(7/12) OWL&NEWT Introductory and Review: Class 1

Emma started to sit up straight in her chair, as the book in her hand had a ripple effect; she couldn't help but touch it, though it didn't feel the same way as it looked. It still felt like any other book, and when the ripple effect faded, and the words reappeared, her finger rested on the term she thought would be asked for next. She only glanced at the word before looking back up at the professor with a big grin. She didn't have to read the description to know what it was. In fact, her excitement actually got the better of her, as she got way to ahead of herself.

"And a curse is used for dueling. It usually harms the other person." She flashed another toothy grin, happy to actually know something. Charms was one of the few classes Emma didn't feel insecure about. It was an outburst though, and Emma wasn't sure how the Professor would react. She dropped her grin, her face reddening as she stared blatantly at the Professor, hoping she wouldn't deduct house points.

"Well done, everyone. 10 Points to each of your houses." (20 Gryffindor, 10 Slytherin)

She nodded, now that the students had their textbooks visible, they were seeming to get the hang of it. Perhaps it was just summer getting to them, and now they were being slowly pushed into school mode. Eirina would have preferred it to be a shove, but it was what it would be. Now that the students had answered her, she took her time to look back out into the crowd, only going over those who had answered her questions.

So, she had a Gryffindor that tried her best, an intelligent Ravenclaw boy, a thorough Gryffindor girl, a dedicated Slytherin, and another Gryffindor girl, as there were many this year, who seemed more than happy to chime in. Good, now just for Eirina to get to know the rest of the class...

"You'll want to keep in mind what it is that protective spells are able to protect. People, Places, and objects. There are also three categories that fall under negative magic, that would be curses, hexes, and jinxes. Can somebody please describe them all to the class?"

She waited for the next student to answer, and afterwards she brought up another questions.

"Who here can tell me what the difference is between Dark Magic and Negative Magic?"

Well, Death Eaters, Necromancers, and Voodoo people used Dark magic. But, they could also use protective spells that were neutral. Normal wizards could use negative magic to hex someone or such.
"Dark magic is magic performed by a witch or wizard allied with the dark side. The spell takes power from a dark power source, and it is associated with evil and usually comes with a price. Negative magic is magic that good witches or wizards can also do. It usually takes something away from the object or person it is cast upon, or it prevents something from doing something or being found." She was fairly certain that she had gotten most of it. Thinking back to her previous answer, maybe Charms wasn't one of her strong subjects, but at least it was interesting and enjoyable.

Irene turned around to glare at the Ravenclaw boy sitting behind her. If he smirked at her answer, or tried to out do her, or commented on it...Irene turned back around. There were a lot of Gryffindors here, which was good because they seemed to know their material better than her and would be able to keep house points from being lost, hopefully. Irene looked at Headmistress Naer, wondering if her answer was correct.

Claudia had finished writing down what they had said for each topic. Although it was a review it would come in handy. She didn't know if the girl had answered the first question so she took the liberty upon herself to answer it. " A curse is the strongest of negative spells and they are used most of the time in battles and duels. Curses are used with an INTENTION to hurt, control, cause terror or kill. A jinx is a spell causing minor discomfort and is mainly for amusement. It has less powerful negative spells than hexs, curses, etc. While a hex is stronger than a jinx and it causes pain and discomfort." She hoped the Professor wouldn't be upset if the question had already been answered.

Jett was multitasking. He had his eyes on his book, watching the pages disappear and reappear on the headmistresses whim, and his ears open to her questions and the students answers. Now here was a fine example of a professor. She was having a back and forth discussion, adding insight and information when needed. She had control over her class and the students were all participating. Jett smiled up at her as he finished the pages. This was a class he could see himself learning something as well as enjoying. This was all review but he still paid it the utmost attention and importance, making sure it was drilled into his brain where it could never escape.

After hearing the Gryffindor girl in front of him answer another question he was surprised to see her turn around and give him a death glare. What had he done? He had yet to say one word to this girl and when he did have the pleasure to do so it would of course be something flattering and kind. He couldn't comprehend her icy stare and ruled it off as a misunderstanding he could amend after class. Jett let his mind forget the girl for now and bring his full attention back the the headmistress and her next question.

