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For a fun change to celebrate the commence of a new term, Professor Holden had been trying to change up each of his lesson’s locations while the weather was still pleasant. He thought it was important to take advantage of the good weather before the greyer, colder days rolled through.
It’s a crisp autumn morning and Holden has selected the Hogwarts Grounds for his lesson. Today, he is standing in front of the entrance to a magnificent emerald green hedge maze. To his left, there is an ornate marble goblet with sapphire flames dancing at its mouth. Further left of that goblet is a temporary table with scraps of parchment and quills. Take note of the sign, dear student.
Quote:
“Feeling curious to try your hand? Write your name and give it to the goblet. Enter at your own risk. You MUST be of age to enter.”
OOC: AAAAND WELCOME TO THE FIRST HISTORY OF MAGIC CLASS OF THE TERM.
Simon and I are SO excited to have you here.
We'll leave the class open for arrivals for the next 24 hours before I officially kick off the lesson. I will note that my timezones may be funky with this lesson - I will be headed to Ireland tomorrow night but I will keep you all informed of lesson timing!
If you are not familiar with HoM Rules and Expectations, please familiarise yourself with them here!
P's you are also welcome to put a piece of parchment in the goblet if you have a charrie that is not of age. Just watch out for the goblet
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Partner in Crime! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charely Potter
Now that he heard the responses others gave to the question, it looked like they were moving on to being tasked a.. project? No, they were assigned a task to create.
Partners? "Of course," Caes said with a small smile to Aria, "Do you think with testing their skill it could be more... physical?" How so, "Have it like a timed trial to race to a certain path?" He was spitballing. He was definitely leaning towards adaptability. "Or avoiding some sort of traps," Those were his ideas so far, maybe his sis had other ideas more brilliant.
Okay, minor correction to her mental note: Kyle had been a Horned Serpent. No worries, professor! Everyone made mistakes! And with a face like yours, anyone would forgive you in a heartbeat AHEM. Now that her partner issue was sorted, Aria bounced on her feet as she considered Caes’ words. “Hmm… I LOVE the way your brain works.’’ She patted her brother’s head affectionately.
“There could be an hour to complete the task. Nothing like a bit of pressure to make things interesting.” Her dark brown eyes gleamed at the possibility of the amount of chaos that could create. The sixth year’s mind went wandering and shortly after, she was brightening up even more. “Let us include the Venomous Tentacula! That can be the first obstacle to whatever the reward is at the end.” Ah, the Tentacula! That would keep things interesting for sure! “Once the Tentacula issue is solved, hmm… how about we have a few dummies, like one of those we practise on during DADA lessons at times? They can be charmed to take the face of the competitors' loved ones so the competitors' would be forced to face off against familiar faces.” How’re those ideas to get the ball rolling?!
Tasha carefully listened to the assignment task. Designing their own version of a tournament sounded like fun. She looked around and listened to the various conversations around her, trying to get an idea of who might need a partner. She felt like it would be easier to do this assignment with someone to brainstorm with, and maybe even a good chance to make a friend.
Tasha carefully listened to the assignment task. Designing their own version of a tournament sounded like fun. She looked around and listened to the various conversations around her, trying to get an idea of who might need a partner. She felt like it would be easier to do this assignment with someone to brainstorm with, and maybe even a good chance to make a friend.
Luther looked around to see if anyone else was looking for a partner. 'This would be both easier and more fun if I do this with someone else.' thought Luther. After a couple of moments of looking around, he saw a Ravenclaw first-year (Tasha) and gathering his courage, Luther walked towards her and said extending his hand "Hi, I am Luther. Would you like to work together?"
Kimothée Chalamet • The UWU Agenda • Once Baby, Now Trouble • All Growed Up
After he'd offered his reply and Professor Holden has acknowledged it, Henry kept to himself quietly and looked around at the maze. This was short-lived, however, as a younger student, the adorable first year Ravenclaw (Tahani) over there, asked the big how question. Henry liked asking questions, but it was already different when he had to answer it, and even more so when the professor himself gave him the floor.
Oh.
You know, at least 'Professor Hembree' had a fun ring to it! Though Henry didn't see himself going down that path. Luckily, too, he knew the answer to the Ravenclaw's query. "Right! Valerie was apparently an Animagus. You know, a witch or wizard who could turn themselves into an animal, and back to human, at will," the Hufflepuff shared, unsure if the first year knew what Animagi were but at least the definition was laid out for her now. More on those kinds of transformations from Transfiguration classes eventually, that he was sure. "So she turned into an owl so she could fly and advance in the second task of the competition, I think." That's the most he could think of at the moment. Henry looked at Professor Holden, in case he wanted to add something. "Floor's yours now, sir." He grinned.
Once they all reached the centre of the maze, Henry had been really looking forward to the activity part of the class. They were always the fun part. As far as finding partners was concerned, the Hufflepuff naturally gravitated and turned to Karleigh with a bright smile. "Teamwork makes the dream work, cousin." Partners?
