A Whole New Definition of "Charming"

[Caitlin Collins]

Caitlin wasn’t sure at first if she’d said the wrong thing when his expression hinted at uncertainty, but a moment later his face was positively joyous.

”This afternoon sounds perfect. How would you like to take a walk through Potter Park and then end at the Lake?”

“Sounds good to me,” she grinned back, leaning back in her chair so she could take a glance out of the window to her right. “You’re right, it is a nice day. I overslept and I hadn’t actually seen outside,” she explained. All tiredness seemed completely gone now though. This really was turning out to be an excellent day. She looked over at Mallan to see him also looking at her and grinned again, purposely forcing her gaze to the front of the class where the professor was still talking. “I wonder if this lesson will actually start or if we’re just going to be able to talk for the next hour,” she murmured quietly so only Mallan could hear her. Not that she’d be complaining if that was indeed the case – she could find out more about her new Elemental Master.

This was a fairly nice day for her in terms of lessons – they were all in the morning, meaning she had plenty of free time after lunch to do what she liked. She was currently on top of her homework and was already looking forward to the afternoon. She had finally become acclimatised to British weather, but the shock when she first returned from India had been massive. Now, at least, she could venture outside without wearing about ten extra layers. “How long have you been at Hogwarts?” she asked, “I haven’t seen you around much. Oh, wait–“ She realised with a start that they had both missed something vital from their arrangements for this afternoon. “Where shall I meet you this afternoon? And what time?”

[wynne]

Blaire hugged the books she hadn't put into her beige bag against her chest as she made her way down the hall Other students were rushing to get to class, but Blaire just couldn't get her feet to walk any faster. The day was nice and Blaire was in a pleasant mood, but she was dreading having to go to Charms. Still, being her positive self, she hoped her mood would hopefully not be ruined by Charms, not her best subject. She was always one of the last ones to get the spell right.

Finally reaching the door she walked inside. To Blaire's surprise the room was quite full of students still talking and socializing, even the professor. Nonetheless, she thought she would apologize for not being on time.

"Sorry, Professor, I couldn't get myself going this morning." She grinned and turned to wear the light would flicker on her prefect badge. She hoped that if Professor Lochrest saw it he would know she is usually very responsible and punctual.

[mallan]

Mallan was hurriedly sifting through ideas in his head for what to do this afternoon. He thought about sketching her and all the different poses he could draw her in. He thought about the activities they could do and what he would say. More possibilities kept streaming through his thoughts and so he almost missed her reply.

Wonderful! I’ve got a couple ideas. (Mallan gave her a teasing look to spark curiosity) The class? Oh, I’m sure he’ll start when he’s ready. You know teachers; everything is always on their time not the students'. It’s as if they feel they need to teach us patience and out place. (Mallan chuckled) Though, I’m sure this guy is only trying to put his thoughts together. He doesn’t seem the stuck up arrogant type.

Taking a moment, Mallan looked around the classroom. It seemed to him that this was probably the fullest class he had been in so far; here at Hogwarts at least. Everyone seemed so much nicer here. Thought of his old schools crept into his mind and brought his feelings down. Becoming aware of what was happening he quickly shoved them out and took another look at Caitlin. Another smile came to his lips and the thoughts disappeared.

Oh shoot! You’re right. (Mallan laughed at his forgetfulness) Why don’t we meet in the courtyard at three? Oh, and I’ve only been at Hogwarts for the last few months. So I’m fairly new. Well, probably more new than you think. (Mallan smirked)

Truly he was newer than most people thought. He was a sixth year and had just entered into the world of wizardry. Everything he had been learning in the last few months had been completely wondrous. It still shocked him that he was actually there, learning magic! He was so proud of himself. He had been learning with speed. It was only recently that he hit a wall with his learning. “Damn Expelliarmus,” Mallan cursed in his head. An uncontrolled slight frown appeared on his face that Caitlin would most likely have taken for being displeased with being so new. "I will master it," Mallan confirmed himself. His face turned to one of determination at the last thought.

