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Join Date: May 2008 Location: Hobbiton
Posts: 24,239
Hogwarts RPG Name:
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Ravenclaw
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Ronnie Thurkell
Gryffindor Seventh Year
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|  Didn't reply directly to everyone,but included your answers on the 'board' lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaetha  Hah! Adrienne won something! She was clearly the awesomest person in this entire class. Except maybe for the other two people who also won things. BUT! She was still awesomer, just because she... uh. Was cool.
"Kelpies usually look like a horse with a mane made of rushes, but they can shapeshift, and they would trick people into getting onto their backs and then drown them and eat them." Smiles. "So... a wand with a core of Kelpie rushes would probably be kind of violent, and maybe deceptive, too?" Did that make any sense? Adrienne then launched into a short tirade about Augureys, which were clearly the coolest birds ever. "Augureys are shy and sad and they sing when it's going to rain, although in the past people thought that it meant that they were going to die if they heard their cry, and their feathers repel ink, and they're kind of green and weird-looking." Right, relating this back to wands. "The owner of an Augurey-feather wand would probably be kind of shy or melancholy too?" As for dittany, well, she didn't really know anything about plants. "No, not violent, but deceptive properties exist within a core of Kelpie Bulrushes. A wand on its own isn't inherently violent." Ira rubbed his face and wished that this day would end, but really it was only just the beginning. "The owner of a wand with Augurey feather may share some of the perceived traits of an Augurey, but it is also common for such a wand to cleave with someone that lacks those traits, perhaps someone who needs that balance. It tends to be either like-to-like, or opposites attract when it comes to matching a wand to a wizard or witch, no real middle ground." So yes, see he was saying some things. Information things. Ira added some of the girl's points to the board. Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Caleb had, shockingly, been sitting quietly in the back during this seminar and was now wondering if he should leave, cause he didn't know ANYTHING about wands. Like at ALL. He could barely remember what was in his own wand! That was another reason he'd been so quiet - he was trying to remember the core of his own wand. What was it again? UGH he needed to write this information on the back of his hand or something. He debated asking the guy who was holding the seminar, since he'd actually given him his wand, but that would be SO embarrassing and Caleb did not like being embarrassed.
After a long LONG time of thinking, he had his form filled out and decided to join in the seminar. He raised his hand. "Um, a Augurey is a type of bird, isn't it?" he guessed. It SOUNDED right.
"... where's your permission slip?" Kid couldn't go on the trip without it. And yes, Ira DID remember this one, and his wand. Especially his wand. Okay, more the wand than the boy. "Stiff Fir." He added. Quote:
Originally Posted by GrapehGrape Adelaide thought it over for a bit. She didn't know much about any of those things. She knew that dittany was a plant, a kelpie was a water demon, and an augurey was a bird. But other people in the seminar had already touched on those things. She bit her lip, trying to go through her brain to see if she could come up with anything else from all of the books she'd read.
Then an idea hit her. She raised her hand. "With dittany being such a powerful tool in healing, would it be more useful for healing charms?" It made sense to her that the dittany would strengthen those specific charms. "Yes, very good for healing spells." Ira agreed, not sounding pleased about it exactly, but not looking quite so grumpy as normal either. Quote:
Originally Posted by Bazinga So mr. wand man didn't like a challenge. Hmmm interesting. Still would have been fun to try to get the whiskers even though if it hurt the troll she wouldn't have liked doing that. No maybe he knew what he was doing not having them try to get whiskers and get beat by a troll. Hogwarts was dangerous enough without issue on a field trip.
Putting up her hand at the next quesiton, "Sir, the Augurey's feathers repel ink so they can't use them for quills. Is that why they are better in wands does it make the power of the wand more intense do to the repelling factor?" She thought about this as she waited for his response. Better in wands? Than what? Than in quills or than other cores? Ira eyed the girl. "It doesn't effect the power of the wand, but with the right wood, an Augurey feather core is excellent for the Impervius charm, as well as any other protective charms that aren't necessarily defensive in nature." Quote:
Originally Posted by Princesspower WHOA! This lesson was flying as was Sarah's hand across the page as she wrote. She could barely make out what she wrote, yet perhaps writing would commit it all to memory. Not that she needed to take notes, with all her vast general knowledg gathered until now she never took notes. Maybe because OWLs were serious and things, and she wanted to have good habits. She was disapointed that she never won a kit, not that she thoght she would ever need one, yet she did like free stuff.
So now the things on the board.. Sarah raised her hand. "well, I first heard of Dittany in relation to its healing properties and in potions, using it as a wand core is the newest bit of information about it. So perhaps, wands with a dittany core would be most useful to those in the healer professions? Or maybe Aurors would need it on the job. Using muggle sources, Pliny used it in his book Natural History in relation to does, so maybe a profession relating to Care of Magical creatures would be good." She really thought that she should give others a chance.. she was wokring on herself not to be so attracted to attention.