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It's so magical, feeling that no one's got a hold_______________________________ ___________________________________And the whole wide world is whistling...
Hooper wasn’t exactly sure he’d call it a win either seeing as one of them had died but it was technically a win. He wouldn’t want a win that badly though. Taking a moment as the professor answered interacted with the rest of the children, Hooper looked around at the maze and really took in how impressive it was. Late at night with magical creatures around every corner, this could really be nightmare fuel.
Instead of delving into these nightmares, he instead chose to focus on the lesson at hand. Giving a small nod, Hooper turned to look around and quickly smiled as his eyes fell on Remy. He sure wasn’t going to partner with her. “Anyone want to be partners?” His first choice would have been Arden but he wasn’t sure if she was up to it. He’d have no trouble finding another partner anyway. who wouldn’t want to partner up with a human/hybrid chicken? Especially seeing as the feathers were now starting to make his arms itch. With about as much subtlety as a Blast-ended skrewt, Hooper began scratching his arms as though his very skin were crawling with some kind of itching powder. Maybe he was allergic to chickens?
Luther looked around to see if anyone else was looking for a partner. 'This would be both easier and more fun if I do this with someone else.' thought Luther. After a couple of moments of looking around, he saw a Ravenclaw first-year (Tasha) and gathering his courage, Luther walked towards her and said extending his hand "Hi, I am Luther. Would you like to work together?"
Tasha greeted the Gryffindor with a smile, also noticing he was closer to her age than most of the group. She reached out and shook his hand in greeting. "I'm Tasha, and yes please, that would be nice." She answered, feeling less awkward now that the ice had been broken and she had someone to work with.
Hooper wasn’t exactly sure he’d call it a win either seeing as one of them had died but it was technically a win. He wouldn’t want a win that badly though. Taking a moment as the professor answered interacted with the rest of the children, Hooper looked around at the maze and really took in how impressive it was. Late at night with magical creatures around every corner, this could really be nightmare fuel.
Instead of delving into these nightmares, he instead chose to focus on the lesson at hand. Giving a small nod, Hooper turned to look around and quickly smiled as his eyes fell on Remy. He sure wasn’t going to partner with her. “Anyone want to be partners?” His first choice would have been Arden but he wasn’t sure if she was up to it. He’d have no trouble finding another partner anyway. who wouldn’t want to partner up with a human/hybrid chicken? Especially seeing as the feathers were now starting to make his arms itch. With about as much subtlety as a Blast-ended skrewt, Hooper began scratching his arms as though his very skin were crawling with some kind of itching powder. Maybe he was allergic to chickens?
Arden wasn't used to this level of discomfort or annoyance, at least when she wasn't stuck at home with her mother, and so she was....less than enthused with how this class was going. Ash seemed to be concerned, and Arden just shrugged at her. Ash hadn't said anything, but Arden didn't want to ignore her...look???
It was a good thing she couldn't see Remy anywhere, and she nudged Hooper a little when he asked if anyone wanted to be partners. "Me, duh. I think there should be a cooking contest! Like we had at the end of last term. WOULDN'T THAT BE A COOL TASK?" she asked excitedly. "It's a dead useful skill to have, too!" There were no squawks coming, and she was grateful. She hadn't even had noticed that the healer had been called for, or she would have RUN AWAY immediately. Because that was awkward and embarrassing. She didn't want the HEALER coming?!
__________________
"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
Roman Gellar ● 1st Year ● Slytherin
Tasha greeted the Gryffindor with a smile, also noticing he was closer to her age than most of the group. She reached out and shook his hand in greeting. "I'm Tasha, and yes please, that would be nice." She answered, feeling less awkward now that the ice had been broken and she had someone to work with.
"Nice to meet you, Tasha." said Luther with a small smile. He was glad that he had a partner to brainstorm with.
"Sooo, do you have any ideas? I thought maybe we could design something like an escape room. We could add things they are afraid of and make them solve magical and mundane puzzles under pressure. To, y'know, test both their magical aptitude and ability to work under pressure." said Luther with a voice laced with barely concealed excitement.
'Maybe we could add those runes mother wrote in her journal.' thought Luther.
Arden wasn't used to this level of discomfort or annoyance, at least when she wasn't stuck at home with her mother, and so she was....less than enthused with how this class was going. Ash seemed to be concerned, and Arden just shrugged at her. Ash hadn't said anything, but Arden didn't want to ignore her...look???
It was a good thing she couldn't see Remy anywhere, and she nudged Hooper a little when he asked if anyone wanted to be partners. "Me, duh. I think there should be a cooking contest! Like we had at the end of last term. WOULDN'T THAT BE A COOL TASK?" she asked excitedly. "It's a dead useful skill to have, too!" There were no squawks coming, and she was grateful. She hadn't even had noticed that the healer had been called for, or she would have RUN AWAY immediately. Because that was awkward and embarrassing. She didn't want the HEALER coming?!
He knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to partner up with him and obviously it had to be Arden! Flashing her a grin after the nudge, he quickly nudged her back before replying, “A cooking contest sounds siiiick! It could test their…uhh…I guess their cooking skills? Is that a Triwizardy skill?” Hooper gave his arms a little more itching as he considered what an actual task could be. “I think the tasks need to be more deadly. What about instead of cooking, it was a potions task? That’s sort of like cooking? AND it could be dangerous!”
Karleigh's initial excitement of her and her cousin both tossing their names into the goblet and competing in even a mini tournament activity for class quickly turned into disappointment when it was revealed that they would be doing no such thing and that the goblet was for show only. What a bummer. It would have been cool if one person from each house had been selected - her from Gryffindor, Henry from Hufflepuff, and whoever from wherever - but alas.
She tried not to look too crestfallen as she followed the professor, Henry, and the rest of the class through the hedge maze. At least this maze was kind of neat, even if they didn't have to figure out their own way through it. A lot of questions about stuff she didn't know a whole lot about though, and Karleigh half wished she had taken out her notebook as they walked (except not really, she didn't want to take notes). Hopefully the IMPS stuff wouldn't be on the NEWTs. She was kind of impressed with people who knew names and even the houses of people in tournaments from years ago. But it was also hard to follow anyway when another chicken person showed up late too. That kid made it seem like he was doing it on purpose and Karleigh was unimpressed. It really wasn't that funny, well maybe funny in the really weird way. Little kids were weird. She didn't remember ever being that weird when she was 12 or 13 or whatever though. But she would leave that up to the professor to sort out.
Karleigh tried to refocus when Henry offered his knowledge and was even called on by Professor Holden let him expand on the information for a younger student. That was kind of impressive, okay? "Have you ever met her?" she asked him when he was done, noting that Atlas mentioned that Valerie Grey worked in Diagon Alley. That was kind of interesting and she actually never knew that. She wondered if Atlas had ever met her. She kind of wanted to talk to her about it and get a first hand account. Too bad she hadn't known that before summer started since she had a summer job in Diagon Alley herself.
And when it was time to get started on an activity, of course she wanted to work with Henry. "It sure does," she answered with just as bright a smile. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked, willing to hear his thoughts as well as give some of her own. "I don't know a whole lot about IMPS," she admitted quietly, feeling a little embarrassed that she as a 7th year didn't easily know the information that many of her classmates did. Had it been required reading. Clearly she needed to catch up. "Might be kind of cool if we could come up with something that tested a good moral quality along with a magical skill." Because both types of things were important.
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started like a knight in a fairytale_______________________________________________
ended like a moth in flames______________________ ______________________don't you worry I'll be fine _________________________________________________you were good for the plot line
He knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to partner up with him and obviously it had to be Arden! Flashing her a grin after the nudge, he quickly nudged her back before replying, “A cooking contest sounds siiiick! It could test their…uhh…I guess their cooking skills? Is that a Triwizardy skill?” Hooper gave his arms a little more itching as he considered what an actual task could be. “I think the tasks need to be more deadly. What about instead of cooking, it was a potions task? That’s sort of like cooking? AND it could be dangerous!”
Arden shook her head immediately. NO. "Why does it hAVE to be deadly? Why does everything have to be dangerous? Sometimes things can just be....FUN. And NOT dangerous. But if you really want dangerous what if it's a cooking competition on top of a mountain?!" Arden wrinkled her nose at the sound of a potions thing. That sounded horribly dull to the Gryffindor.
And she was feeling extra stubborn today, even with being partnered up with one of her friends. She then lowered her voice to Hooper. "Speaking of potions....do you think we were poisoned? Or...I guess SPIKED? Did you wake up like this? Because I did......and Milo last night mentioned that the house elves HAVE to follow orders if someone wants them to poison someone," she looked around for Milo. She LIKED Milo, but wondered if he were behind this. Or if he knew someone who was.
__________________
"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
Roman Gellar ● 1st Year ● Slytherin
Raspberry Jam | #ChocolateFrogFamous | Ultimate Fangirl
They’d reached the centre of the maze and a mini activity was announced. Remy wasn’t sure how she felt about it as it seemed like a lot of work for such a cold day (in her opinion). Did the bitterness of cold weather help brain flow or do the opposite? All she knew was that she couldn’t be bothered with the activity.
Her initial thought was that she didn’t want to work with Atlas, but after seeing him quickly pair off with someone else, she had soon changed her mind. Ah well, she wouldn’t hold it against him. Remy sighed heavily before deciding what she wanted to do. Work alone, since that was also an option.
Working alone seemed appropriate for her right now.