[veranda]

Her untied long hair trailed behind her back, gently lifting and resting with each step she took. She tugged at her collar and drew out a locket. Opening it briefly with her free hand while grasping her belongings with another, she glanced at the miniature watch embedded in the locket hurriedly. Her hazel eyes darted forward once more as she resumed her running. She was late, again.

She skidded to a halt as she neared the classroom. Even through the closed door, she could hear loud chattering, and the snippets of conversation that reached her ears did not seem at all relevant to Charms. Veranda drew in deep breaths of air and glanced down once more at the locket she was holding. The two silvery snakes that acted as hands to the watch told her that she had reached the classroom ten minutes later than she should have. Taking a final breath, she pushed open the door and entered the room.

Students were clustered in groups, chatting and talking as an older male walked about, occasionally stopping to talk to one or two students. It seemed as though the class had not started, yet.

Silently, Veranda weaved through the desks and chairs and dropped herself into a vacant seat at the back of the class. It was not that she was anti social, but no one in the classroom seemed familiar to her. After all, Slytherins did not really bond well with those of other houses, and Veranda felt it would be really strange if she were to go over to a random cluster of students and introduce herself.

Dumping her bag on the floor, Veranda looked over at the Professor, wondering what he would make of her sudden and really late entrance.

[Caitlin Collins]

Mallan seemed to be in a world of his own for a few moments, before he came back to reality.

“Wonderful! I’ve got a couple ideas.”

Caity gave him an inquisitive look, her curiosity sparked. “Are you going to tell me what any of these ideas are?” she asked with a small grin, doubting that he would give in so easily and tell her his plans. It wasn’t that she didn’t like surprises; but when you thought of some of the surprises she had been through in her short time at Hogwarts (Quin pushing her off the Astronomy Tower and finding out she was a Shadow Warrior were two that came to the forefront of her mind) you could hardly blame her for being cautious. Still, hopefully his surprises won’t be quite as bad as those experiences were,[/color][/i] she thought to herself. So long as no brooms or shadows are involved it’ll be fine, she reassured herself.

“The class? Oh, I’m sure he’ll start when he’s ready. You know teachers; everything is always on their time not the students'. It’s as if they feel they need to teach us patience and out place. Though, I’m sure this guy is only trying to put his thoughts together. He doesn’t seem the stuck up arrogant type.”

Caity chuckled along with Mallan. "True, very true," she agreed.

Suddenly, she felt a sadness fall over her for no reason that she could determine. Within a few seconds it had gone again. Her confusion disappeared a moment later as Mallan replied and she forgot about it, focussing instead on their conversation.

”Oh shoot! You’re right. Why don’t we meet in the courtyard at three? Oh, and I’ve only been at Hogwarts for the last few months. So I’m fairly new. Well, probably more new than you think.”

“That’s good, I’ll meet you then. Hopefully it won't be too cold," she grimaced, remembering her first few months at Hogwarts when she was still reacclimatising to British weather. "I haven’t been at Hogwarts for that long either,” she replied, “just since October time. Missed the start of term because of other stuff going on.”

Looking around the classroom once more – not because Mallan wasn’t holding her attention, but simply because she was curious as to what everyone else was doing in what was close to becoming an extra free lesson – she saw a slightly younger girl wearing the Slytherin crest enter the room and sit herself at the back.

“Damn Expelliarmus. I will master it," she heard Mallan say, not realising that she had in fact heard his thoughts as opposed to him actually speaking. She turned back in time to see his frown change to a determined expression.

“Expelliarmus?” she questioned curiously. It seemed an odd thing to change the subject to. “You’re having trouble with it?”

[ian]

((yeah . . . we'll just pretend Vivian wasn't there and kinda gloss over the fact that it's been over two weeks since I posted . . . *cough* I am so fired. Anydangway, it's only like ten minutes past when class should've started when Vera shows up. I may be an irresponsible loon but Ian is only kinda absent minded. He wouldn't let it go half an hour. Yeesh.))

"It's Lock Rest. Thank you Mr Cruz for clearing that up. I'm sure you weren't the only student who wasn't certain. Most excellent, we'll begin shor-.

