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First Assignment
Author: Carys 
Date:   11-27-09 13:41

Carys sat perched on a low wall that separated one of the corridors from a small nook, which consisted of a few comfortable seats and a coffee table strewn with popular magazines. She had her camera around her neck and snapped photographs of the witches and wizards walking by. Today was the first day of Hilary Term, and one of Carys' first assignments was to get pictures for the back-to-school article to be featured in Emrys Everyday.

She kept her eye on the time, however, since like those who walked past her camera lens, Carys also had a class to get to. This term, she'd enrolled in three more classes in the Wizarding Education Diploma program. They were all continuations of classes she'd already taken in the program: potions, charms and transfiguration.

When she thought she'd gotten enough of students and the occasional staff member walking through the hall, Carys grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She slid off the wall and went to where the fireplaces were in order to get a couple of photographs of witches and wizards arriving at the university. Carys didn't linger long, however, and soon put the cap on her lens and tucked the entire camera in the bag she had in her backpack.

She joined the throng, which followed the colored stripes on the floor to various destinations. Carys veered off in the direction of the classroom for her first class and entered the small room, surprisingly finding herself to be the very first to arrive. Not even the professor was there yet.

She double checked her schedule to make sure she was in the right room, and when she confirmed that she was, she settled into one of the seats in the first row and took out her textbook, clean parchment, and a quill. When a few more minutes passed and no one else came into the room, Carys felt a brief moment of panic that perhaps the class had been canceled and she'd somehow not gotten a notice about it. But then a harried-looking professor entered, followed by first one and then another student. By the time class began, everyone who'd enrolled in it had arrived.

Carys gave her full attention to the professor, intending to get nothing but Os in all her classes this term.

Second Thoughts?
Author: Lysander Stratford 
Date:   11-27-09 16:07

Astrid sat in one of the comfy chairs at Twice Told Tales and waited for Lysander to come down from his flat. She'd offered to take Charlotte shopping for new clothes, and since Astrid had a better eye for what a little girl might like to wear, Lysander had agreed to her offer without hesitation.

While she waited for Lysander and Charlotte, she absentmindedly stuck her hand in the pocket of her coat. She meant to reach for a tissue, but her fingers closed on a ring instead. It had been the one Varus had thrown at her feet after catching her with Lysander. He'd intended on asking her to marry him that day, and she'd had absolutely no idea.

She took the ring from her pocket and looked at it. It consisted of a round diamond on a plain, gold band. Astrid admired it for its simplicity, and knew it had come from Varus' heart, which she feared she'd broken beyond repair.

She didn't even notice the stomping footsteps only a child could make, until Charlotte exclaimed, "Hiiiiiiiiii!"

Astrid whirled around in her seat, meeting Lysander's eyes first. She noted that he was staring at the ring that glinted between her fingertips.

"Astriiiiiiiiiiid," Charlotte admonished, feeling ignored.

"Hi Charlotte," Astrid finally said, meeting the young girl's gaze. "Ready to go shopping?"

"Yes! What's that?" Charlotte asked, finally noticing the ring.

"It's nothing," Astrid said, standing up and pocketing the ring.

"Charlotte, why don't you make sure Dexter hasn't gotten into mischief. Daddy wants to talk to Astrid for a moment."

"Okay," Charlotte replied. She tore off in search of the cat, who was indeed getting into mischief.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Lysander asked quietly.

Astrid shook her head. "Of course not. I just didn't realize I still had the ring in my pocket."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Give it back, I suppose," Astrid replied. "Have you seen him at all?"

"No," Lysander replied bluntly. He was glad that Varus had seemed to make himself scarce in Hogsmeade, since he feared Astrid would decide she'd made a mistake and go back to him. As long as Varus wasn't around, Lysander didn't feel all that threatened. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying went.

Then again, it was also said that Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Lysander had seen Astrid's face as she looked upon her ring. He knew she and Varus had been together for a long time, and that she had cared for him. What if she still did?

Astrid seemed to sense Lysander's thoughts because she stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm. "I feel awful that I broke his heart," she started, "and while I do care for him and always will, he wasn't the one for me. I realized that after I met you. I just want to make amends and move on with my life––with you in it."