The first moral that came to her head was bravery, but that seemed like something that should be required in all Triwizard Tournament tasks. Instead, she decided to think of something to do with empathy… and sharing. That was the easy part, now she had to think of a DEATH-DEFYING TASK.
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who could love me, I am out of my mind___________________________ _________________throwing a line out to sea to see if I can catch a dream
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
You were quite welcome, Professor Holden.
Well...Mercer did tick all the boxes off what he was subconsciously looking for with a partner. The kid had the enthusiasm of a compass trying to find magnetic North here at Hogwarts and would dive in head first no matter what the task, which meant Atlas could (more or less) supervise on the sidelines.
...but what had he done to his face? This kid, honestly.
Having missed the whole ash situation while his attention lay elsewhere, he patted his pocket for his wand first of all. "...you...want me to get all that off your face for you?" The Gryffindor would not really consider it a look that would strike terror in anyone's heart...but it sure did bring out the Ravenclaw's eyes. Big time. "That's...an ace starting point," he nodded with a gentle sort of encouragement. Hated the idea though, no offense. "I would say that is more of a test of...spookability rather than courage though. What ideas do you got rolling around in your head for a test of integrity?"
Courage, eh. There were likely to be tons of those concepts floating around and were the most standard of proceedings with these things. Make teenagers face off against dangerous creatures, face great peril, yada yada yada.
"No, you can't wipe it off. It's my badge of honor for putting my name in the Goblet," Mercer batted off the older boy's attempts to clean him. He wanted his ashy battle mask in place, especially if it made him extra spooky. Where was Mitsuki to admire how SPooOoOky he was?
"You don't want to do courage? Integrity?" Integrity was much less exciting to watch in a contest, frankly. Like people pulling out chairs for each other or something. "OH, okay, like... what if it's a trick? On the way to the next task, you run into someone who needs a hand. And if you stop to help them, and effectively through all of their 'oops, I just keep dropping these packages' issues, then you get top marks. But if you blow past them to the event, for your own personal gain, then you lose."
"Nice to meet you, Tasha." said Luther with a small smile. He was glad that he had a partner to brainstorm with.
"Sooo, do you have any ideas? I thought maybe we could design something like an escape room. We could add things they are afraid of and make them solve magical and mundane puzzles under pressure. To, y'know, test both their magical aptitude and ability to work under pressure." said Luther with a voice laced with barely concealed excitement.
'Maybe we could add those runes mother wrote in her journal.' thought Luther.
Tasha thought about it for a moment and nodded. "I've never been through an escape room, but I have heard about them and I like the idea." She agreed. "We can combine our house strengths to test bravery and logic." She suggested as she took her notebook out of her book bag and began to take notes.
Bella watched as the peers around her quickly partnered up. Nobody came her way, and she didn't feel like asking a pair to be a threesome, so solo she was. Taking up her parchment, she thought hard on the task at hand. What could be a good tournament task? She wanted it to involve retrieving something like those golden eggs in the famous triwiz tourney of 1994. Bella did though not want it to be as risky as a dragon potentially burning someone to crisp.
Thinking, scribbling, and thinking some more Bella eventually landed on placing dragon shaped toys with different numbers attached in the biggest and highest oak tree of the grounds. The task would be to get down as many dragon toys from the tree as possible by being resourceful to score as many points as possible under a set amount of time. Finishing her idea off with a drawing of a dragon toy she hoped that nobody would laugh in her face for her idea when they had to present it to the class.
Kimothée Chalamet • The UWU Agenda • Once Baby, Now Trouble • All Growed Up
Quote:
Originally Posted by emjay
Karleigh's initial excitement of her and her cousin both tossing their names into the goblet and competing in even a mini tournament activity for class quickly turned into disappointment when it was revealed that they would be doing no such thing and that the goblet was for show only. What a bummer. It would have been cool if one person from each house had been selected - her from Gryffindor, Henry from Hufflepuff, and whoever from wherever - but alas.
She tried not to look too crestfallen as she followed the professor, Henry, and the rest of the class through the hedge maze. At least this maze was kind of neat, even if they didn't have to figure out their own way through it. A lot of questions about stuff she didn't know a whole lot about though, and Karleigh half wished she had taken out her notebook as they walked (except not really, she didn't want to take notes). Hopefully the IMPS stuff wouldn't be on the NEWTs. She was kind of impressed with people who knew names and even the houses of people in tournaments from years ago. But it was also hard to follow anyway when another chicken person showed up late too. That kid made it seem like he was doing it on purpose and Karleigh was unimpressed. It really wasn't that funny, well maybe funny in the really weird way. Little kids were weird. She didn't remember ever being that weird when she was 12 or 13 or whatever though. But she would leave that up to the professor to sort out.