"Ah, Miss Paisley! Wonderful! So good to see a Prefect of good old Gryffindor. Mind you it won't get you any special treatment, no no. Fairness is key. It is quite all right that you didn't quite make it on time. First day of the class after all, completely understandable. Welcome! Now does everyone have the proper text with them? Marvelous. We won't be using them today. We'll begin with-

"And there we have it! Miss Fayeth I take it? Simply grand! I believe we are all here now. Do try to be a little more punctual in the future if you could, though no pressure. It would simply be a shame for you to miss out on part of the experience. We can't be lallygagging about for . . . what time is it anyway?"

With a quick glance at his watch, Ian's eyes widened as he quick stepped back to the front of the room.

"Good gracious. My apologies ladies and gentlmen. I let the thrill of meeting you all run away with my sensibilities. Now then, to business. I'm sure you all are familiar with a wide array of charms as they form the basis of most any magical repertoire. There are however advanced magics that function at a heightened power level than the standard fair you have likely been taught.

"Now please understand that these are, as I've said, advanced magics. Brilliant as I believe all of you are . . . Indeed it seems there is a remarkably small number of students. It does make one wonder if perhaps we are a dying breed? But no, the number of muggleborns seems irrefutable proof to debunk that theory. It does seem odd though that not only are there significantly fewer students that when I attended, but the average intellect seems to have skyrocketed. It is for this very reason that I believe you may benefit from that which I plan to teach you whereas at fifteen I would have been completely lost concerning such spellwork."

Ian half sat, half leaned on his desk and folded his arms across his chest, his eyes scanning the room.

"Now for an initial test of the general ability of our group, who here has successfuly conjured a fully corporeal patronus?"

[Keaira O'Connell]

After what had seemed to be an eternity of simply doodling upon the notebook that adorned her desk she became aware that the class seemed to be progressing. As she looked upon the paper she realized that she had drawn a full out scene of two people dancing under the moonlight. It looked as if there was a man with medium length hair, and a girl that had medium long hair pulled up in a bun. The girls head rested on the boys’ shoulder, a comfortable looking pose where the two of them must have been happy in.

Somewhere in her subconscious she heard Zee greet her, and ask about her day. She didn’t look up from her paper, but simply thought back to him. “Hi Zee, I’m fine. You?” Her drawing slowly became more detailed as the class went along nearly 10 minutes in to it without even so much as a topic that they were going to truly pursue. But it seemed that she was not destined to draw for the rest of the class. Lockrest had finally begun to address the class as a whole, and started by asking a very irreverent question. In response Keaira raised her hand and asked a question of her own.

“Professor, although I myself can form a corporeal patronus, I fail to understand how that has anything to do with Charms class as that is a spell that they teach in Defense Against Dark Arts, and if I remember correctly that spell uses very different techniques from most of your standard charms doesn’t it?”

[ian]

Turning eagerly to face the voice that spoke up, Ian's ever-present smile widened in anticipation. Nodding approvingly at the admission of being patronus capable, Ian's smile dimmed somewhat and became more inquisitive as Keaira continued. As she finished a knowing grin spread and he nodded more enthusiastically.

"Quite an astute observation Ms O'Connell. It is true that it is not the charms class that typically teaches students how to summon a patronus, which I have always thought somewhat odd given that it is referred to as the patronus charm. Regardless, I am not necessarily suggesting that we learn the patronus charm. It is merely a relatively well known advanced bit of wandwork that should give me some idea of your ability."

Ian pushed off his desk and paced back and forth at the head of the class, hands clasped behind his back.

"I encourage you all to follow Ms O'Connell's example. If you have a question, however impertinent you may think it, please fire away. You are here to learn after all, so your questions are in fact more important than mine. So then, one of our illustrious prefects can summon a patronus. What about the rest of you? There is no shame in answering negatively. I should be very surprised if all of you have even found opportunity or reason to attempt such a charm, much less done so successfully. I assure you you will receive no bad marks for prior work in my class, nor shall any of your peers be permitted to poke fun, though I'm sure none would even consider it."

