Aryan was not huge on dressing up. He just didn’t have the patience for sorting through materials and deciding what he wanted to throw on. The exception occurred during Halloween and that was only because Bryony and he had been dressing up together since they were a year old. So, that was why he turned up for the History of Magic activity dressed in his signature attire: a pair of jeans, a button up shirt left open to reveal a tee shirt under it and a pair of Converse trainers. Sorry to be a disappointment, Professor.

He offered the woman a sheepish smile as though expecting her to rebuke him for being here in ordinary clothing. But Ary did rather like the costume and the colours. Very eye catching. This spring chicken was only too happy to follow the instructions of gathering around; while doing so, he observed the targets and the bow and arrows. He had never shot one of the latter before but was excited about the prospect of doing so.

Was Emma supposed to dress from the victorian era? Because she missed that memo, wearing her uniform skirt, knee highs, collared shirt and pullover sweater. At least she was wearing sneakers. Although considering it was archery, she probably could have opted for wearing trousers. Though there was something remarkable, about showing up in a skirt for archery. "Hi Professor F! I love your hat!" Emma grinned, although she liked ALL of Fergersnout's hats. Maybe before she graduates she'll have to ask her for some fashion advice and developing her own personal style once not bound to a uniform. She nodded at Ary too.



Was archery just for the students? No? Because this potions mistress was all about anything competitive, even all these years later. She might not have been the spring chicken that Professor Fergersnout was referring to, but when it came to archery, she was sure she could hold her own. Also there was the motive that when quivers were around, it wouldn't hurt to have another adult present. "what a beautiful morning," She nodded at her colleague and the first years present.

History of Magic. How boring this class would be if it wasn't for Professor Fergersnout! She was the kind of woman Rowan aspired to be. Confident, fun and with the best wardrobe Row had ever seen.

The redhead arrived to class wearing a warm purple coat which was open to reveal a baby pink dress, and a matching purple beret which she had found in the History of Magic costume chest - she was sure Fergie wouldn't mind her borrowing it. It did seem a little out of place in there, so it could well have been someone's lost property. Finders keepers, eh? A necklace of pastel coloured beads adored her neck and her hair was braided into two plaits on either side of her head.

She was full of smiles as she headed up to the group of students already gathered. “Good morning, Professor Fergersnout.” She greeted brightly. “I luurve the outfit.” She looked at the Potions Professor. “Good morning, Professor Adara.” Nice to see the woman outside of the dark, dank, depressing and smelly Potions classroom. Ew.

Her eyes flitted to the bows on the ground. Oh dear. Please not archery...

Her mood would not be dampened however, and she waved and beamed at the younger students, Aryan and Emma - how cute the firsties were - and went to join them. She began fidgeting with one of her braids as she waited for the activity to begin.

Had Vera ever held a bow in her life? Not at all, but outdoor activities were her favorite and Professor Fergersnout was vibrant and full of life - which certainly suggested the morning activity would be a fun refresher before it was back to the books. So it was with excitement that she had taken herself for a quick run around the grounds, a warm up if you will, with the finish line being the clearing indicated for the activity. As she jogged up to the group, she gradually continued to slow until she found a spot next to Aryan in which she could perch - Rowan and Emma also getting smiles of greeting before she turned to the Professors as well.

"Good morning Professors!" She greeted, fixing her pony tail briefly. "I like your outfit Professor Fergersnout. The turquoise is a good color on you." It was as happy looking as the Professor herself. She eyed it a little more, trying to sift through the photos she'd been recently pouring over in her studying attempts to see if she could recognize the period - before giving up and just asking. "What time period is today's attire originating from?"

She was also a bit curious where the term 'spring chicken' came from instead of like... an autumn chicken or a summer chicken, but she decided to spare the Professor from any additional questions.

Fergersnout did not mind that the majority had chosen not to dress up, although she would’ve appreciated a miniature Robin Hood running around. It was however February and often costumes did not lend themselves to being particularly warm.