Karleigh tried to refocus when Henry offered his knowledge and was even called on by Professor Holden let him expand on the information for a younger student. That was kind of impressive, okay? "Have you ever met her?" she asked him when he was done, noting that Atlas mentioned that Valerie Grey worked in Diagon Alley. That was kind of interesting and she actually never knew that. She wondered if Atlas had ever met her. She kind of wanted to talk to her about it and get a first hand account. Too bad she hadn't known that before summer started since she had a summer job in Diagon Alley herself.
And when it was time to get started on an activity, of course she wanted to work with Henry. "It sure does," she answered with just as bright a smile. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked, willing to hear his thoughts as well as give some of her own. "I don't know a whole lot about IMPS," she admitted quietly, feeling a little embarrassed that she as a 7th year didn't easily know the information that many of her classmates did. Had it been required reading. Clearly she needed to catch up. "Might be kind of cool if we could come up with something that tested a good moral quality along with a magical skill." Because both types of things were important.
Henry didn't really mind the chicken kids there, actually. He just pretended they weren't present there making any noise, which is always better than stressing about it. He was very good at drowning those voices. Besides, there was an activity to focus on! Much more important.
Had he ever met Valerie Gray? "Oh, no, I haven't. It'd be nice, though. I'd like to hear about what the Gryffindor meant by 'very little good to say'," Henry replied, with a thoughtful look of wonder, to Karleigh, while also referring to Atlas when the sixth year shared about his meeting with the former IMPS competitor. The Hufflepuff could just...imagine the strong vocabulary. It would be an interesting conversation, apart from getting a firsthand account of the event. But alas, he wouldn't have had the chance anyway since he'd spent majority of his summer in Paris for his internship.
Brainstorming time now! Henry was more than pleased to have his cousin's acceptance to partner up. "It's alright. I don't know much more about it either, just the stuff I recall from studying for OWLs years ago," he also shared in a whisper. Henry knew the vague general stuff, but nothing about the minor particulars. Had Professor Holden asked him to discuss the second task of the IMPS as well, Henry wouldn't have had anything to share. He didn't know the specific why as to Valerie Gray's owl transformation, so it was good he didn't have to and that he was spared today. "Let's add it to our to-study-more list." They both could use a refresher on it before NEWTs, even though the big exams were many months from now. "I do like the idea of testing one's morals..." the Hufflepuff nodded. "It would also somehow test their creativity too, right? On top of their magical skills? Hmm... what about a task involving another human? Unless that's too similar to the one from IMPS and Triwizard. Or how about a creature, maybe? House elf? Dragon? Unicorn?" Henry knew this was just for a hypothetical competition, but at the back of his mind, it was all still pretty awful.
__________________
It's so magical, feeling that no one's got a hold_______________________________ ___________________________________And the whole wide world is whistling...
Tasha thought about it for a moment and nodded. "I've never been through an escape room, but I have heard about them and I like the idea." She agreed. "We can combine our house strengths to test bravery and logic." She suggested as she took her notebook out of her book bag and began to take notes.
Luther smiled and said slowly "Yes, that's a great idea. Maybe the puzzles can be about their fears. I mean, they don't have to overcome those fears but they have to survive through them." as the ideas came to him. "Do you have any ideas for the puzzles?" asked Luther while taking notes as well.
After he'd offered his reply and Professor Holden has acknowledged it, Henry kept to himself quietly and looked around at the maze. This was short-lived, however, as a younger student, the adorable first year Ravenclaw (Tahani) over there, asked the big how question. Henry liked asking questions, but it was already different when he had to answer it, and even more so when the professor himself gave him the floor.
Oh.
You know, at least 'Professor Hembree' had a fun ring to it! Though Henry didn't see himself going down that path. Luckily, too, he knew the answer to the Ravenclaw's query. "Right! Valerie was apparently an Animagus. You know, a witch or wizard who could turn themselves into an animal, and back to human, at will," the Hufflepuff shared, unsure if the first year knew what Animagi were but at least the definition was laid out for her now. More on those kinds of transformations from Transfiguration classes eventually, that he was sure. "So she turned into an owl so she could fly and advance in the second task of the competition, I think." That's the most he could think of at the moment. Henry looked at Professor Holden, in case he wanted to add something. "Floor's yours now, sir." He grinned.
Once they all reached the centre of the maze, Henry had been really looking forward to the activity part of the class. They were always the fun part. As far as finding partners was concerned, the Hufflepuff naturally gravitated and turned to Karleigh with a bright smile. "Teamwork makes the dream work, cousin." Partners?
Tahani stared, mouth wide open. 'But is that allowed in a competition, to use your special power in a competition?,' she asked Henry and the professor.
Ooh, task. Tahani looked around and found that everyone had paired up. She looked around to see if there is someone willing to pair up with her.