"Very good, Irene. Dark magic is magic that has every intent to severely injure or hurt it's target, which is also considered to be evil. It is most often utilized by Dark Witches and Wizards, though there is no requirement for someone to be one. As for Negative Magic, it's the equivalent to a nasty comment. Anyone can make them, sometimes it's meant to hurt the other person, sometimes it's meant to protect the caster."

As Eleanie got up and left, Eirina said nothing. If she didn't want to be in this class, then she didn't have to be in this class. Eleanie had a reputation, and of course Eirina had heard of it, as she was the Headmistress. She paid little mind to Eleanie's acts, and just let everything unfold as it would. She can be as rude as she'd like, but the next time this happened, Eirina wouldn't have any of it.

"Well put, Claudia, 20 points to Gryffindor for both of your contributions," She paused, taking a breath," And now, here is probably the most important thing you will ever learn: The difference between Charms and Transfiguration," She paused, taking a big breath and a second to make sure that she had her words correct. It was a difficult thing to phrase, and a difficult thing to understand, even to some adults.

"Transfiguration is changing the form of an object. This also includes vanishing an object and conjuration. The idea is that charms has the ability to change a feature of an object, while transfiguration changes the element and molecular structure of the object."

Eirina had very well known that this was the hardest part of Charms class, but it was something that she would have to engrave in their brains. As she next spoke, the chalk on the board mimicked her speech, and wrote up what she was saying as she was saying it. The only difference was that the chalk went a little crazy, underlining and bolding and doing very much what it wanted to do.

"Simply, A Charm changes what an object does, Transfiguration changes what an object is."

She looked out at all of her students, trying to read their faces to make sure that they all understood, before moving on. It appeared to her that they all did, but just in case, Eirina posed her next question, louder than she had spoken before, just in case some of her students needed to wake up a little bit and pay attention.

"Are there any questions thus far?"

Timothy glanced idly at the boy who dropped his wand, but jumped when the girl sitting at the same table dropped the textbook with a loud bang. She sprinted out of class. What had caused her to...? Perhaps she was ill? That was one of the downsides to sitting in the second row, very little chance to observe the body language of the other students.
Naer got even more serious than before when she said she was going to explain the difference between charming and transfiguring. Timothy hurriedly pulled out his parchment and quill, nearly knocking over his inkpot in his rush to write down her explanation word for word.
A charm has the ability to change a feature of an object, while transfiguration changes the element and molecular structure of the object.
"Professor?" He raised his hand slightly. "Does that mean all charms could be classified as glamours or illusions?" He hoped his question made sense, and wasn't offensive as she was the Charms professor. He knew Naer didn't suffer fools gladly.

Irene scrunched her eyebrows together, confused.  What had made Eleanie run out of the classroom?  Usually from her experience watching the girl, she was extremely stubborn and rude, but she looked as if she'd seen a ghost.  How she ran...it was very odd.  Right before she'd run, Irene had seen her glancing at the Ravenclaw boy often, then hiding her face.  It was as if she couldn't keep her eyes off him.  Irene wondered if the boy had spotted Eleanie and that was why she had fled the room?  And why hadn't the Headmistress paid any attention to Eleanie?  And was it possible, could it be that Eleanie had a...a simple crush on the boy?  Irene found this both amusing, (to her guilt) and strangely making sense.  Right before she'd left, she'd dropped her textbook, which had possibly startled her and made her more nervous than she'd been before?  Irene was really confused.  Eleanie had looked startled and petrified, absolutely terrified.  Nothing could be that frightening, really.  There must be some reason...

Irene shook her head, snapping out of her deep thinking.  Crap, she was supposed to be taking notes, wasn't she?  Irene fumbled for a quill and some parchment, accidentally grabbing some brand new stationery that she had received as a birthday present from her great grandmother for her birthday.  She had just recently opened the package.  It was heavy cream-colored paper with gold lettering that spelled out her name in fancy swirl script.  Irene had always hated it, but she used it sparingly and didn't waste it.  She grabbed her everyday quill (she had dyed the feather red to make identifying and changing quills easier, some certain quills will damage certain kinds of paper,) dipped it in some black ink that went with the quill, and was about to write down what the Headmistress was saying when-

Focusing in class was one of Jett's rules. He did his best to cut out any distractions and make the most of the lesson. His note taking was sparse, taking down only the most pivotal points, cutting out extraneous words. If someone were to glace over Jett's quill would never seem to move far on his parchment. His mind was more suited for retaining facts without rather than regurgitating them out onto paper. Today his quill had etched only a few scant phrases, sharp bullet points and bolded letters.