The first years appeared to be the most eager of students considering it was usually one of them that arrived first. The Slytherin was no exception. “Good morning Mr Atreyu-Rehman. I hope you are looking forward to being a Centaur today rather than a Giant” she chuckled, recalling the lesson from earlier in the term where Aryan had taken on the role of the latter. She thought today might be the perfect occasion for everyone to give archery a go.

Not that Apollonia was an expert at it herself but nevermind.

It was, once again, another first year who arrived next. The eager little Beavers that they were, although the enthusiasm was greatly appreciated. “Thank you Miss Montmorency. The colour isn’t particularly historically accurate but I do think it brightens the whole ensemble, don’t you agree?” Fergersnout wouldn’t be Fergersnout without a touch of the whimsical in her apparel.

As for her fellow colleague, if Apollonia could read minds she might’ve commented that despite not outwardly appearing like a ‘Spring Chicken’ anymore, she still felt like one internally and that was all that mattered surely? She was sure that a majority of the Professors would agree even if sometimes they felt more like ‘Permanently Exhausted Pigeons’. “I’m definitely lucky with today’s weather forecast. I was a little concerned when I awoke that the wind might add an extra obstacle to our activity.” she commented to Adara.

She was sure that the beret the arriving fourth year was wearing was familiar but she didn’t speak up about it. That WAS what the costume closet was for after all. The compliment over her outfit was received by a soft chortle. However she had never seen Rowan there before neither had she seen the Redhead so perky. Odd but she didn’t want to discourage such a positive attitude. “Thank you Miss Fairfax. I am pleased that my headwear has influenced you in some way.” Fergersnout was bold and eccentric and didn’t often become the source of inspiration for others in their fashion choices and therefore every compliment that she received whether genuine or not was always welcome to her ears.

Even Miss Thanatos had agreed. “Great question!” she beamed. “Most would associate archery as being primarily used in the Medieval Period. However it became a popular sport for middle-class women in the 19th century and gave them an opportunity to socialise with men unchaperoned which would have been scandalous back then. Of course being the classy ladies that they were, their outfits weren’t practical but they did look wonderful as they showed off their skills, don’t you think?” Wasn’t history amazing?

Back to the task at hand. “Thank you for joining me here today. This isn’t a lesson and so I don’t expect you to participate if you don’t wish to nor will I be marking or judging you on your skills. I just want everyone to have a little fun!” To be honest, the usual objective of her lessons involved a little fun too. “With the exception of my lesson a couple of months ago, has anyone ever done archery before and wants to give a little demonstration?”

Hope had no idea what counted as proper archery wear, so she just wore her own clothes (though, since most of those tended to be a bit old-fashioned, perhaps they might count as dressing up?) She did wear the knitted cap with the goat pattern and the tassle on the end that her sister had given her for a Christmas gift, so that was something.

Hope had never done archery before at all, though she'd seen other people do it. She thought that it might prove very useful, though, so was eager to learn something about it. When the professor asked for volunteers to demonstrate, though, Hope took a small step backward, hoping to blend in with the crowd. Let someone who actually knew what they were doing go first.

Archery hadn’t exactly been something she’d ever considered herself interested in, but Giselle figured it was a skill that might come in useful in one way or another. Not so much with the fire dancing, but she could branch out. Besides, she sort of had a reference for it. A Muggle movie that she’d watched with her siblings at some point when she hadn’t gotten control of the decision. Either way, she’d come prepared, her dark hair plaited in much the same way as the heroine of those movies , along with wearing a dark long sleeved t-shirt and leggings under a coat she’d borrowed from probably her brother. She didn’t remember, but it looked the part fir the character she was portraying. Plus boots, of course.

She’d given the professors a smile as she’d arrived, too. The peacock feather certainly made a statement, too, but it seemed very much Professor Fergersnout’s style. “Good morning, Professor Fergersnout. Professor Adara”, she added, already glancing at the provided bows and quivers as she gravitated toward where Rowan had stopped. The redhead got a nod, along with the other students who’d arrived before her, too. Maybe a bit distracted, but still an acknowledgment.