She took his hand and put the ring in his palm. "Do you want to get rid of it for me?"

He did, but he somehow didn't think it would be right when he knew that Astrid really wanted to have a heart-to-heart with Varus.

He put it back in her hand and cupped his hand over hers. "No. You give it back to Varus, however and whenever you like."

Astrid nodded and put the ring back in her pocket.

Lysander cupped her face with his hands and kissed her lightly, just as Charlotte returned. "Dexter is bad!!!!" she proclaimed.

The couple broke the kiss and smiled down at Charlotte.

"Tell us something we don't already know!" Lysander replied. He bent down to eye level and told Charlotte to behave herself while out shopping with Astrid. She nodded her head and then took Astrid's offered hand.

"We'll see you later," Astrid said, leading Charlotte from the shop.

"Bye, Daddy!!!!"

"Bye, Charlotte. Bye, Astrid," Lysander said, waving goodbye to his girls.

(Mark) Near Collision
Author: Isolde 
Date:   11-28-09 07:30

Lunch ended all too soon. With a sigh and a groan, Mark gathered his things and got up from the Slytherin table. His day was only half way over, and already he had three classes behind him. This afternoon he had three more, plus Astronomy at midnight.

Everyone else who also had a class at one o'clock began getting up and filing out of the Great Hall. Mark managed to slip out of the dining hall before there was too much congestion at the doors and made a beeline for the staircase that led to the dungeons. His next class was Potions, but he wanted to stop off at his dorm room first to exchange out the books and school supplies he no longer needed for those required for his afternoon classes. He did this very quickly, knowing he didn't have a lot of time. Professor Weasley didn't mess around when it came to tardiness.

Mark skidded to a halt outside the door to the Potions classroom, very nearly colliding into Kate Dewhurst. She'd had Potions the previous class period and had stayed over during lunch to get some help on an assignment. Mark had hardly seen her since term had resumed––not that he'd been looking for her or anything. Seeing her now came as a sort of surprise for him.

The expression on her face was a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment. Although he didn't intend it, he effectively blocked her way out of the room, and she had her own one o'clock class to get to, History of Magic with Professor Binns.

"Excuse me," she said stiffly, in an attempt to get by.

Mark only budged because one of his classmates had come up behind him and wanted to enter the room.

Kate used the opportunity to slide past him.

Mark stared after her for a moment. The gift she'd given him had been a disappointment at first, but Mark had put the portable writing desk to good use already. He could sit in his bed and write letters home or even do his homework from bed, if he wanted.

Professor Weasley spoke to Mark from the door. "Will you be joining us, Mark?"

Mark looked away from Kate to his teacher. "Yes, ma'am," he said and stepped into the room.

Potions then Herbology
Author: Ella 
Date:   11-28-09 13:12

With her copy of Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage open on her desk, Ella busied herself with the assignment Professor Snape had given at the start of class. His fifth year students were all to make a Paralyzing Potion, with no other instruction than the directions given in their textbook. Occasionally, Snape passed by to criticize somebody's handiwork. Very rarely did he offer anybody praise.

Ella frantically worked to finish her potion, knowing that class was nearly over. She tried not to rush too much, since she really didn't want to make an easily avoidable mistake. As far as she knew, she'd done everything more or less correctly. She'd added in the ingredients in the proper order and in the manner in which the book's instructions provided. She'd stirred the correct number of times and in the proper direction. In potion-making, every last detail mattered, and the slightest change could affect everything.

"Time," Snape announced, in his usual, drawling tone of voice. "Take a sample of your work and leave it at my desk. Remember to label your flask, or you will not receive credit for the assignment."

Ella scooped up some of her potion into an empty flask and put her name on it immediately. She carefully carried it to Snape's desk, and then returned to her work station to clean up. As soon as she had done so, she gathered her things and quickly left the Potions classroom. Francis came up beside her.

"How do you think you did?"

"I followed the directions, so hopefully Snape would find any fault with it. What about you?" Ella asked.

Francis shrugged. "Snape can find fault with everything, no matter how perfect you think it is. I followed the instructions too, but you know how it is."

