Charms | Y.1 L.1 (closed)

Mad Lewis - not even she thought of herself as 'Madisen' - waited in her office for her first-year class to arrive. She could see the classroom via the strategically placed mirror on the side wall of her office. They hadn't even showed up, yet, and she could feel a headache beginning to build.

At least her upper years had gotten over most of their idiocy.

Leaning back in her chair, she savored her last few moments of peace.

Scarlet walked inside the room with a smile. "Hello Professor Lewis, good day." she said with a smile, politely bowing. It looks like she's the first student to arrive. She took a seat in the first row and patiently waited for other first years.

J. J. walked into the classroom. She looked around at the almost empty room.
The professor wasn't there yet, so that was a good sign for her.
Sighing, getting use to coming to new classes, J. J. walked to a desk midway through the room, and took her seat to await the start of the lesson.

Damian made his way into the Charms classroom. Two of his classmates were there, already, though he didn't see the professor. A door off the side of the room was open, however, so he assumed it was the teacher's office. He took a seat near the front and took out his Charms textbook.

Mad reluctantly pulled herself up from her comfortable office chair. Time to get this over with, she thought sourly.

Stalking into the classroom, she flicked her wrist towards the door to the corridor and it snapped shut.

"Class has begun," she declared. "Your other classmates are now late."

With her wand this time, she motioned at the chalkboard and the word 'CHARMS' appeared in crisp lettering.

"Wands on your desks," Mad commanded. "I am Professor Lewis. I will be your Charms instructor for this year, and most likely, the rest of your tenure at this school. Providing, of course, that you don't irritate me and get yourselves kicked out of my classroom.

"Charms is one of the most versatile branches of spellcraft," the woman stated. "Who can tell me why that is?"

Damian raised his hand into the air, answering before the professor had a chance to call on him.

"Charms are used in almost every branch of magic," he said. "They're used Defense, Duelling, in the home, cleaning, cooking, for personal grooming, some charms are required for use in brewing potions. Charms are among the most basic as well as the most complicated spells."

Mad slowly turned her gaze to the student who had spoken before he had been called on.

"What did you do? Swallow your textbook and chase it down with Babbling beverage?" she demanded. Then, she enunciated slowly, as though speaking to a class that was particularly dim. "You will wait to speak until I call on you.

"Anyone else have difficulty with this concept, or is it only Mr. Gray?" Mad eyed each of the students in turn. "Speak out of turn again, and it'll be fifteen points from Hufflepuff."

She whirled back towards the board. "As our new resident know-it-all has so graciously informed us, Charms are used in mostly other branches of spellcraft. This year, you will be learning basic, useful spells. Who can name some of the most commonly used Charms?"

The woman turned back towards the class with a stern stare.

J. J. looked startled as the Professor came out and began the class.
When she started insulting a student for speaking out of turn - even though he did have the correct answer, she gulped, and sent a sympathetic glance to the back of the fellow Hufflepuff's head.
The Professor's next question sparked something in her memory from what an older student had told her in another class.
Mindful of not speaking before she was called on, and fearful of what might happen if she was wrong, J. J. hesitantly put her hand in the air.

Much better, Mad thought in satisfaction.

"Miss Jones," she called on the Hufflepuff girl. "Commonly used charms? What is your guess?"

"Umm household activities, chores," she paused a moment, thinking of the chores she disliked to do at home, "I don't know any actual charms, but I'd imagine one would use it for things like cleaning, dishes... folding laundry... I guess getting things to do things on their own."
She pause a moment, wondering what kind of response her guess was going to get.

"While not quite what I was looking for, Miss Jones, that is correct. Household Charms are among the most used as they help ease the tasks performed by housewives and busy mothers," Mad responded.

"Can any give me a name of a common charm, household or otherwise? Something one might use in the course of daily life? Something even you might find useful?"

Scarlet hesitantly raised her hand as she reminisced her reading sessions during summer. Household charms... Household charms... Yes!

She confidently raised her hand with a smile, hoping she wouldn't mess it up.

Mad turned her attention to the second girl, the only one of the students who hadn't spoken, yet.

"Miss Potter?" she called.



((OOC: You guys can put your answers without waiting on me - just be sure to specify that you waited to be called on, or you'll lose points. ))

She cleared her throat and stood up. "Well, there's Tergeo - a spell that cleans anything and anyone, Scourgify - it is also another cleaning spell, but bes to use on inanimate objects, Reparo - a spell that fixes things, and with Wingardium Leviosa, you can levitate things from up the shelf to the ground..."