Fergersnout’s remark brought a chuckle out of Ary. “I’m all set,’’ came his assurance. It was clear to Ary shortly after arriving that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t feel up to getting all decked out for today’s activity. Emma too, turned up in ordinary clothing. Her greeting was returned in the form of a smile. As did Professor Adara. Ary did so like it when the professors joined in on the activities; sometimes it was amusing to watch them struggle at something. It reminded him that no one had to be skillful at everything. A finger wiggle-wave was given to the older girl, Rowan, whose bounciness reminded him of Bryony. Ary then became aware of another presence, one beside him. Looking up, he saw it was none other than Vera. He gave her a poke in the arm just because.

It was true he didn’t need to participate but Ary wanted to, not just because Fergersnout had taken her time to put together the activity but because he had a shrewd feeling that archery would be something he enjoyed. The question was acknowledged with a head shake. Nope, he had never held a bow and arrow, much less use them together to shoot.

Outdoor activities typically meant some sort of fun. And wherever there was fun, one Bryony Paton could be found. Normally. Expect she was running a smidge late today. Quite literally. As she was currently running her way across the grounds towards the gathered group that she could already hear chatting about something as she got closer and closer. This is what happens when she couldn't locate her sparkly pink boots and had to wear her white ones with the rainbows on the side on the side instead. Was she also wearing bright pink overalls today? Yes, yes she was.

"Hi, hi! Sorry I'm late.. I couldn't find my pink boots. This was obviously very important news that they all needed to know. They were welcome. And finger wiggle waves to them ALLLLLLLL!!! Don't mind her as she slid up next to Ary on his other side (since Vera was also near him) and gave him the brightest of smiles.

Not wanting to really be her usual self and bug everyone with a million and one questions right away, Bry scanned the area quickly to see what they would all be doing. Not that it was that difficult NOT to notice. How could she miss the targets and numerous bows and arrows that were arranged around the area. Now this should be fun! She had never done archery before!

Desiree was more than a little curious about this activity. She rather liked archery the one time she tried it in class earlier this term, so she was eager to try it again. Maybe she’d get good at it with more practice!

Since this was an archery activity, there was only one appropriate Disney character she could use as inspiration for her outfit: Princess Merida. She arrived wearing a simple long-sleeved dark teal dress, matching leggings, and gold shoes. A gold bear necklace and earrings completed the look. Desiree beamed, immediately noticing Professor Fergersnout’s Victorian-inspired attire. Looks like she wasn’t the only person who dressed for the occasion! “Hello, Professor Fergersnout,” she greeted. “Lovely Victorian outfit! The peacock feather hat is a nice touch.” That hat was of a somewhat similar color to her own dress. What a coincidence!

Desiree waved to the others as she found a place to stand. “Hello, Professor Adara. Hi, Ary! Hi, Rowan! Hi, Emma! Hi, Vera! Hi, Hope! Hi, Giselle! Hi, Bryony!” After greeting everyone, she listened with respectful attention. No, she didn’t have any experience with archery. SO she kept quiet for now.

Considering it was a fun activity and not one of Fergersnout’s compulsory lessons (although she’d argue that they were EQUALLY as fun), it did not matter whether students decided to rock up late. “Hello Miss Barrington” she tipped her hat at the third year before the slightly frantically arriving first year caught her attention. “You’ve caught us just in time, Miss Paton. Although pink boots weren’t a necessary requirement to this activity” she chortled.

Ah. A student with fabulous knowledge of period dress. “Thank you Miss Marchand. I’m glad to hear someone is well read on their fashion history.” It was proof that history could appeal to everyone.

Well that was a shame! No one was willing to give a little demonstration in which case it would be up to the History of Magic Professor to give it a go. She trotted over to where she had set down the bows on the floor, hoisting up her long skirt in order to not trip over it and land flat on her face (which wouldn’t be the first time) displaying her ankles. How scandalous!

“The arrows have all been charmed to detect the presence of a human or animal and they are really rather blunt.” She stuck her finger onto the pointed end as if to prove her point. “So as tempting as it may be to aim your bows at your peers, there will be no danger of injury today.” With that being said even attempting to do such things will likely result in the loss of house points.

