Two tall windows, bare of any ornament, looked out over the astronomy tower and the forbidden forest. Unlike the adjoining classroom with its elaborate stained glass, the office maintained a certain severity that seemed to suit its master. Professor Griffith sat at the stone table in the center of his room and worked on a stack of essays. He was expecting a student who had articulated an interest in tutoring.

Arcane ambitions
Two tall windows, bare of any ornament, looked out over the astronomy tower and the forbidden forest. Unlike the adjoining classroom with its elaborate stained glass, the office maintained a certain severity that seemed to suit its master. Professor Griffith sat at the stone table in the center of his room and worked on a stack of essays. He was expecting a student who had articulated an interest in tutoring.
"Professor Griffiths, Thank you for seeing me." came a high pitched and clearly excited voice from the doorway of the classroom. Antelope was an eclectic girl, interested in all the dark that magic had to offer, it was a sharp contrast to her extremely sunny disposition and she almost floated in to the classroom wanting to learn about one of the most mysterious of all magical subjects.
She had five elective slots to fill next year, only five, it didn't nearly seem enough for everything she wanted to learn, so she needed to be careful, one wrong choice and that was it. She was already expecting an E to O in potions this year, so hopefully she had the foundation there to delve into alchemy. She had visions of her in her lab, a little private room in her husband's manor no doubt, turning base metals into all manner of wonderful things. Perhaps not gold, but maybe something more exciting.
"I read the pre-course notes you told me too, i have them here with my own additions. I'm excited to see what your subject is about." she waltzed across the room and found her way to whatever station she felt was made ready for her. The room seemed so grey and drab as she spun her head round looking at one of the rooms she had never been here. Her hair brightened more towards a golden blonde, but only subtly as the room influenced her and her personality asserted itself against the gloominess, she was ready.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
One of the many things he needed to accustom himself to in his new position was the presence of young ladies such as Miss Antelope Grace. Not only did her name suggest a lithe grazing animal in the African steppe, she was excessively chipper—it was a trait of character that made Professor Griffith rather uncomfortable. He had lived a solitary life for many years, removed from all facets of life and persons that did not strictly align with his profession or his family. Perhaps it had lowered his tolerance towards vivacious young ladies.
"Please take a seat, Miss Grace," he said to her.
"I consulted your Head of House about your inquiry. From an academic perspective, you appear suitably equipped to pursue Alchemy. Might I enquire as to your expectations of the subject? What interests you in Alchemy?", he asked.
From the pre-course literature he handed out to students could be gleamed that it was not an easy subject. If chosen without the correct kind of ambitions, it could cause much strife to acquire a satisfactory NEWT-grade in his class.
The girl cocked her head only slightly, of course he would speak to professor Skeeter about her merits, it only made sense, and Antelope felt she was more than bright enough to get what she wanted.
What were her expectations? "Thank you for asking professor. I find myself quite fascinated by the darker sides of magic, the sort of things you have to go looking under rocks to find." she was the sort of girl who would use samples of her own blood to test whether it encouraged a vampiric plant to thrive. Her herbology professor might have told him that too, she assumed he had read it in her monthly notes already?
But as to alchemy specifically "I am curious about how things can be changed, maybe its something to do with my own changeable nature?" she didn't really know, it was an inexorably draw to curiosity that drove her, she loved life and the more she could fill it with enjoyment, that could only improve it. "I don't think I give you a better answer than that, sir." she smiled sweetly, eager to begin.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
"You are a metamorphmagus, so you are inclined towards all transforming arts," he said slowly. "However, Alchemy is not merely transforming one thing into another. It requires precision, dedication, and above all, understanding of natural law."
He leaned back in his chair a little and considered the person on the other side of the table, perhaps more thoroughly than before. "Do you have full control of your abilities to change your appearance? Or are they of a temperamental nature?" he asked. Metamorphmagi were rare. He had known one in his life, a long time ago.
"The dark aspects you speak of are inherent to the craft—this is true. But they are not what defines it."
His dark eyes settled on her bright young face. "Should you choose to pursue Alchemy, you must understand that the darkness you find fascinating is merely a byproduct of delving into the foundations of magic. It is not sought for the sake of it."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in the room. "Are you prepared to approach the subject with rigor? I have developed some excercises for students who wish to find out if they have the natural abilities that lend itself to the subject"
Antelope had a thoughtful look on her face. "I have been asked this a few times, sir. And I have two answers, from a certain perspective I have only partial control of my abilities as when my mood peaks or troughs, I can sometimes involuntarily transform... however, my moods are also part of me, so I guess from another perspective I am fully in control." She gave a smile and raised her eyebrow, she understood the silliness of her answer but what was she if not a person who enjoyed themselves?
She listened a little further to the professor, she was aware of the dedication that alchemy took and the difficulty that some found in the course. But she was a gifted student, and any gaps in her dedication, which if she was honest, did come from time to time, were usually filled in by her natural intelligence. Her eyes lit up with the mention of exercises. "I am ready sir, I hope you will find me quite the capable study."
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
He put it down on the table in front of Miss Grace. Then he placed a piece of copper in its middle.
"This is a very simple transmutation circle. You don't need to understand it at this stage. Take it into your hands and take care to hold it level," he said and waited until she did.
"The task is simply to see if you can direct any of your magic at all into this circle. If the lines start glowing, the channels of your magic are open and connected to the circle. It takes some concentration. You are using your magic already independently of your wand to change your appearance."
He regarded her with some curiosity."It might put you ahead of your peers. Might. I never tested this."
He leaned back and gestured for her to go ahead.
"Whenever you are ready, Miss Grace."
Antelope took the plate and held it up at her eye level, she examined the lines around it. She had been told that she didn't need to understand it, but she couldn't help but wonder what they all meant, after all, that is what she was here for.