[tori]

As each student entered the classroom, Tori looked up from her doodling only to continue once her curiosity was satisfied. Her attention was captured a moment longer when Zee walked into the room. He swiftly took a seat next to Keaira after saluting Professor Lochrest, without acknowledging anyone else. Before he sat down, Tori had lifted a hand to wave at him but upon noticing his withdrawn manner, she slowly lowered her arm back to her desk. Shrugging and pushing away the slight hurt, Tori again went back to her notepad. A grin spread across her lips as the Professor realized the time; she had half hoped he would forget the class altogether and allow everyone to socialize. But as the lesson began she settled back in her seat and awaited instructions.

She listened with interest to his question of who could conjure a patronus, Keaira's question and his subsequent response. Not sure what to think of their dialogue, she raised her hand in response to Professor Lochrest's first and repeated question. Even though she had never needed to use a patronus, Tori knew the wisdom of being prepared. What with the rumors of dementors roaming the Forbidden Forest and her somewhat reckless nature, it didn't hurt to know such a spell.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah watched as first Keaira, then Tori's hands lifted into the air as a statement that each was capable of summoning a corporeal patronus. She thought briefly of her own gryphon patronus, but wasn't entirely sure of the wisdom of revealing it to the student body at large at that point in time. She glanced over at Dylan in the seat beside her and then returned her attention to her notes without a word. In neat letters at the top of a fresh page, she began to pen the words 'Patronus Charm' as though she were going to take careful notes of the coming lecture. Even the idea of downplaying her own abilities was beginning to itch at the back of her mind.

She would wait. If they were called upon to demonstrate the charm, she would see about doing so privately under the guise of not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the others. There was too much uncertainty about which of the Mage's minions might be hiding amongst her classmates for her to do more than watch silently and wait to see who else might answer.

[wynne]

"Ah, Miss Paisley! Wonderful! So good to see a Prefect of good old Gryffindor. Mind you it won't get you any special treatment, no no. Fairness is key. It is quite all right that you didn't quite make it on time. First day of the class after all, completely understandable.

"Thanks Professor." She responded absently, her eyes going to the back of the room to find an empty seat. Sighing with relief, Blaire practically dived to the seat in the back of the first row. Stuffing her books back into her bag and retrieving some parchment, she quickly wrote her name and 'Charms' at the top. Overhearing the talk about patronuses, Blaire cringed. She had never even tried to produce a patronus, in fact she didn't even know if she'd even thought about it.

Contemplating whether to raise her hand and admit that she had no idea what she was getting herself into, Blaire wrote 'Patronus' on her parchment.

"Professor, I've never tried to produce a patronus." Raising her hand hesitantly.

[Dylan Cooper]

Finally noticing that the professor appeared to be paying attention to the valuable class time he’d been all but using valuably, his ears perked up, ready to take in what was said. With the comment about the wizarding peoples being a ‘dying breed’, Dylan raised an eyebrow in what could barely be perceived as a change of expression at all. An interesting comment to make indeed, especially considering the increasing rate at which Hogwarts students and staff were disappearing or ending up dead. Moving on from such a topic, his mind attempted to re-focus on the task at hand.

His attention was completely caught by the mention of patronuses. Knowing to tread carefully around the subject, he caught a small glance that D’rorah directed his way and returned it briefly before turning his eyes back towards the professor. Listening to Keaira’s comments, he wondered at the decision to announce to a class full of students whose alignment’s were far from known that she was quite able to form a fully corporeal patronus. She made a good point about the current topic being one usually covered in Defence Against the Dark Arts, however, one that had been on his mind since the mentioning of it.

Hearing Tori announce that she, too, was confident in her abilities of summoning a patronus, he looked once more to D’rorah to see that she would most likely be abstaining, for once, from contributing to such a discussion. Pertinently following her lead, it took him a while to remember that he was actually having trouble conjuring one lately. The messenger patronus he had sent to D’rorah on the night of the Masquerade had been weak, weaker by far than his normal standards. With the pure light form of his beagle that could protect against the shadows within the forest being a rather key component in helping to defend himself and others, it actually began to nag at him that he needed to work on it. That and every other spell, all of which he was having trouble casting to the same level of adeptness he had shown previous to the two attacks upon his persons.