“The bows are labelled left and right depending on your dominant hand. You are going to align yourself with your target first. Attach the arrow into the little plastic groove on the string called a Nock.” She demonstrated loading the bow. “Hold the arrow lightly between three fingers, pull back on the string elbow up and align the point of the arrow with your target.” She closed one eye although the feather of her hat was causing a bit trouble. “And shoot.” She let go of the arrow which went flying through the air and hit the inner red ring of the target. “Anybody know how many points that would score?” she asked the students.

“Right, now that demonstration is over it’s your turn to practice. I’ll be wandering around if you have any questions. If we have time at the end we’ll have a little competition.” There was nothing like riling up some competitiveness between friends.

OOC: Go forth and RP however you want. It’s just for fun so there will be no judgement of skill or talent. Fergersnout will be wandering around for guidance and to keep an eye on proceedings. Remember that SS RPG rules still apply!

Ary greeted Bry with a grin. Why was it not a surprise to him that she was late because an item of a pink nature could not be located? Probably because he knew her that well. Never mind, she was here now and that was what mattered. Hearing his name, he then looked around. There was one Desiree in the midst of greeting them all. Ary gave her his little finger wiggle-wave.

The Slytherin could not help thinking about how useful it was to have arrows around that would detect humans and animals and were dull; these were great means of protection. Motivated by this, he paid close attention to Fergersnout’s demonstration. Needless to say he was impressed with what he saw. When the question was asked afterwards, Ary raised his hand to make an educated guess. “Ten, maybe.”

Oh yes, there was a question from him in return. “Professor, just making sure… since my left hand is my dominant, I should hold the bow in that hand? I sort of thought that maybe I should be pulling back the nocked arrow with my dominant hand?” Sorry for being confused, professor!

Bryony gave the professor a bright smile. "That's good! It would've been such a shame if it was and I showed up without them!" she couldn't even imagine out sad that would've been. Thankfully she did still have some pink on today and that made her very happy despite her missing boot.

Hi everyone! Hi! A beaming smile and finger wiggles were given to Desiree and anyone else that even looked her way. Ary obviously got the biggest bestest smile from her and a tiny playful shoulder bump. Yes, hi there bestie boyiefwiend.

Turning her full attention onto Fergersnout, Bry watched as the woman explained all about the arrows having protective charms on them. She thought this was a very good safety measure since there was so many students around. A lot could go wrong quickly. Instructions were both verbally and visually given to which Bry clapped at seeing the bullseye struck. "That has to be worth a lot, right? Like at least twenty-five points or something?" she had no clue really but it made sense to her that it would be worth the most since it was right in the center.

Oooh, it was time for them to give it a try! Lightly bouncing on her feet, Bey made her way over to collect one of the bows labeled 'right' along with the arrows. Standing before a target she spent a few moments simply trying her best to get a good feel for bow and how to hold it properly.

Not quite the answer she was looking for. “Unfortunately not otherwise I’d be a champion archer by now.” she chortled, pushing the peacock feather away from her face. “The score counts up from the outside ring inwards. So the white ring on the outside is worth 1 all the way to the bullseye in the centre which is yellow and is worth 10 points. My attempt there would be 8 points.” Not too shabby if you asked her. “And obviously anything that doesn’t land on the target is worth nothing at all except a clap on the back and A* for effort.” She didn’t want to discourage them after all.

“Great question!” She grinned at the young Slytherin. “Archery is a little more complicated in that really you should be choosing which eye is dominant. More often than not your dominant eye and hand match. For the sake of simplicity and because we are only doing this for fun, we are just using our dominant hand today. You should hold the bow in your non-dominant hand and draw back using your dominant hand.” So effectively the dominant hand was doing all the work whilst the other kept the bow steady.

“We have a little while left before we have to wrap this up. Keep up the great work.”

A shoulder bump from Bry! He bumped hers back with his, giving her a big smile. He couldn’t given her more attention now as the activity was on the move. Ary blinked in surprise. He was shooketh that he had been close to the number of points his professor would have scored. The scoring process was a fascinating one, he decided, as he mentally ran through what Fergersnout had just explained to them.