"an Augurey is known as the Irish Phoenix.. as Adrienne they are thought to be deeply depressing creatures... if there was a witch who had only Augurey characteristics I would feel bad for them. Anyways.. the feathers repel ink, so perhaps they repel other things and are thus useful in a duel?" She was just guessing. Was she allowed to do that?
Now onto Kelpies, "Kelpies are shape shifters, so maybe those properties would be good for transfigurations... all these are guesses by the way" "Dittany is good for healing." The rest he wasn't going to get into, this business about professions and the like...no. But sweet Circe she was still talking. Ira listened. What was this? A witch specifically? Strange child. And Ira was sure that anyone who happened to identify with an Augurey wouldn't much care for miss unyielding Chestnut's sympathy. "Augurey cores are good at repelling spells, but not necessarily in a defensive sense." As for Kelpie cores, "Yes, Kelpie Bulrushes are good for transfiguration spells." So... that part was a good guess. Quote:
Originally Posted by hermionesclone So Augureys, Dittany and Kelpies were used in wand core too? ... That... was kind of weird. Or just unusual, as the man had put it earlier. Or maybe he was just far too used to hearing cores like unicorn hair and dragon heartstring and that's why the other ones sounded a little odd. Maybe.
But... they had to talk about one of the options, yeah? Alec sat back a little and tapped his chin with the end of his quill. Dittany... was good for healing, he knew that. But quite a few people had mentioned that already. Then again, people had talked about Augureys too. And Kelpies. Could he just... branch off of what one of them had said? Yeah?
... And he was going with what the Ravenclaw girl from Astronomy had said. Scary girl, she was. He took a deep breath and raised a hand in the air. "Well... Kelpies are water demons and... it's hard to capture them because they're sneaky, like some people have said," What was that girl's NAME? "So maybe the cores are used for wands that are good with... not necessarily Dark Arts but people who are good at being... sly? Sneaky? And can sometimes use magic that could be used for personal gain?" Guesses. He was good at making those.
... And... Transfiguration like someone else said. Why didn't he think of that? "Kelpie Bulrushes often match with Slytherins and, sometimes but less often, Ravenclaws, and with Gryffindors who could do with some subtlety if that's what you mean." With the sly aspect and such. "But almost any wand can be matched with someone who intends to use magic for personal gain." Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo Admittedly...Alexa wasn't all that great at guessing games and didn't NEED a free anything when she could ask her Daddy to get her things so she sat back in her seat and listen to the others all get 'no's until those three students got it right and they were ready to move on. Good.
Or not...
No.
They were still talking about cores and the creatures related to them. If this was what they were doing then she had a statement followed shortly by a question. "Kelpie hair's considered to be inferior when you compare it to cores like Unicorn hair, dragon heartstring and...um...phoenix feather, right." That's what she knew about the core, but she wasn't done yet. "If that's the case then why use it at all? Ollivanders boasts selling the finest wands, they can't be that good if their made of inferior cores as rare as you say they are." Someone still got them. Poor sucker, wherever they were. Quote:
Originally Posted by Meizzner So two questions then. It seemed most were answering the second. So first it is. Merlin, that is a lot of presuming to be done on a field trip. Though field trips were always fun.
"I know kelpie cores are said to be inferior to the common ones like unicorn hair, phoenix feather, and dragon heartstring."
Plus all you need to do was take a defense against the dark arts class to know what the creatures are.
"As defined by Garrick Ollivander, and as much personal preference as because he was best with Unicorn Hair, Dragon Heartstring, and Phoenix Feather cores. His skill did not lie with other core types and really, it was pretty bloody good marketing since it nearly put several other wandmakers entirely out of business at the time. So I'm telling you it is not necessarily the case; the three main cores, which we still use the majority of the time, are easier to work with, and easier to match, but quite often someone who would have done better with a different core may be matched with one of those three, and never quite be satisfied without knowing why, simply because alternatives weren't available or nobody bothered to explore them - this is something that we pride ourselves on avoiding at Ollivanders. As a wandmaker I can tell you other substances aren't necessarily inferior as they are difficult to effectively balance with a wood." Ira, looking grumpy but sounding matter-of-fact, informed Miss strong English Oak and Mister balanced Walnut. Quote:
Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl What did they know about Kelpies, Aurgureys, and dittany? This wasn't too bad of a question and something she could actually answer since she'd been silent for most of the others. Answering everything she knew about all three would take too long though, and she didn't want to talk that much. So she'd just stick to something about Kelpies for now. Her hand was in the air.
"The Loch Ness Monster is actually a Kelpie." That was always something she'd thought interesting. "And you can make them harmless by putting a bridle on them with the Placement Charm." So that was probably how everyone else would be getting their Kelpie bulrushes during the trip. "Yes, that's right." Loch Ness and such. "Yes, Placement charm." Kind of IMPORTANT for this whole situation really. "You: a Polish Kit for that to the value of 10 Galleons." Yep. He'd sort her out with that later.