Headmistress Naer was in review mode, knowing her class may need it. Jett however had stowed away all of this knowledge during his first five years of school and so he let his focus stray slightly. He was still listening and paying close attention, but as other students answered questions he would look over at them. Claudia seemed to be doing very well today. It was a wonder she wasn't a Ravenclaw like him.

Jett was in mid thought when he heard a loud crash come from down his row of seats. A book lay open on the floor, having fallen from the desk. He caught the last traces of a girl storm up and out of the classroom, the door slamming behind her. It was all so abrupt Jett had to blink a few times to make sure the book was still there. He looked up to the now empty desk. Her quill and parchment was still there, she had only grabbed her bag as she fled the room. Had she fallen ill? Jett quietly rose and grabbed her things, taking them back to his desk. He would ask the headmistress who she was at the end of the class so he could return her belongings to her.

As he sat back down Headmistress Naer asked if there were any further questions before she continued on. Jett was confident he knew all things covered so far so he simply continued to smile at her and wait for new material.

Timothy was the first one that Eirina heard speak, with his hand raised simultaneously, but only in slight. Charms as glamours or illusions, it was hard to say when Timothy had used the term all. Any word that was so strong was always tough to talk about and to elaborate on, because there was always the possibility.

“My biggest suggestion is to never use the word all, because it’s a very strong word that you probably want to avoid. If you were to say most, then yes, most charms are glamours and illusions, however not all. For example, the levitation charm is neither. Though, if you turn that questions around, all spells that are glamours or illusions are charms, that works just fine. Does that make sense?”

She was hoping it did, because Eirina was having a difficult time phrasing her answer to that question. It was kind of like that whole business with squares and rectangles, how a rectangle could not be a square but a square could be a rectangle. Unless it was the other way around, but that just proved her point. Confusing and hard to vocalize.

“If that’s all of the questions that you have, then please turn to pages 6 and 7, and complete your homework. Again, I’ll say that you cannot take the textbooks out of the classroom without special permission, so please use your time wisely.”

Eirina was about to sit down in her desk chair, when she had remembered a quick little something to add onto the end of her speech,

“And, before I forget, if you have any more questions, come see me at my desk and I’ll help you, if it’s about today’s lesson or the homework. This will be the only review day that I will give you that goes over your first three years worth of charms class.”

"Right, thank you, professor." Timothy nodded, jotting down her explanation on his parchment and flipping to pages 6 and 7. Defining words, and then practicing spells. But were they supposed to use their textbooks and just copy down the answers? He pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and titled it. Should he define the words as best he could without the textbook, or write down the full, correct answers? He decided to do both.

Spoiler:

Timothy frowned. So far he had about half of them right, depending on how Naer graded.

Headmistress Naer returned to hes desk having just let the class free to complete their homework. The class had been short and unnecessary for Jett but he was glad to be there. He now knew what kind of professor Naer was and how to expect her classes to be structured. He let his eyes roam to the text book for the first time, finding the assignment on page six. Definitions? Why would he have to write them down? They were already implanted in his memory, anything more would be superfluous. He chose to write them down as he did his notes, sparse and to the point.

Spoiler:

Jett quickly finished the written portion of his homework and packed up his quill and parchment. He left the book closed on his desk and quietly approached Headmistress Naer's desk. With a smooth smile and nod of his head he handed her his parchment.

"Thank you for the review today, Headmistress. I can tell your class is going to be engaging. I was wondering, though, if I could have the name of the girl who ran out? I'm afraid she will be missing her notes and be unaware of the assignment. If it is alright with you I would like to practice my spells later and go return her things to her now." Jett ended his request with a dashing grin, light eyes locked with Naer's.

Irene was staring into space distractedly, unsure of what to do. Her instincts had told her to immediately run after Eleanie, but she'd stopped herself and was now feeling odd. Anyway, she'd best begin her Charms homework. After all, they wouldn't be able to really use the textbooks without asking permission from the Headmistress, and she'd probably deduct house points or take away from Irene's grade. After all, if she asked for the textbook, it would be like saying that she wasn't smart enough to know the answers by herself, and that she needed help. Irene knew this stuff, or at least she hoped. She flipped to pages six and seven and hoped they wouldn't disappear, then memorized the questions they asked. After all, this was homeowork, and she couldn't very well answer the questions if she didn't know what they were.