With that out of the way, he focused on the answer to the question. Oh. The dominant eye came into play. Ary stood there, closing his right eye then his left then repeated the process as he tried to figure out which was his dominant eye. He rather looked as though his face was twitching horribly. In the end, Ary decided that the left eye reigned supreme. This information might come in useful in the future. But he finally understood the more complex nature of archery. “Thanks, professor. I got it now.’’

And so Ary got to work. The bow was held in his right hand and got to attaching the arrow into the nock. This went rather smoothly. Aligning the three fingers of his left hand took a little time though; but Ary persisted and eventually got it right. After making sure again that he was all lined up with the target before him, he held the arrow and bow up, with the arrow pulled back on the string. Peering through his right eye, the Slytherin levelled up the arrow to his target. A second later, he released the arrow but…

Unfortunately for him, the bow flew a pitiful distance of six feet and embedded itself in the ground.

Desiree beamed at Professor Fergersnout’s compliment. Truth be told, she didn’t consider herself well-read on any kind of history, not like her mum anyway. She just happened to have an affinity for fashion. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the finger wiggles from Ary and Bryony, She had just enough time to acknowledge them with a smile before the demonstration began.

She watched intently, her bright blue eyes lighting up as Professor Fergersnout’s arrow hit the inner red ring of the target. Wow, she was good at this! Desiree hoped she’d be good at archery like the professor someday. She had no idea how many points that shot was worth, but she was awfully curious about the charms used to make the arrows detect living creatures. What would the arrows do if they came near a person or animal? Suddenly veer off course? Part of her wanted to see what would happen, but she wasn’t going to risk trouble by experimenting.

Okay, so hold the bow in her non-dominant hand, align herself with the target, fit the arrow in the nock, hold the arrow in between three fingers, pull the string back, align the point with the target, and… Somehow Deisree had a feeling that archery wouldn’t be as straightforward as those instructions made to sound. She picked up a bow in her right hand and stood in front of the target. With a little difficulty, she fitted an arrow into the nock and held it between three fingers of her left hand. Taking care to keep her elbow up, she pulled the string back.

Now which one was her dominant eye? She had no idea! She supposed she could try each and see which one was more accurate. Looking through her left eye, she lined up the arrow with the target as best as she could and let go. It hit the target, but only the outermost ring. Still, she was calling that a win!

The shoulder bump from Ary was more than enough in forms of acknowledgment. He knew she was there and that was pretty much all she really needed at that time. As for being spotted by the older student Desiree and given finger wiggles, this was still all the good things to her young mind. There wasn't much better than older years that weren't family taking notice of her. Clearly she and Aryan were doing something right.

Oh, well.. she had been quite off with her guess.. hadn't she? Now don't mind her for not really fully understanding at all how points were scored. Because she didn't. The look on her young face probably said as much but that was okay. Bryony was doing her very best to follow along anyhow and watch as Professor Fergersnout gave a perfect demonstration on how to shoot the arrow at the target. Did she realize how easy she made it look?!

The bow needed to be held in her non-dominant hand. That meant she was currently holding it in the wrong hand and needed to switch hands. With that corrected now and the bow in her left hand, she fit the arrow into the nock and did her best to hold it between three fingers. Then the sting was pulled back as she also tried to make sure she kept everything lined with the target! Much easier said than done.

As for which eye was her dominant eye.. erm.. how was she meant to know this??? Deciding to simply guess and find out that way, Bry closed her left eye first and once more tried to line everything up with the target before her. This took a few moments to get just right.. or as right as the first year thought she had it.

When the arrow was finally released it sure did go sailing through the air, only to land several feet away from her intended target.

After 45 minutes of practice, Hope had about half her arrows in a target and the other half lodged in various trees and bushes about the nearby grounds (and a couple in the ground itself). But she seemed to be getting better. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully...

She also had a painful burning sensation on the inside of her left arm, so she put down her bow and rolled up her sleeve to take a look at it. There was an angry, long, dark-red patch running along her forearm. Had she caught a rash?! Maybe she should go to the Healer; she hoped it wasn't catching. But, no...no, it was from the bowstring! That must be it--she must not have held her arm properly for some of her shots and the string vibrated along her arm. That was definitely something to keep in mind for future reference. If and when she did this again.