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Originally Posted by Mad Eye Touz
BEAMING. "What he said!" Yeah! 'Cause he was the G R Y F F I N D O R Prefect. ANd he deserved a HIGH FIVE. The HIGHEST of fives. And because Zahra was in over her head with this class with no chance of resurfacing, she just... well had she ever even started listening? Hmm. HEHE
No big though. SHE OFFERED JAKE A HUGE HIGH HIGH FIVE. He was totally her favorite and said true things and "WOnder what fairies taste like?"
...
"What DO fairies taste like? You ever tried one, Wand man?" Oh. Oh Merlin a THOUGHT. "So if you got an Augurey in your wand, and an Augureys got a FAIRY in his belly, then you gotta fairy in your wand too." Zahra was still thinking.... "that'd be cool." Yep. Decided.
"No." He hadn't. "And no, because you don't use a whole Augurey," Why the hell was he EXPLAINING THIS? "Just the feathers, and there wouldn't be any in there." This kid, he knew who this kid would be foisted off with for the field trip. Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Wow! Adi didn't know what to expect but the three surprised him. Whatever the reason may be. Most students volunteered answers about the animals but he raised his hand intending to add a bit about dittany.
"It can be used in Potion making and can help skin that has been um, removed to grow back.''
.... what can? What? Was he supposed to be a mind reader? Ira eyed the little boy. Eyed him. Eyeeeeeeeed.... and then added the potions part to the board. ________________________
Having heard all the given answers, and selectively responded to some, Ira checked the board and then added other things that had either been missed or not expanded upon with enough detail. Quote: Dittany (Stalks)
Dittany is a healing herb, heals wounds and scars
Dittany grows fresh skin when applied to wounds
Dittany gives off flammable vapours, also known as the Burning Bush
Can be used as a potions ingredient
When burned, the smoke can be used for divination purposes
Dittany Stalk cores are good for healing spells, divination spells, and are a good helpmate for brewing potions. They have an affinity for fire magic and conjuring spells. It is a subtle core, and not usually suited for powerful offensive magic, or for loud and brash individuals.
Kelpie (Bulrushes)
Kelpies are water demons that take the form of a horse
They are shapeshifters
They are sneaky
They trick people into getting on their backs so they can drown them
They eat people
The Loch Ness Monster is a Kelpie
A Kelpie can be rendered docile and harmless if a placement charm is used to put a bridle on its head
XXXX ministry rating
Kelpie Bulrushes are well-suited for transfiguration magic; particularly transformation spells, and it makes an excellent core for those with metamorphamagus or animagus abilities. It has an affinity for water magic, and has never been known to bond to individuals who cannot swim. Those with an affinity with magical creatures tend to do well with this core.
Augurey (Feathers)
Augureys are a type of bird
Also known as the Irish Phoenix
Native range is Ireland and the UK
Augureys are shy and sad
Augureys sing/cry when its going to rain, people used to think they sang to foretell death
Their feathers are greenish-black
Their feathers repel ink, not good for quills
They eat fairies, insects, and flies
They live in a tear-shaped nest amongst thorns and brambles
Augurey Feather cores tend to be difficult to match with a wood, and tends to cleave to lighter-coloured woods more often than darker woods. They are excellent for water spells, repelling spells, and any magic used for general protective spells such as locking spells, burglar charms, Impervius,and fire-proofing spells. Augurey Feather core wands are not 'social' and do not like to be touched by anyone but their owner, and may spontaneously develop thorns to scratch and prick a would-be thief. "You should copy that stuff down, since it relates directly to what you'll be tasked with on the field trip." He paused just long enough to hear some quills scratching away, "You'll also be having a go at harvesting a type of wand wood. Just one wand wood mind you: Rowan. You'll be looking for a Wiggentree in particular. For those of you who are familiar with the Study of Ancient Runes, you may have some idea of how one might best harvest wand wood, its similar to how you choose wood for making a rune set. Please, tell the class if you have any knowledge about this method of gathering magical wood, and if you don't know, then tell the class what you know about Rowan, and about Wiggentrees." OOC: RE: dittany, I'm mostly using the canon information for dittany, rather than being too picky about 'muggle' information where there is dittany vs false dittany and such. Canon dittany is seemingly a combination of dittany of Crete + false dittany, so that's what we're going with. Just wanted to make that clear for anyone who notices things 
So just in quick summary at this point, the field trip will consist of attempting to gather the three listed cores, and some Rowan wood. The current question is about what your character knows about harvesting wood for magical purposes, and about what they know about Rowans and magical Rowans.
Yes, people can still join in, see instructions in the first post.
Sorry this post took so long (it took me four hours to do O_O I'm out of practice) I'll start the next post in 4-6 hours.
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