Hearing the admittance by Blaire that she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to cast a patronus, he raised his own hand. Jotting down a few personal notes on the corner of his parchment, he cleared his throat lightly. “I’m struggling to form a fully corporeal patronus, sir… Really, at the moment, it wouldn’t do anything at all against an enemy,” he admitted in his quiet voice, ensuring that his eyes were caught by nobody’s, especially D’rorah’s, out of pure embarrassment.

[ian]

"Ms. Reed. Splendid. Any others?"

Ian grinned as he pointed to Tori briefly, acknowledging her indication of patronus proficiency. Again he scanned the room for any other hands or comments and it wasn't long at all before Blaire spoke up, admitting that she had never even attempted the advanced spell. With a simple nod Ian spoke.

"Of course you haven't Ms. Paisley. Had I not heard tell of multiple appearances by the silvery little things all about the school I wouldn't have expected any of you to have ever attempted the spell. It isn't typical curriculum by any means, or at least it wasn't while I was in school. Things seem to have progressed since then. If you'd like to learn it I'm sure there are any number of talented students who have explored that particular strain of magic and would be delighted to assist you. Or I myself would be available. It is a tricky technique to learn, but once you have it it becomes far easier."

Ian's eyes roamed the class as he finished, so to let all his students know the invitation to learn was open to them all. When Dylan spoke up Ian focused on the boy, nodding along with his words. His eyebrows raised considerably at Dylan's proclamation that his patronus would do little in a battle.

"Why my dear boy why would you think you'd need a patronus in a battle? No no no, they are used primarily as messengers. Best courier in the world, a patronus. Now I have heard these rumors of dementors and such in the Forbidden Forest, but the solution to that little conundrum seems to be to stay out of the forest. I do hope Mr. Cooper you weren't planning on going in there to battle some dementor for sport. Most inadvisable that. So barring the ill conceived adventure into the Forbidden Forest, I don't see why any of you should need a patronus for defense. Who after all would wish to attack schoolchildren?"

Chuckling at the ridiculous notion, Ian went back to blithely scanning the room, hoping he'd get some response from his other pupils.

[Dylan Cooper]

After potentially embarrassing himself in front of his classmates, Dylan’s reaction to the reply received was not pleasant. His brows furrowing in disbelief and frustration and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. Lochrest was effectively making a fool of his very statement, and so him, and he most certainly did not take kindly to it. Anger quite evident upon his features, he was glad for the sake of any enemies that might be present within the class that he was seated at the front where only D’rorah and perhaps Cavan might see his expression.

Considering that the professor was speaking to him as one might a five-year-old who asked a completely naïve question, he didn’t regard being treated as stupid a very proper thing to be done by one in a teaching position. The confidence he currently held for his spell casting and learning abilities often drew the conclusion that perhaps being set on fire had made him stupid in some way; or perhaps it had been the continued bashing of his skull into the ground. One might never know. Added to the continued frustration of trying and trying again to get his wand work right, his normally mild temper had risen to the surface far too often recently for him to be mellow in the face of such comments.

Realising just how dull the professor must very well be in the matters of the world, he had a fleeting desire to push himself back from the desk and rise from his seat; perhaps to punch the man in the face. In retrospect, however, such a thing was quite out of the question. Not only would it be incredibly stupid to even attempt to hit a professor in the face, but he couldn’t be sure of the allegiance of anyone within this classroom. Pushing his pride aside, he simply cast a small, withering look toward the professor which was quickly suppressed by a small smirk. “Perhaps, when your head descends from the clouds, professor,” he said, that last word having a slight catch attached to it. “You might perhaps realise that not everyone within these walls is below even the first year level of intelligence, and choose your words more carefully,” he concluded succinctly, his eyes running over the man with dislike.

His anger threatening to overcome him, he stood up with an ugly look on his face that the larger percentage of his classmates will never have seen upon his features previously. Slinging his bag across his back and collecting the remainder of his things within his arms, he passed both Dee and Cavan and made it to the centre aisle of the room, his eyes remaining fixed upon the professor, etched with contempt. The chuckle having been emitted from Lochrest’s throat had finally caused him to live out at least the first half of his ideal set of events, and while he still kept his fist out of the man’s nose, it was a close call.

