Lesson One H&E (Third years)

Asric stopped right in the middle of the field and glanced at his watch. He was five minutes early, he sighed glancing down at the register a little disappointed at how many students he had. Four minutes to go and still no one had arrived.

Kathy rushed towards the field.
Seeing she was the one to arrive early she smiled.
It was a great relief for her to be the first one in class. She thought she would be late on the first lesson of the year which would be embarrassing for her.
"Good Day Professor" Kathy greeted cheerfully as she walked near Professor Asric

Diane excitedly went to the field with her things and her ever-present smile.
Boy, was it a good day. The sun is shining, the grass are green, and well, well, well, what do you know.. There's Kathy!

Diane's face lightened up. Seeing as she is also the second one to arrive today, she walked towards Kathy and Professor Chaos happily.

"Good Day Professor! And.. my dear cousin, Kathy," she said, sitting on the grass, looking up to the bright blue sky. "Boy, Is it a nice day. Aren't I right, Kathy?"

Karma walked at an easy pace to the clearing where Professor Chaos was. She went a little ways away from the two Gryffindors that were already there and sat on the floor. She'd had enough of Gryffindor House on the bloody train, hadn't she?

"Good day, Professor."

Lacey entered the grounds and kept walking until she found herself in a clearing. Professor Asric looked deeply impatient so she picked her pace up a bit, sitting away from everyone.

"Hello Professor." she smiled and set her bag down. She leaned back on her hands, marveling in the softness of the grass.

"Good day D!" Kathy replied with a smile.

She then nodded at D saying "Yep, It seem it is"

Lucy walked down to the lesson, sure she would be late. When she arrived, however nobody seemed to be teaching yet, although the highmaster was standing there with a clipboard. She nodded a hello to him and the other students but stayed quiet, the last thing she wanted was to get on anyone's nerves by talking.

Jack was in no rush to get to class. Being relaxed about everything was one of his many qualities, but whether is was a good one or a bad one he never really knew, nor did he care. Hands in pockets he strolled over to the rest of the group, his ever present half smile written on his face.

"Professor," he greeted with a casual salute before dropping to the ground, leaning back on his arms. Surveying the group, he noticed it was only girls. More for me then, he thought to himself with a small chuckle, waiting for the class to begin.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes it's so nice to see everyone again but lets leave all that to breaks shall we? I'd hate to turn uncool and start dishing out punishments." He said looking at the first two gryffindor girls especially.

"Seems we are outnumbered Mr Ambrose. Your fellow class mates must be afraid of a little competition. Never mind it's their lose." He shrugged flicking his wand so that it turned into a bow.

"Today will be all about aim." He smiled conjuring up a bunch of arrows and some target which landed at the other end of the field. "Now as this year goes on you will try aiming with different kinds of weapons. You'll get to experiment with bows and arrows, knives, axes, spears, you name it and we'll have a go. But for today we will be concentrating on the bow and arrow. A personal favourite of most of my hunter friends." He said loading an arrow onto the bow.

"Now does anyone know how to stand and hold the bow when firing?" He asked looking around the group for a volunteer.

Lucu shrugged slightly, she sort of knew how to stand. But only sort of. When no one else seemed to be offering she took a slight step forward, "I kind of do, Headmaster."

Lacey's hand usually rose in the air at a question, but she was no good at archery. Glancing at the Ravenclaw who just arrived, she rolled her eyes. He was smirking at something and she really didn't care to know what about.

"Um, Professor, don't you have to stand with your feet apart, your one arm completely straight but relaxed, and your other arm's elbow straight out?"

He nodded. "Very good Miss Black. Right step forward Miss Lovegood you can show them all how it's done." He said summoning two bows and once they appeared he passed one to Lucy and kept the other for himself.

"Now everyone watch you will be doing this in a second. Right as Miss Black said you stand with your feet about shoulders width apart." He said planting his feet so they were in line with his shoulders. "One hand, you will have to figure out which hands feels more natural, holds the bow here." He said placing his hand in the right place before turning to show them the exact position. "This arm will stay straight at all times. It will be your aiming hand. Now your other hand pulls back the bow like so." He said using the first two fingers to pull the bow back. Your pulling arm is used to give the arrow power and speed. This hand wants to be pulling the bow across your face, this will keep your aim in shot." He said.

"Now to setting up the arrows. The point of the arrow obviously points forwards." He said placing the bow into place. "The front of the arrow rests on this little ledge here." He said moving around to show them the ledge. "The back of the arrow has a little dint in it which clips onto the wire which keeps it in place." He said removing his hand from the bow to show that it stayed in place.

"Right when aiming." He said pulling the bow back and aiming towards the center of the target. "You need to aim just above the intended target because the arrow will most likely lose height mid flight." He said letting the string go so the arrow flew straight into the center of the target.

"Now everyone grab a bow and get practicing. There's no point in being a hunter if you couldn't hit the broad side of the castle."