Ella nodded knowingly. She was glad to be back at Hogwarts and away from home. Her mother had cried everyday since New Year's Eve, when they'd learned that Ella's father had a new girlfriend. Ella had been sad at first, but now she was just angry, though she knew she had no real reason to be. She just didn't like the fact that her dad was dating someone other than her mum.

The downside to being back at Hogwarts put Zane to mind for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the castle's proximity to Hogsmeade that did it. Whatever the cause, Ella didn't want to think about Zane, with whom she'd parted on bad terms during the Hogsmeade trip last month. They hadn't written to each other over the holiday break, and they certainly hadn't seen each other since that last meeting either. As far as Ella was concerned, they were over and done with, even if they never said as much.

Ella and Francis left the dungeons and paused in the entrance hall to don their winter cloaks. Their next class was Herbology, and they would have to trek through the cold air and leftover snow to get there. Once they were all bundled up, they set out for the greenhouses.

Returned
Author: Zabrynna 
Date:   11-29-09 15:53

Zabrynna pauses o the threshhold of the Great Hall, steeling herself for the barrage of questions sure to come. As she stands there, Annem sitting with Philippa at the Slytherin table, spots Zabrynna and waves vigorously at her. Giving a small wave back, Zabrynna weaves around a few other students to get to where her friends are sitting. They at least wait until hse's taken a seat before bombarding her with questions.

"All better now?"

"Why didn't you write us?"

"Did you get our letters and cards?"

Question after question comes, with no room left for Zabrynna to even begin answering a single one. She reaches for a pitcher of something, not really caring what's in it so much as it providing her with something to do while she waits for Anne and Philippa to cease their questioning and actually allow her to say something.

The questions finally end when Philippa asks, "Have you lost weight?"

Anne rolls her eyes at Philippa. "Of couse she has. She's been sick."

That's what others were told. Zabrynna took ill. That day outside of Professor Isuki's classroom when Zabrynna was bent over picking up the contents of her bookbag and fixing the bag, Professor Isuki noticed some odd spots on the back of Zabrynna's neck. She'd promptly sent Zabrynna to the hospital wing and almost immediately after was sent to St. Mungo's in isolation.

In actuality, Zabrynna was given an in-house suspension, meaning she wasn't allowed to attend classes but she also wasn't sent home. Because of the nature of the offense, the decision was made to have Zabrynna in an area little used by students. During that time she was restricted to a single room, which had an attached lavatory and bath, all while the adults involved debated whether she should be allowed to continue at Hogwarts or be sent away.

A very short time ago Professor Dumbledore came and told Zabrynna she would be allowed to continue at Hogwarts and even to continue with History of Magic. This is only because in the end, they believed that this time Zabrynna had not somehow acquired the love potion for her own uses and that she should have handled coming into possession of it differently. It was pointed out several times that there were any number of bathrooms, including one very near the library, she could have gone into and disposed of the potion.

During her enforced seclusion, Zabrynna was extremely depressed to the point she wasn't eating properly. She became wan and pale. She truly does look like someone whose been sick and in isolation at St. Mungo's for just under two weeks.

Realizing Philippa and Anne have finally stopped talking and are waiting for her to say something, Zabrynna puts down the bowl of salad from which she'd been serving some onto her own plate and wonders if any of the adults involved in the decision making about Zabrynna's fate are aware of the irony of sending her back to join classes just in time for her first Tuesday afternoon class. A class that happens to be History of Magic.

Confundus Charm
Author: Ethan Somerset 
Date:   11-30-09 07:44

After lunch, Ethan returned to his classroom and started moving the desks to the sides of the room. His second year students would be doing some practical work, and he didn't want any obstructions in the way. Perhaps next time they met, he would take them to the obstacle course to let them practice in a more realistic setting. It all depended on how today went.

The second year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students began trickling into the classroom, soon after Ethan's own arrival. They hovered in the doorway, unsure of where to go without their desks in their normal places. Ethan waved them in.

"Set your things aside––everything except for your wands, that is."

The students spread out, discarding book bags and textbooks, but remained off to the side of the room until they were told otherwise. Ethan removed the last few desks out of the way and then beckoned for his students to move into the open space in the middle of the room.

"Good afternoon. I hope your mornings went well and that you had a good lunch," Professor Somerset greeted.