Traipsing quickly to the back of the room, he wrenched the door open and, without closing it, began up the corridor, muttering small comments of “useless” and “moronic” under his breath. His anger had not been entirely representative of Dylan Cooper; the normally laid-back Ravenclaw prefect had recently been under immense amounts of pressure, however, gained from both his classes, peers and, moreover, himself. Heading in a random direction, he seethed with unveiled rage and continued, moving as far away from the classroom as possible.

[Cavan Mikal Weiss]

Cavan sighed in relief when the class finally started, he was getting slightly restless, he had no patience for idol chatter, one of the few traits he’d gained from his father. He wanted to learn, if he’d wanted to socialize he wouldn’t have more classes than he needed. He listened to the ramblings of Professor Lochrest, notepad out for note taking, jotting down anything of interest, even if it did not pertain to the lesson.

He couldn’t help thinking that their professor must be new to such a position, as he seemed overly exuberant and nonchalant about the class as he half sat, half leaned on the desk in the front of the classroom and his arms folded across his chest, eyes scanning the room. He didn’t think wizards a dieing race, that there were few students at the moment meant only that families were scared in these uncertain times. He knew his parents often wrote him about the unrest among the community as well as with the many magical creatures that often times stayed on their land.

A fully corporal patronus? He raised a brow at the professor’s question, confused as to why that pertained to charms, as it was a Defense charm. Before he could say anything however, Keaira was already asking. What she didn’t ask, that he really wanted to know, was why he expected any of them to know how to conjure a normal patronus charm, not even fully corporeal was a rare thing for a student to manage. He stayed silent, he couldn’t produce one, he had only recently finished the second year’s DADA book and wouldn’t be that far along for another few months. Finally as Professor Lochrest pushed off his desk and paced back and forth at the head of the class, hands clasped behind his back, he seemed like he might be getting into actually teaching.

Cavan watched as Tori's hands lifted into the air as a statement that she too was capable of summoning a corporeal patronus. He glanced over at D’rorah and Dylan in the seats beside him and then returned his attention to the class without a word. He wondered how many students actually could do such a spell. He knew he was a ways behind the others with spells craft, but was he really that far behind? Granted he was only a first year, but he had worked hard to be up to par with at least the third years. He decided against flaunting his inabilities, he’d learn was he was taught and go from there.

Cavan sighed, which could have been construed as boredom, when Blaire admitted to never having tried. He knew that it meant nothing in the class, but it still reassured him that he wasn’t as far behind as he might have thought a moment ago. His interest was peaked slightly when Professor Lochrest made the comment that there had been sightings of multiple patronus on campus. This too he knew was more important than perhaps the professor himself even realized.

Then Dylan raised his hand, he was slightly surprised by the confession and couldn’t help noticing that to him it was extremely important to have a patronus that was strong enough for battle. Like D’rorah’s uneasiness near the Forbidden Forests, he knew this held something more, and he was almost sure it actually involved the forest in some way. Still he said nothing.

Cavan’s jaw set at the response Dylan was given. He’d never heard such, such idiocy. It was clear that the man didn’t even realize how insulting he had just been, as he had been when first greeting Cavan himself. Then he chuckled and his jaw dropped in shock. Completely oblivious, was this man really that stupid? They weren’t imbeciles and if it weren’t for the fact that he needed this class, he probably would have walked out right then.

Cavan watched as Dylan’s brows furrowed in disbelief and frustration and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. Until that moment he hadn’t realized just how stupid Professor Lochrest was, it was obvious now that Dylan was having trouble with more than just one charm to get so angry so quickly. He bit his lip, holding back what would have been an attempt to calm the other boy, but they didn’t know each other, and he wouldn’t stop him from leaving or telling their professor off, after all, he’d already done it in a polite and snobby way.

He watched with wide eyes as the anger threatening to overcome Dylan, contorting his face with an ugly look. As Dylan slung his bag across his back and collecting the remainder of his things within his arms, passing both D’rorah and himself he could see that if he could have hit the professor without getting into trouble, he would have. Cavan didn’t turn as the other boy made his way to the back of the room, but he heard the door being wrenched open and the silence of it not being closed.