Irene's Charms Homework:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

+5 house points points for doing the first section of the homework, only homework that is PMed to me, fully completed, will count. AND if you do quick/short definitions of the list of spells and PM them to me, +an extra 15 house points)

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As the boy came up to her desk, Eirina had already identified him. Jett Winters, he was a Ravenclaw in his 6th year, and she remembered that he was noted as being part veela. Eirina didn't know how much, all that she knew was that he was only part, as that was what the paperwork that was still sitting on her desk told her.

Eirina took out a sheet of parchment and a quill, and wrote two things on it.

Spoiler:

Taking out her wand, Eirina had the parchment sliced perfectly in half, handing Jett both of the pieces.

"The girl is Eleanie Carr, she is in Gryffindor so I don't know how well you'll be able to find her. If you want to return her things, that is fine, though Kaden over there may be more capable, if you cross some trouble reaching her."

Eirina looked over in Kaden's direction as he was sitting next to Emma, another Gryffindor. She didn't give away that they were siblings, or the fact that they were twins, but she doubted Jett's ability to reach Eleanie. She was...exclusive, as Eirina would say, and she couldn't imagine anybody but her brother being able to reach her, especially when she just stormed out of Eirina's classroom. Since the situation was brought to her attention now, she knew that next time she would not let that would not fly.

"And here's a note, if anybody questions your practicing. I wrote it out so that, if you so choose, you may bring a partner along with you. If you wish to practice spells in my classroom, I do not mind that, but I will hold you to choose a responsible location for wand work. If anything goes awry, head to the Hospital Wing immediately. Okay?"

Before Eirina really gave Jett a chance to answer her, she stood up from where she was seated behind her desk, and looked out into the crowd of students. Some were already done their homework, others were nowhere close. She would still be in her classroom for at least a few more minutes for the few to finish up, or for the few to realize that they have to sign out a textbook. Either way, Eirina spoke.

"Class is dismissed. Either turn in your homework now or next class. I'll see you all next time."

She turned her attention back to the boy, waiting for him to reply or pose any questions that he had upon her. He was nice, and she'd award him +10 house points to Ravenclaw for his kindness to a student he didn't know and his determination to go out of his way to help.

Claudia didn't like checking out textbooks but now she really needed to. She was so busy writing down the things that The Headmistress was saying and the other students that she forgot about her homework. It was really careless but she could make up for it. She walked up to Headmistress Naers desk.

"Is it alright if i check out a textbook?"

Timothy sighed. Writing down the correct definitions had taken longer than he'd expected, Naer dismissed class and he'd have to borrow a textbook. He packed up his ink, parchment, and quill, standing behind the Gryffindor girl in front of Naer's desk. Would he need a special permission to practice the spells the textbook assigned, like that Ravenclaw boy?

"Yes, you may. And I'm assuming that's what you'd like as well, Timothy?"

On the board, her chalk had written on it's own both Claudia Evans and Timothy Carpenter, creating a column of names for those who wish to take out their textbooks. As this was being done, Eirina had taken out a stamp of sorts, and had taken the books from the two students, stamping the inside page. The stamp was of an eye that moved page to page, while the text underneath stayed on the front page, reading "July 17th: Under the care of Claudia Evans. This student is liable for the condition and return of this textbook", and Timothy's had said the same, however in his name.

Eirina had never announced it, but the eye would move page to page in the textbook, being sure that there was no illicit use of the textbook, that it would be returned in one piece, and if it was perchance lost, the eye would be able to look about and alert Eirina of the book's location at all hours.

"There you go. Bring it back to our next class. If you do not, I will be taking away house points. This textbook is now your responsibility."

She nodded saying that she understood. "Don't worry Heademistress I will be sure to take care of it and bring it back. Have a nice day as well." With that she left the classroom with her belongings and textbook in hand.

"Thank you, professor." Timothy smiled at her, inspecting the stamp. The eye part moved to whatever page he was looking at. It was kind of unnerving. He glanced at the chalkboard then followed Claudia Evans out of the room.