiness is artificial. So... once it wears off, I won't feel good anymore." She tugged at her bracelets, twirling them around as she thought. "I think that's negative because someone might feel like they can only feel happy with a magic spell instead of genuinely feeling happy by... um, painting! Or putting on a cute outfit or something. Happiness is better when it's real and lasting." Okay, that was all she had to say. Wait. "Also, Like Luther said, overdoing the charm can make someone kind of hysterical." That wasn't good either. Okay, she was done now. Wait- she had more things. She didn't want to say more than her fair share, though, so she just wrote it all down in her notes.