3rd September 1895 - Charms Classroom

Introduction to charms

Professor Bowen stood in her class as the last of the new students filtered into the class. It was their first time in this class so she might forgive those that were a few minutes late but she would still give them a stern eyebrow as a reminder to be on time for the next class. This was Isla's second year now, her first having flown by so quickly she could scarily believe it. She looked at the faces she recognised, one or two of the less fortunate students had clearly not continued past first year which gave her a little sadness, but she could do nothing about that and needed to focus on the students she did have.

”Good morning students, for half of you this shall be your introduction to charms, for the other half of you it will be nice to see whether you have practiced your charms. Wands out please.” she pulled out her own wand and wiped the cobwebs away before holding it tip to tip between her index fingers.

”Charms is a core subject here at Hogwarts and what you will learn will underpin much of your other subjects. Today we will start with, as is traditional, a levitation charm. First, with your wand in your wand practice the movements on your page. You cant just say magical words and hope things to happen, their needs to be technique and intent by the caster.”

She held her own wand and wordlessly flicked it, waiting for the students to now follow suit as she began walking the class room to inspect the students' technique more closely.

While we do this, second years, can one of you please give us a brief definition of what charms are, and also what words are needed for today's charm.” she would wait for an answer before she continued and then instruct the students to try the words for themselves on the feather in front of them.

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Please add the following code to your first post, situations may or may not come up where it matters in this thread, but it will also be used to build a long term opinion of each student by the professor.

Code:

[B]Talent in charms[/b]: awful/bad/average/good/excellent
[B]Effort put in today[/b]: none/minimal/average/good/excellent
[B]General attitude today[/b]:
awful/bad/average/good/excellent

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Ariel Sherington Selene Gallivan Lysander Echelon Ramona Pendergast Kaatjie Dempsey Pip Manwaring Charles Hutton Margaery Lockhart Cassandra Eade Lilibet Meadows Regina Pendergast Alys Gower Kermit Escher Poppy MacFusty Phineas Black II Jameson Potter Georgianna Shacklebolt Chloe Greene Caroline Weasley Silas Merlion Jocasta Flint Cressida Rosier Hermia Pucey Chiara di Visconti Arcturus Black Leo Lupin Caspian Pettigrew Connor Sinnet Ellen Ilkin

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Chloe was glad to be back at school. She set out her book and began practicing until a question was asked. She raised her hand when Professor Bowen asked the second years for a definition. "Charms are spells that do not alter the fundamental being of anything. And the incantation is Wingardum Leviosa."

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Talent in charms: good
Effort put in today: excellent
General attitude today:
excellent

  

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Practice from the book? Chiara's skeptism was ill disguised. She would have thought the professor would demonstrate first. Well any fool could use a book, Chiara might not like the methods but she knew how to follow directions. She put her book primly on her desk, pulled out her wand and with graceful movements began to practice.

Talent in charms: good
Effort put in today: good
General attitude today:
average

  

Cassie took a few minutes to study the book, perhaps a bit longer than her classmates did, but she didn't really care. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day in Charms class. Then, only once she felt confident with the motions, Cassie began to practice the motions for the Levitation Charm.

Talent in charms: average
Effort put in today: good
General attitude today:
good

  

Charlie glowered at Miss Greene for being faster than he was at answering the question, but it was okay because it was still the beginning of the school year so he'd have lots of chances to earn house points to help win the House Cup. Charlie opened his book and began to practice just as instructed.

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Talent in charms: Good
Effort put in today: Good
General attitude today: Average

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Having a mother who had spent a few years as the Charms professor meant that Poppy may have been more prepared than most first years. Although, she mostly just knew the theory. It wasn't as if she'd been allowed to practice actually doing the spells. She'd seen her parents do this one frequently enough that she already had the movements memorized—though she ducked her head as Miss Greene answered the question that, had she the courage, she would have responded to first. Instead, she busied herself with thoroughly reviewing the page in her textbook. There hadn't been any new information there. Instructions were meant to be followed, however. Then, she began practicing her wand movements.

Talent in charms: excellent
Effort put in today: excellent
General attitude today: excellent

  

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Club Membership in: Astronomy • Flying • Charms • Book • Quidditch

Adorably sweet set by the amazing Lady!

Due to the tormenting that the Flint family had been subjected too by the ghost of her father's ex, Jocasta had been granted a wand and a little more freedom to cast spells privately, so that she might be able to defend herself if called upon.

She gave a cocky grin to her friend Cressida Rosier who knew first hand that she knew this particular charm, having been levitated into a tree by her during play.

"Wingardum Leviosa" she cast with her small and Oh so delicate wand.

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Talent in charms: excellent
Effort put in today: good
General attitude today: good

  

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Gia had been buzzing to get to Charms today, her enthusiasm wearing both her brother and friends thin. Charms was the basis of all magic, as far as Gia could tell. This, plus her enjoyment of Professor Bowen, had Gia piping up from beside Miss Greene, "And it isn't the ideal spell for levitating people. We aren't mean to learn that one until OWLs." Gia kept to herself that she already learned the incantation for that one. Someday, Levicorpus, someday.

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Talent in charms: excellent
Effort put in today: excellent
General attitude today: excellent

  

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Look what Lady did!

Ordinarily, Silas was the eager kind of curious boy who met his lessons with interest, if not passion. His tutor had often had praise for his dedication to particular lessons from time to time, though he did always try to stay focused during lessons. Learning was an adventure, especially when he could choose the subject matter, which typically centered around something related to nautical life or the history of his family. Not, in general, any manner of artful performance with a baton as the professor was asking him to attend to now.

His wand lay on the desk in front of him, with the boy's skeptical eye trained on it. What sort of divine magic would ask for such a silly performance from him? The textbook offered only an arcane description of the process, with only a single phrase —which looked like Latin, Silas could reason out that much— that didn't seem very liturgical either.