Karma stood and brushed herself off before grabbing a bow. She took a few arrows, silently wishing for a quiver, and walked until she stood about twenty yards from her target. She placed the arrows in the pocket of her robes so she could easily get to them. She took her stance, careful to do it perfectly, and raised the bow in her left hand. She placed the arrow against the string before pulling it back between the middle and pointer fingers of her right hand so it was next to her face. She aimed for the bullseye, waiting for the last possible second before slightly angling the bow upwards as she let go.

The arrow hit the edge of the bullseye. She was better with a dagger.

Not good enough.

Never wavering from her stance, Karma took out another arrow and repeated her actions. A little closer, but still not good enough.

Karma took a deep breath, loaded her arrow, and aimed at the dead center before angling up as she let go on the exhale.

Bullseye. Dead center.

She smiled, and reloaded.

Lucy gritted her teeth, grabbed an arrow and weighted it carefully. It was a tiny bit heavier than she was used to, and she knew that would affect it's flight path. She set herself up accordingly, not thinking before knowing that her left hand went in front, and her right hand was her pulling hand. She took her stance, and aimed carefully at the target.

She Let loose, hoping that she hadn't overcompensated for the different arrow weight. She winced as she realized that she had, and the arrow thudded a good four inches away from the center of the target.

Lacey picked up a bow and examined it. She'd never been great at archery, but it was another one of those things her parents forced her to learn. Of course, she only did them to appease her parents, albeit she was a little grateful now for their pestering with her having to learn them all. At least one of them came in handy.

Picking up a quiver of arrows, she strapped it to her skirt's waistband and stood in front of an unoccupied target. She judged the distance before picking up her bow and knocking her arrow. Making sure the fletching was in order for better accuracy and a faster speed, she eyed the spine as to make sure it was straight and their were no cracks in it. Feeling happy with her examination, she finally drew back the string and closed her left eye.

Lacey drew in a breath and steadied herself from shaking from her attempt at keeping perfectly still. She made sure her legs were apart and her left arm was perfectly straight whilst her right was bent and her elbow was out. Deciding her stance was good, she lined up her target and allowed the string to roll off her fingers gracefully.

She didn't let her stance fall until she heard the familiar whack of her arrow hitting the target. Allowing her arms to come down gently, she eyed where the arrow hit. It wasn't the bullseye, and that was fine with Lacey because, upon a better observation, it was close.

Repeating her same actions, she managed to group four arrows. None were in the bullseye, and she didn't feel the least bit bothered. She remembered her archery teacher telling her it didn't matter whether she hit the target perfectly, just so long as she could get a good group of arrows meant she was doing perfectly fine.

So, setting her bow so that one tip rested upon the ground and the other tip leaning against her side, she waited for the others to finish up.

(OOC: and just so you know, I used to take an archery class every winter for YEARS. That's how I this stuff. My dad was a big hunter until he moved to NYC. I didn't Google any of this stuff. I'm proud I can remember most of it. )

He smiled. "Very good. You all seem to be getting the hang of it now so lets move you back a bit shall we?" He said creating a new line for them to stand behind about 75 feet away from the targets.

"Right let's try this shall we?" He said sending another arrow straight through the middle of his last, seemingly with ease. "With practice you could do that. But only with practice." He said pointing the bow down as he walked behind them looking at their positioning.

Karma backed up to the new line with her bow aimed at the ground then pulled it up again, aiming at the target that was now 75 feet away from her. She took her stance and aimed for more above the bullseye than usual, then pulled back her arrow and let it fly.

It hit the ground about an inch in front of the target.

Karma growled low in her throat as she loaded another arrow, moving on nothing but instinct, she lined a shot a few inches above the bullseye and shot it.

It hit the bottom of the bullseye.

Sure of her angle, Karma raised her aim another few inches and shot another arrow.

Bullseye.

She reloaded.

Lacey stood with her feet apart and grasped her bow in her left hand. It wasn't the matter of skill, but of stance and instinct. That's why she was always considered better with a recurve rather then a combo.

Knocking her arrow, she checked the fletching again as well as the spine then drew it back and rested it against her cheek. She paused, aiming at the dead-center, then let it go. The arrow hit with a clunk --narrowly missing the red dot. With a slight downturn of her lips, Lacey knocked another, checked the spine and fletching, drew it back, aimed, and let it go. Again, with a thunk, she let her stance fall.

This time she hit the red dot. She smiled. Then, doing all the same steps again, she grouped three more arrows in the bullseye. Leaning her bow against her side, she gave an exuberant smile. Looked like she just needed to warm up after years of no practice.

Deciding that no one else was quite finished, she knocked another arrow, aimed, and let it go. Of course, just her luck -not- the arrow hit nothing close to the center. With a sigh, she decided to wait for everyone else to finish. Could always be that 'beginners luck' she was never brushed with when she first started archery. Looked like it decided to grace her with its presence for only that moment.

Oliver frowned when he realized that he was late for class. It was the first time he had taken the class so he hoped that Professor would understand.