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat
Ash was looking for a partner too... and she was a little self-conscious about partner work. People might like her now, and she always did lots of work in projects, but she was still worried she'd somehow end up as the only one without a partner. She was very happy for a familiar face asking to partner up, whether the other girl had thought of her as a top choice or not. "Yes, Keighley. I'd love to be partners." She found her sudden worry dissipating. "How do you feel about a task encouraging teamwork, not necessarily with another competitor but with a person? Maybe the competitor has the option to rescue a student in 'trouble' but it would slow them down. Then they have to pass an obstacle that is easier to do with an assistant but much more challenging alone?"
The warm smile that normally graced the Hufflepuff's lips widened some when Ashley agreed to be partners. It was nice to expand her group of friends even further and work with others whenever the opportunity arised to do so. "Great! I think we'll make a really good team!"
Ooooh! Ashley already had an idea for a task! Keigh listened and nodded her head in thought. "I like that idea. It shows how people think in the moment. Not everyone will slow down and help someone to risk losing a challenge
even if they don't know what's up a head." She smiled. "What type of obstacle should it be? Something that is just annoying to do alone or something or something that really is physically much easier with two people?"
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
curly haired prefect - "sometimes I get angry!" - 30/90 - *chicken emoji* - probably @ Disney - I speak dog
You would think that after having been teaching here for over three terms now, Javier wouldn't be surprised when a student showed up at his hut and said "Hey, Professor, come quick, some of the kids in History of Magic are turning into chickens!" and yet he was still shocked every. single. time. How did these kids continue to get themselves into these messes?? Grabbing some generic antidote potions that would hopefully do the job, he'd grabbed his potions bag and followed Mr. Luck down to where Holden was holding his class.
"I hear we have some students who...oh for Merlin's sake," he grumbled as he laid eyes on the pair who were currently sprouting feathers all along their arms. Giving Holden an exasperated look of apology for crashing the lesson, he wandered over to them and plopped down next to them. He hated to interrupt their study time, but...they had feathers growing out of their arms. They kind of needed to tend to that.
"Tell me everything about what you've ingested recently before this started happening, and when it started. Now," he instructed as he started fiddling around in his bag for some things. Hopefully the antidotes he brought would do the trick but he had to know more about HOW they got to this point to know if it would work or not!
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I'm still standin'________________________________________ better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor_________________________________feelin' like a little kid
"I want to make our test show that if you aren't willing to accept help from others, you have to really be confident in your ability to help yourself. Therefore... not impossible alone, but at least requiring lots of skill." Something that requires you to think? "Maybe some sort of puzzle or obstacle course that is easy with people but requires careful rearrangement of objects to get through yourself?" Maybe something with pressure plates, or with 'lava'(hopefully not real) that rises in the room? "We could also have something involving incapacitating or avoiding a dangerous creature to get past it..." Ash sighed. "What are your ideas for the right level of danger, and what do you think the competitors should do to help people at the start of the task?" She wanted to hear Keigh's ideas too, of course. Designing things like this was easier with a team to brainstorm(and improve on each other's ideas).
• HuffleStud • Knight of The Zodiac • Manly Beard-Grower • Cicatrice de Harry •
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Okay, minor correction to her mental note: Kyle had been a Horned Serpent. No worries, professor! Everyone made mistakes! And with a face like yours, anyone would forgive you in a heartbeat AHEM. Now that her partner issue was sorted, Aria bounced on her feet as she considered Caes’ words. “Hmm… I LOVE the way your brain works.’’ She patted her brother’s head affectionately.
“There could be an hour to complete the task. Nothing like a bit of pressure to make things interesting.” Her dark brown eyes gleamed at the possibility of the amount of chaos that could create. The sixth year’s mind went wandering and shortly after, she was brightening up even more. “Let us include the Venomous Tentacula! That can be the first obstacle to whatever the reward is at the end.” Ah, the Tentacula! That would keep things interesting for sure! “Once the Tentacula issue is solved, hmm… how about we have a few dummies, like one of those we practise on during DADA lessons at times? They can be charmed to take the face of the competitors' loved ones so the competitors' would be forced to face off against familiar faces.” How’re those ideas to get the ball rolling?!
That head pat was appreciated, he wouldn't admit how nice it was. The physical affection he had been missing without the guilt attached. "It's about time you appreciated it," Still smiling, he returned the sibling affection with a head rub for her. He knew that she appreciated his strengths and weaknesses, but the light teasing was hard to resist.
Caes' own eyes metaphorically lit up at the thought of a dangerous creature involved. "So when they use the spells to defeat or subdue the Tentacula it could reveal itself to be a simple stuffed toy," Just so there wasn't any real casualties. "So cruel, I like it," It'd be like a boggart but with the challenger's own personal attachments instead of the vague subject of fear. "How many challenges do you think there should be? I'd say for the third one they would face a route of fire or a thick swamp. They could then have to figure out how to get across safely."
Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
SPOILER!!: Answering Holden’s question
Once again, Desiree noticed that her answer was very different from everyone else’s, but this time she wasn’t worried about it. She knew it was correct because why would her dad lie to her about something like that? She blinked, intrigued by Holden’s follow-up question. She’d never considered whether the other challenges were ethical or not. She just knew that some of the competitors were upset about their loved ones’ involvement, and her dad hated seeing anyone upset.
She thought back to the other IMPS challenges as well as the Triwizard Tournament ones. If that IMPS challenge was considered unethical because it involved people’s loved ones, it seemed that the second task of the Triwizard Tournament was unethical for the same reason. What about the others? Sending people to fight a deadly creature like a dragon or a runespoor didn’t exactly sound ethical either, to the competitors or the creature itself. Then she remembered there was an IMPS challenge with dummies enchanted to act like frightened muggles, so the emotional manipulation was an automatic NO. The third task of the Triwizard Tournament and the second challenge of the IMPs Tournament didn’t seem quite as bad by comparison, but really any of the challenges could be seen as unethical if you think about it.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t suppose they are,”she replied, “but I think the other challenges are generally seen as slightly less unethical because they only involved the competitors themselves, not their loved ones.”
Slowing down in step with the rest of the group, Desiree glanced around the center of the maze. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected - a recreation of one of the Triwizard or IMPS challenges or maybe a replica of the Triwizard cup - but it wasn’t this! Not that she was disappointed, of course. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the statues. Cool! Were there statues of past professors too or just the headmasters and headmistresses? Ooh, was there a statue of her dad here somewhere?! Asdfjkl!!!
She looked but didn’t see one. Darn! As she was looking, she noticed the wizards chess tables. Hmm, how did those things fit into the lesson? Her eyes flicked between the tables and the statues. Were they going to have a chess game with the statues as giant game pieces? She remembered a challenge similar to that, but that had to do with the Philosopher’s Stone, not the Triwizard or IMPS tournament. Probably not, then.
She was even more confused when she heard the instructions for the activity. Hmm, maybe those things would come into play later? Anyway, designing her own wizarding tournament sounded pretty fun! She looked around in search of a partner, but it looked like everyone else was already taken. That was okay. She already had her own ideas for values to test, and she wasn’t going with the obvious ones like courage or resourcefulness. Those had already been done to death! She was going to focus on things like kindness, generosity, and selflessness - things that were sorely lacking in the past challenges! But how would that translate into a tournament challenge?
As she thought, she remembered various fairy tales she’d read in which a fairy godmother or other magical being appeared in disguise and rewarded the main character for showing kindness. Ooh, she could use that! She could have someone in need appear to the contestants (maybe an enchanted dummy like the ones in the IMPS challenge?), and they would have to help them. Conjure water or a blanket for them, or something? But that on its own seemed like a pretty boring challenge. What else could she add to it?
Ooh, what if it was a maze with clues that told the contestants which way to go? And to get the clues they need, they’d have to help others along the way. So they’d get their first clue after helping the enchanted dummy. Then what? Something to do with a creature… but the idea was to help it, not fight it. She envisioned an animal trapped in a net or cage, possibly injured. It would have to be something that looked big and scary, something that one’s first instinct would be to subdue to really test their kindness. Maybe an erumpent? Whatever the creature, the point of that leg of the challenge was that trying to fight the creature would only make things worse. The contestants could only get the next clue after freeing and/or helping it.
Furiously jotting down her ideas, Desiree looked over what she had so far. It was a good start, but how was she going to incorporate an element of selflessness? Suddenly an idea came to her. What if each competitor only got a portion of the second clue, and they’d have to combine clues and work together to advance? Maybe the maze led to a door that opened with the answer to a riddle that the contestants would have to solve together, and on the other side of the door…
Ooh, she had it! Whatever was on the other side of the door could be the ultimate test of selflessness, like a really dangerous dark creature - or better, a bunch of them! That way they couldn’t possibly fight them all off alone. Then another idea occurred to her. Just banding together to fight the creature wouldn’t be enough; the challenge would only end when someone volunteered to sacrifice themselves to save the others. But what dark creature should she use? Maybe a hag, or a whole group of them! Not real ones for obvious reasons, but an illusion that could only be broken when someone volunteers to be the hags’ dinner.
She looked over her finished challenge, slightly surprised at the direction she took it. Hmm, that finale kind of reminded her of a book she read with her grand-mère… not so much the hags, but the self sacrifice part!
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Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: The preciousss! <3
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charely Potter
That head pat was appreciated, he wouldn't admit how nice it was. The physical affection he had been missing without the guilt attached. "It's about time you appreciated it," Still smiling, he returned the sibling affection with a head rub for her. He knew that she appreciated his strengths and weaknesses, but the light teasing was hard to resist.