She held it as level as she could and concentrated, trying to picture the lines in her mind glowing and she encouraged her magic to reach out to it. It felt strange doing it this way, a wand gave you something to channel your magic through and it felt so natural, like the momentum of a good swish and flick helping pill magic along its core, this felt altogether different.
She focused hard and felt her face change, just subtle differences as she concentrated but the professor would see the commitment.
Samuel Griffith
OOC
I am going to say 4
She is very bright, inquisitive and wants to be a good witch
But that priority on being fun and being a little scatterbrained takes her down a pip.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
So he did not expect much. Watching the girl's face morph its shape in concentration was fascinating, he had to admit—suddenly, the lines of the circles lit up in a bright light, the piece of copper levitated and before Professor Griffith could utter a word of praise or caution, the structure shifted off-balance and recoiled.
A sharp and whistling noise cut through the air, the piece of copper turned liquid and exploded in all directions and Miss Grace let go of the slab of marble in shock. Professor Griffith caught it with his hand before it could shatter on the floor. A book fell out of the shelf behind them and the documents on his table fluttered as if moved by a gust of wind.
"Are you alright, Miss Grace?" asked Professor Griffith.
OOC: sorry, that was a crit fail!
Antelope's magic did indeed follow her gaze into the alchemical instrument that she held in front of her, but she quickly felt something was wrong and couldn't quite control the flow of magic.
"Oh no" she muttered just before it exploded in front of her and the room was filled with the flash. The professor caught the tile and bits of metal showered the room. As she raised her head back up she felt something on her cheek and touched it. A smear of red blood daubed her fingers, not so much as to put her in peril but enough to give her a reminder of the risks inherent in the exploration of magic. It stung, a lot.
Professor Griffith too would see the cut that now extended from the softest part of her cheek up to her cheekbone, but he would also see a little sparkle of determination in her eyes. "I am quite alright professor, thank you. I believe that that was not supposed to happen." She laughed, and then winced as her smile pulled on the sore part of her cheek, quickly checking her wide grin to something more subtle. "I'm curious what I did wrong, although the fact that it responded to me in some way is quite heartening," she would rather it explode than do nothing after all. "But... my understanding of alchemy is that subtlety good, explosions bad." She laughed again, winced again, and furrowed her brow to tell herself to stop doing that. Professor Griffiths would be quickly finding out how much inescapable optimism the girl had and that could always find a positive, even as she pulled out a tissue to dab blood from her face.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
He found a piece of gauze and soaked it with the tincture, to give it to the girl.
"This should take care of the cut," he said and then he smiled cautiously. "That was a recoil reaction. It simply means that the magic found its way but failed to establish balance."
To manage a recoil of that strength with a circle as small and restricted was puzzling in itself. He sat back down and put the marble slab on the table in front of him.
"What just happened is quite unexpected. Most students struggle to establish a current of magic. That was not difficult for you at all. Your magic seems close to the surface and ready to respond. I wonder if that has to do with your inherent ability as a metamorphmagus."
He contemplated that for a moment and wrote something down in his notebook. Then looked back towards the girl and said more seriously: "I am sorry to say, unless we can sort out that difficulty I cannot accept you into my Alchemy class. A volatile magical temperament is far more dangerous in Alchemy than a weak one."
Antelope thanked the professor then dabbed at the cut to tidy herself up, it was only a little bit and it wasn't the first or last time she had been injured during the course of her studies.
She listened to him and a curious look crossed her face, he might as well have just spat in her soup with the reaction she gave on her face before quickly resuming a smile, this time a little forced. But I am predicted outstanding results in potions, I have already checked the entry requirements for your course and would not have applied if I did not consider myself up to the task."
There were subtle changes in her metamorphic face where she was fighting her emotions of both crossness and incredulity. She took a moment, padded down her robe and calmed herself "I apologise, professor, this subject fascinates me greatly. I had looked forward to learning from you. There are not many self-taught alchemists, not alive ones anyway." She giggled and and made a little coy grin.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
Professor Griffith's face, however, did not suggest that he was in any way cross with the girl. Ambition was a trait he appreciated.
"I can offer you tutoring. If we get you to a point where you have better control of your magic, there is no reason why I should not allow you into my class next term."
The teenager smiled angelically, she knew she had been caught but she was not exactly being subtle. "I would not do such a thing, it was merely an honest observation." She giggled and relaxed, he didn't seem to cross at her for being a little manipulative. She regarded the professor warmly like she did everyone. Their two personalities were very different, but she always hoped that every room she entered would become a little bit brighter, so even if he found her irritatingly perky, he would grow to enjoy teaching her. But from his own admission, he had a risky streak of ambition too, which would be something they certainly shared.
"Thank you, professor, I would appreciate that offer and gladly accept." she nodded humbly and smiled before adding. "I don't suppose you can tell me how Moony did?"
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
He made a quick note, then flipped the page to look at his list of students named by their respective Head of Houses to be suitable for his class.
"Miss Moony has not seen me yet, and it will be weeks until she does. The list is sorted alphabetically. Why do you ask?" he enquired with idle curiosity. He remembered Professor Valenduris's description of this particular student rather well.
She nodded in affirmative and took out some lead to jot down her own notes on a small notepad she had secreted on her person. "That would be perfect professor. Thank you." She knew she wouldn't disappoint, she hoped she could quickly prove the extra lessons unnecessary and carry on without them though.
"Just curiosity really, we can't help compare ourselves to our peers and she is frightfully smart." She laughed to the professor, she respected the other girl and her enquiry could only be seen as complementary.
Her name is pronounced similarly to Penelope
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2025 MyBB Group.