"I apologize for my tardiness," Oliver said as he approached the Headmaster. "I would understand if you do not want me in you class for the lesson."

He nodded watching as the girls practised. "Very good girls. With practise you will be the best believe me. But only, with practise so make sure you keep up with it. If you ever want to practise just come see me and ill sort you out." He smiled turning to look at the new comer.

"Lateness is not tolerated in my class Mr... Penderghast. NOW GET DOWN AND GIVE ME 40 PUSH UP!!" He shouted pointing to the floor.

Seconds later he laughed. "Oh i couldn't take myself seriously, right grab a bow and get practising i'll let you off since it is your first lesson this year but next time i wont just be giving you push ups to do you'll be the target." He said pointing to the target down the field.

Lucy was shocked, the headmaster in a good mood? But she didn't comment, merely smiled at the new boy and kept on practicing. After several more attempts she was hitting the center of the target every time. She smiled, loving the feeling of hitting the spot she aimed for.

Oliver was about to drop the floor and give the Headmaster the forty push ups he requested but when he started laughing, Oliver quickly relaxed and was happy he didn't have to do them.

"Thanks sir," he nodded, grabbed a bow and began shooting at his target. He didn't get it at the first tries but he succeeded after he calculated his surroundings.

He smiled at the shock on their face. "I'm the cool headmaster. We will have fun whilst you are here but mess with me and i'll kill you. I hate to be uncool." He said before smiling again.

"Right now blindfold time." He smiled clicking his fingers so a blindfold appeared on each of them. "Now the targets have been moved. Listen carefully for the beeping, one of the targets will be calling your name. Once you find it shoot." He said moving to sit on the side lines wand at the ready just incase one of the arrows decided it liked one of the other students.

Karma's next arrow paused at the loading point as. The world was covered from her vision. She hoped none of the other students thought to say her name. She closed her eyes, even with the blindfold on, and listened. The first thing she heard were the rest of the Headmaster's instructions, along with the swishing of the robes of the other students and their feet shuffling and arrows being loaded.

Mental Note: Do not hit other students.

She filed their sounds away and tried to remember the exact spot compared to her. They were mostly in a line behind the line Headmaster Chaos had drawn, and were all more or less to the left and right of her. The Headmaster himself she wasn't very worried about, seeing as he was the most Magically and Hunting Talented, she was sure he could dodge and more or less use magic to escape from the situation, just like Colbalt.

As she filed each of the sounds away, the wind in the grass, the faint sound of the waves on the lake, the scuttling of assorted magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest, slightly beyond where the tree line was, the unique sound of the Grounds Keeper's cabin creaking, sounds most people heard and ignored, the beeping grew more and more clear, until she could hear each of her classmates' names being called. She heard Lacey, and Oliver and Lucy, and filed their names along with the other useless sounds. Then, one was left.

Her's.

It was slightly to the right, and further away, perhaps on another tree, perhaps not, and judging from the distance, was possible one of the spots she was gonna have to aim a little higher for. She remembered how angled her shots had had to be for the last one, and figured a little higher should do the trick. She remembered the sound of an arrow hitting the bullseye, a deeper kind of twack than it hitting anywhere else on the target, and knew she'd know if it hit or not.

Now, with everything set straight in her mind, Karma actually moved, seven minutes after the instructions had been said.

Her arrow had been drawn the entire time, and her stance hadn't wavered. Quickly, she adjusted her angle and aimed to the right abit, in a split second, and let an arrow fly. She froze and listened.

The twack was deep, meaning it was perhaps in the bullseye, but was not quite the center.

Not good enough.

Karma loaded another arrow, aimed at the same spot, then a little lower.

The twack was lower.

Warmer, then.

She lowered the angle slightly and edged to the right a bit on instinct. When she let it go, the twack was perfectly pitched and low. That meant center. Brilliant.

She loaded again and took another shot in the same spot, loving the sound of the arrow hitting dead center.

She loaded again.

Lucy cursed under her breath when he said the targets had been moved. She wouldn't have minded the blindfold if she hadn't had to find the target again. But as it was, she knew she would have some troubles. As soon as she focused, the first thing she noticed was the calling of names, so out of place in the woods. The first one she heard was hers, as after years of responding to it would do to her.

She made her way to where her instincts told her the noise was coming from. She walked carefully, deciding not wanting to make too much noise and confuse her classmates, but also hoping to to make just enough noise so that they didn't run into her.

When she felt she was the right distance away from her target, the same distance as she had been to the other one, she aimed carefully. She made sure her arms felt the same as they had before, adjusting them ever so slightly to accommodate for the slight change in height. She wanted to call out a warning to her classmates to let them know she was firing, but she didn't think anyone would appreciate that, so she kept her mouth shut.

Moments later, she released her arrow, sighing when she heard it wiz straight past the sound of her name. She readjusted herself, turning her aim just slightly. This time the arrow hit with a thwack, and she was sure it had hit the bulls eye.

She loaded again, taking several more tries before she was hitting the bulls eye nearly every time.