"Today we're going to learn a new spell. I give you my warning now. This spell is not to be used outside this classroom. I don't want to hear about someone getting cursed in the halls or the dormitory. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," came the mumbled replies.

"It's not the most dangerous spell in the world, but depending on how and when it's used, it could have disastrous effects. Now then, the spell we will be practicing today is the Confundus Charm. Who can tell me what this spell does?"

The answer came from Hogwarts' newest student, Samuel Craven.

"It's a jinx that causes someone or something to become confused."

"Correct. 5 points to Ravenclaw," Professor Somerset said. "Why might one use the charm in a duel or against a dark wizard? Well, a little confusion can usually serve as a diversion and wind up to your advantage. The Confundus Charm may not be the first one you'd think of to use, but it can be very effective. Now, let's practice. Break off into pairs."

There were an even number of students in the class, so everyone found a partner. Soon they were practicing the incantation, Confundo!, and the proper wand movements.

Re: Confundus Charm
Author: Craven 
Date:   12-01-09 14:49

As he sat in the Great Hall his mind traveled back to his charms class, and the words of his professor. And his classmate.

His practice buddy, a pretty dark haired female he had found out was named Joanna Porter, seemed to be a little confused, and he immediately jumped to her aid, explaining the hand movement...

He whispered in a small voice that it had been used against him many times by his father and he had learned the trick was very useful against muggles if and when they only got a glimpse of something they were not meant to see.

The girl chuckled and he easily placed the charm upon her... He felt bad watching her stumbling about and he went to her aid once again only to back off when the teacher came about fearing punishment for showing so many emotions.
In Durmstrang he would have already been cuffed for touching his classmate during the lesson.

After doing it several more times he allowed her to disorient him and leave him woozy, once quite by accident she sent him flying quite hard into the wall. Extremely dizzy he wondered if that was supposed to be the effect for certain it had quite a horrid effect.

She jumped to his aid and he thanked her. Craven rose quickly smiled and made his way to the professor.

"Professor, I was wondering are second years permitted to join the dueling club, I saw something on the wall about it? is it still running?"

Devil's Snare
Author: Lawrence Masterson 
Date:   12-01-09 18:03

Lawrence waited for his fifth year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff class to enter the green house. He'd set up early on - as this was his only class today - all his other classes met Tuesday and Thursday and would be getting this particular lesson tomorrow.

"All homework assignments to the front please." He said, shifting, and resting a hand atop the cloth covered box on his desk. Strongly enchanted - so that what was within would not break free - because that of course would end badly, but he wished his students to see up close and personal the plant that they would be discussing today.

"Now, who knows something about Devil's Snare?" He asked, looking over the faces of his students. Waiting to see if anyone would raise their hand. They'd been studying creepers and vines since the term had begun and now they were going into more dangerous and subsequently poisonous vines and creepers.

Henry Appleton raised his hand. "Yes Mister Appleton?"

"Devil's Snare likes dark and damp places." Came his answer, and Lawrence nodded.

"Very good Mister Appleton. Five points to Gryffindor. Can anyone else provide me with something else about Devil's Snare?" He asked, fingertips sliding over the covered box as he waited.

Adelaide Adams raised her hand. Lawrence nodded in her direction, indicating that she could speak. "It shrinks from fire, so casting a spell that creates fire will make it draw back." She said, smiling.

"Very good Adelaide, five points for hufflepuff. Now, that we have the basic knowledge of what Devil's snare is - how would you like to see what it looks like?" He asked the class and was pleased at the collective gasps and wide eyed stares that he got.

He pulled the cover off the box, and the potted Devil's Snare shrunk back from the light of the classroom. "Devil's Snare is a mass of springy tendrils, and they will wrap itself around whatever comes too close, eventually it will strangle and kill those that get caught in its tendrils. However, the more you move around in those tendrils and creepers the faster it will kill you. If you relax, then it won't kill you as fast, but it will still kill you."

Lawrence explained more about Devil's Snare and gave the homework assignment just before the bell rang at three to dismiss the class. "I've got my office hours after this if anyone has any questions about the assignment." He said, dismissing the class and cleaning up from the class session.

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