Caes' own eyes metaphorically lit up at the thought of a dangerous creature involved. "So when they use the spells to defeat or subdue the Tentacula it could reveal itself to be a simple stuffed toy," Just so there wasn't any real casualties. "So cruel, I like it," It'd be like a boggart but with the challenger's own personal attachments instead of the vague subject of fear. "How many challenges do you think there should be? I'd say for the third one they would face a route of fire or a thick swamp. They could then have to figure out how to get across safely."
Aria had always suspected that Caes had had limited levels of affection during his life before coming to live with her and their dads. It was definitely why she was always clinging to him, for starters. And why she did weird, dramatic stuff - just to make him laugh and to remind him that she loved him a wholeee lot! Wasn’t he the sweetest?! He needed to know that she appreciated his display of affection too!
See, this was one of the reasons they got along so well: they both thought in the same way. Caes’ comment about the Tentacula had her smiling devilishly. “But of course… an innocent, cute teddy that caused so much trouble!’’ Her smile grew. “I’m pleased that you approve!’’ Hmm… The sixth year tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I think three is proper. Can we merge the swamp AND the fire challenge? That would be quite the way to wrap up the challenges!”
Henry didn't really mind the chicken kids there, actually. He just pretended they weren't present there making any noise, which is always better than stressing about it. He was very good at drowning those voices. Besides, there was an activity to focus on! Much more important.
Had he ever met Valerie Gray? "Oh, no, I haven't. It'd be nice, though. I'd like to hear about what the Gryffindor meant by 'very little good to say'," Henry replied, with a thoughtful look of wonder, to Karleigh, while also referring to Atlas when the sixth year shared about his meeting with the former IMPS competitor. The Hufflepuff could just...imagine the strong vocabulary. It would be an interesting conversation, apart from getting a firsthand account of the event. But alas, he wouldn't have had the chance anyway since he'd spent majority of his summer in Paris for his internship.
Brainstorming time now! Henry was more than pleased to have his cousin's acceptance to partner up. "It's alright. I don't know much more about it either, just the stuff I recall from studying for OWLs years ago," he also shared in a whisper. Henry knew the vague general stuff, but nothing about the minor particulars. Had Professor Holden asked him to discuss the second task of the IMPS as well, Henry wouldn't have had anything to share. He didn't know the specific why as to Valerie Gray's owl transformation, so it was good he didn't have to and that he was spared today. "Let's add it to our to-study-more list." They both could use a refresher on it before NEWTs, even though the big exams were many months from now. "I do like the idea of testing one's morals..." the Hufflepuff nodded. "It would also somehow test their creativity too, right? On top of their magical skills? Hmm... what about a task involving another human? Unless that's too similar to the one from IMPS and Triwizard. Or how about a creature, maybe? House elf? Dragon? Unicorn?" Henry knew this was just for a hypothetical competition, but at the back of his mind, it was all still pretty awful.
Karleigh nodded thoughtfully. She, too, would like to meet Valerie Grey someday. Not because she was apparently some celebrity that she didn't even realize her name until today. But because Karleigh felt history only really came alive when she could hear the stories about it. And it might be possible to hear these stories first hand, since it seemed awful lucky that the woman was in Diagon Alley. She really wished she had known beforehand though. "I wonder what she meant too.." Karleigh wasn't lying when she said she didn't know a whole lot about IMPS, so she wasn't sure what that implied. "Do you think there was something bad about the competition? Like.. cheating, or something?" That was curious and now it really piqued her interest. Even more reason to talk to Valerie Grey. But she nodded emphatically when Henry mentioned adding it to their to-study-more list. That was another nice thing about having cousins in the same year. Built-in study group for the important exams.
But back to the activity. Karleigh thought for a moment as Henry offered his ideas as well. "I think one of the most important values is compassion, plus it's really underrated." At least that was her opinion, but that wasn't what they had to do. She was still throwing out ideas in this brainstorming part. "Yeah, creativity too," she agreed with a nod. "Maybe whatever task it is, they have to think outside the box to solve it, not just use magic." But magic would probably also be an important part since they had to use those skills too. "A unicorn!" she said suddenly when her cousin suggested a few creatures. But surely he knew how much she still loved unicorns, so she couldn't quite help herself. And she laughed at herself a little.
But then she realized if they were testing compassion and had a unicorn involved, it might mean that the unicorn was in danger for a person to save and her face fell at that realization. Okay but it didn't have to be that either. "Um.. maybe someone has to find a unicorn.. or... does it have to be something dangerous?" She wasn't sure she liked the idea of that anyway. "Oh! What if the contestant is in a maze like this and they have to find the unicorn before time runs out. They could use clues like unicorn hair... and well, there could be a simulation of danger.." She tapped her chin, trying to think about how to not make it as lame as it was sounding coming out of her mouth.
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started like a knight in a fairytale_______________________________________________
ended like a moth in flames______________________ ______________________don't you worry I'll be fine _________________________________________________you were good for the plot line
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HoM: Lesson 1 - Wizarding Tournaments 
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