She sat as soon as she stopped talking and looked back at her words. She's not quite sure if Wingardium Leviosa is one of the Household Charms, though she's pretty sure it's one of the commonly used.

Damian raised his hand into the air after the Gryffindor finished her answer. When he was called on, he remained sitting as he added to her answer.

"Lumos is also a common spell," he said. "So is Alohomora."

J. J. sat and listened in amazed silence as the other students all raised their hands with names of spells.
She was proud that she had known, at the very least, what the spells were used for but there was so much more she needed to learn.
She sat up straighter in her seat, and steadied her quill over a sheet of parchment, quickly jolting down the names that she was hearing.
She was determined to learn about these spells and all the other ones out there.
She wasn't going to be clueless any longer. She'd make sure of that.

Mad gave a curt nod at the answers given by Scarlet and Damian. "All correct, Miss Potter and Mr. Gray. Five points, apiece.

"The spell you will be learning today is, in fact, the Lumos Charm." She waved towards the chalk board and LUMOS appeared in crisp lettering. "Who can tell me the incantation to counter this charm?"

Lumos. Scarlet read about that spell during the summer. It's a spell that creates light at the wand's tip.

She raised her hand once again, and answered as soon as she was called. "The counter spell to lumos is nox, which turns the light off from the wand's tip."

Emily hesitantly entered the classroom.
''My apologies for being late professor. I just signed up for this class.''

(OOC - I just got back from vacation)

"Correct, Miss Potter," Mad said. "Five points."

The professor's lips thinned into a solemn line as a Ravenclaw arrived. "Perhaps twenty points from Ravenclaw will encourage you to sign up for your courses in a more timely manner, next time," she intoned heartlessly. "Take a seat.

"You will all be practicing Lumos and Nox, today," Mad continued once the newcomer was seated. "Once you have succeeded in lighting up your wand, you will practice putting it out. There will be no need for any other talking. If you have a question, or need assistance, you will raise your hand and wait for me to call on you." She shot a warning glare at Damain at this pronouncement.

"You may begin."



((OOC: It's all good. Mad is mean, though. >.- ))

Scarlet smiled. She's starting to get the hang of this - whatever she got herself into. She took her wand from her desk and said "Lumos" with utmost confidence. She smiled as she saw her wand's tip light up, then frowned after. Lighting it up is easy, but turning it off is quite a challenge.

She visualized herself turning the light off, and nodded. "Nox," she said, focusing her vision towards the tip of her wand.

It turned off, she thought. She blushed and redid the whole thing over and over again, as if it's amusing.

Emily took her wand from her bag and started concentrating.
''Lumos'' She said quietely. Her face lit up as there was a tiny speck of light but sweatdropped as it dimmed right away.

''More concentrating than .... '' She thought.

"Lumos'' She said a bit louder. Almost immediately her wand lit up.
With a statisfied smile on her face she said ''Nox''. The light dissapeared.

''Yay It worked~!'' She thought while doing the same thing over again.

J. J. sighed. Ok, she thought, you got the spell in transfiguration you can get this one.
Nodding, she tried what the Transfiguration professor had suggested for that spell, and visualize her wand lighting up at the tip before she said the spell.
"Lumos."
She bit her lip, and looked closely at the tip. It seemed to be glowing slightly.
Well, that's a start!
Not giving up, she continued to try, and in a few more minutes her wand was glowing. She smiled. She had done another spell.
Handy, J. J. thought as she waved it around. A lot brighter than an average torch, and lot easier to always have on you.
Magic surely was growing on her.
The spell to turn it off went a little faster. Once the idea was in her head, J. J. was figuring out that it was easy to repeat.
"Nox."
After a couple of tries her wand was off, and she was grinning stupidly as she repeated the process over and over.

Emily smiled as she saw that more people were getting the spell.
She couldn't wait to what they would learn next.

Still playing with her wand, turning it off and on, like she would with the power button of a torch she had forgotten was in her hand, a thought struck her.
Slowly, unsure whether this was a completely stupid question or not, J. J. raised her hand. She was sure that Professor Lewis was not one for humoring stupid questions, but this one had gotten stuck in her hear, and she wasn't going to be able to get it out.
"Professor," she asked once she had been told to do so, "What are the uses of this spell," she paused a moment, blushing and waving her lit wand around like a flash light, "Besides to obvious of course... or, I guess it would make sense if it really had only the obvious use... but I thought I'd check."
She bit her lip to stop babbling, and hoped that the question had reached a point of stupidity that would stop it from being answer, or induce an insult.
Though really... if it was a stupid question maybe she deserved an insult.