Silas decided to clasp his hands together and ask for guidance from a more trustworthy source.

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Talent in charms: bad
Effort put in today: minimal
General attitude today: awful

  

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There was a spell for levitating people? Leni thought, regarding the older Ravenclaw with interest. She would have to look into that, though she suspected that Nat would already know about it, so she could ask him. It seemed the sort of spell that would attract his curiosity.

Filing away the notion for later, Leni opened the textbook to the correct passage, practicing the movements with her wand as instructed.

Talent in charms: Average
Effort put in today: Good
General attitude today: Excellent

  

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Having met the professor earlier that summer and accidentally shared with her her worries about starting school Ariel had decided that she ought to try her best in class... at least to begin with. It was best to start off on a good foot especially when the chances of the Professor noticing and taking note of her were pretty good. She was optimistic about her chances as well. Whether it was foolhardy optimisism though? That was yet to be seen.

She stared at the page in front of her. It was a page. In a book. There were pictures. To her chagrin the students around her seemed to be following the instructions quite well. She let out a sigh.

"I wish she'd shown us what we are supposed to be doing," She whispered to the first year next to her.

"How are we supposed to even know if we are completely wrong?"

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Talent in charms: average
Effort put in today: average
General attitude today:good

  

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"Well done Chloe Greene five points to Ravenclaw. She is correct, charms affect an object without intrinsically changing that thing, making them very useful for targets you want to remain the same."

Isla walked around the class, they might not appreciate how she taught just yet, but she was quickly learning the difference between those born into magic with experience from home and those who might never have cast a spell before. She heard Ariel Sherington make a very relatable comment and she gave her a knowing smile. She felt a similar level of skepticism from the young Italian Chiara di Visconti , but she was did not voice it. The demeanor of the blond in the second row though, Silas Merlion was not to her liking. Of course the usual high fliers were doing well and she did not doubt that the likes of Georgianna Shacklebolt probably practiced her schoolwork more over the summer than the average twelve year old.

"Ok, thank you students, that was very helpful. I can see we have a wide range of existing capabilites and that is just perfect. Those of you who managed to levitate your feather, now move onto the metal weights. The rest of you... observe... Wingardum Leviosa" she flicked her wrist and a small statue on her desk floated into the air and gently bobbed towards her. "Note my annunciation and my intent to cast."

She placed the statue back down and turned back around gesturing that her students try to copy now that they had seen her movements. She stopped by Silas table and looked down on him. "Your wand will not cast if it is left on the table now will it Mr Merlion. Give it a try." she was not going to jump up and down on children for their attitudes in the first lessons, particularly the ones new to her world, but she would be making a note of it.

"Did that help Miss Sherington?", she asked would you like to see again?"

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if you want me to roll for your success I can, but otherwise its up to you how well you think your character does at this stage

Chloe Greene Chiara di Visconti Cassandra Eade Charles Hutton Poppy MacFusty Georgianna Shacklebolt Silas Merlion Selene Gallivan Ariel Sherington

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Poppy grinned at Chloe Greene, pleased that the second year had gotten them house points. Professor Bowen demonstrated the charm. Poppy took careful note of the wrist placement during the flick—she'd been getting that one wrong when practicing. Well, at least now she knew. The others had varying degrees of success, though Silas Merlion had yet to pick up his wand. The redhead couldn't say she understood him very well. He'd been perfectly friendly on the boats they'd taken to the castle. He'd even helped her into the boat, but this version of him didn't seem like someone who would do that... which left her quite confused indeed.

She refocused her attention on the feather in front of her. This was it, her first charm! She nearly vibrated with excitement and even rose up on her heels as she made the movement. Eagerly, she chirped, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather fluttered a bit, as if a very gentle breeze had blown past it. Oh, well, that was rather disappointing. She'd thought she would excel in charms because of her mother. Still, she would try again. Sometimes it took a bit of practice before you got good at something.

After a few more false starts, she suddenly remembered to pay attention to the wrist movement. And then the feather was hovering above the desk! Not any higher than a stack of her textbooks, but still! She'd managed it. Poppy beamed, a faint blush over her freckled cheeks.

  

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Club Membership in: Astronomy • Flying • Charms • Book • Quidditch

Adorably sweet set by the amazing Lady!

Cassie bounced for a moment with excitement as Professor Bowen confirmed that, yes, they would be attempting the Levitation Charm today! She drew her wand (savoring, as always, the way it felt like an extension of her hand) and made her first attempt to cast the spell. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

  

He was supposed to be at a school for divine magic. That was what Professor Griffith had told Silas this summer, when he had dazzled the boy with small miracles called magic. It was, furthermore, what his parents believed Silas was here to learn, he could not believe they would have sent him away for anything less. That he could not see such divinity in the pages of his book could only be a test of his faith, something the boy had come to accept after speaking with the sternfaced professor after the first feast of the term.

Professor Bowen had far more students to manage than his tutor at home, and for a fleeting moment Silas didn't give his different approach another thought. There was little concern about standing out among the crowd in lessons when his only companion had only ever been his brother. He bowed his head, silently wishing his short bangs were just a bit longer to cover the warmth of his cheeks, and picked up the wand set on the desk. As in the summer, Silas felt a renewed sense of purpose when he picked up the wooden rod, an assurance that he could achieve something real with this object in hand.

So he closed his hands around it, and much like Moses with his staff, offered up the most sincere prayer that someone in need could muster. Someone, somewhere, must be listening for a child's plea to move a feather. Silas might have magic, but more importantly right now, he had faith. 'To the One in whom all things are possible, please let Your will be known through me. Lift this feather from the desk.'

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   Isla Bowen

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