Gaston was so panicked over having a student injured on his watch - and injured by fire, no less! - that he didn't even hear Derf saying he didn't think a healer was needed. The boy was probably right, but it would make Gaston feel better to have it checked out, just as a precaution. He vaguely registered the Hufflepuff prefect reassuring Emmalyn, and he gave the girl an encouraging nod. There was no way he could've managed a smile, even without the scarf covering half his face. He didn't blame Emmalyn for what had happened; he blamed himself.

He retreated to his bench, lost in guilt and traumatic memories. He remembered the pain of being burned by that flaming pot in his mother's kitchen as a child... and now he'd subjected Derf to the same thing! He didn't have long to brood before Daisy spoke. He sniffled, forcing himself to look at her. A part of him was touched by her concern, but a bigger part of him felt even guiltier for worrying her. Lowering his scarf, he gave her a wobbly smile. "Thank you for the kind offer, Miss Swann, but I'll be alright," he said. He would've given her points for her kindness any other time, but now he was so distraught that house points were the last thing on his mind. "I still have some coffee, and if this runs out, I can summon more from my office." As for what he needed, unfortunately that was something she couldn't give. What he needed most right now was to be alone to process his sadness without having to worry about falling apart in front of his class, but that wasn't happening any time soon.

Gaston sighed, willing himself to look out at his class once more. As sad as he was, he knew he would feel even worse if someone else got injured because he was too busy having a pity party to notice. To his relief, it looked like most everyone was having success with the spell now. His mind wandered to the main activity he had planned, and he was frantically reevaluating it, trying to come up with changes to make it safer. He was so absorbed in planning that it took him a minute to notice Maddie had returned. "Thank you, Miss Kemp," he said, giving a nod in acknowledgement.

He glanced at his watch and saw it was past time to move on. "Alright, class; time is UP," he said as loudly as he could with a sore throat, waving an arm to get the students' attention. "Before we move on to the next spell, what are some of the differences between the bluebell flames and incendio? What are the similarities?"

OOC: You have ABOUT 24 HOURS (5 AM EDT June 16) to answer this question.

Daisy was still looking at Professor Marchand with concern as she raised her hand at the professor's question. "Bluebell flames are waterproof because they don't rely on fuel to burn. Incendio is like lighting a fire the way Muggles do, thus making it reliable on fuel and dangerous to the touch."

Rylee blinked in surprise her eyes widening alarm at the commotion. She hadn't seen the entire incident and therefore was unsure of how Derf had managed to burn his foot but everyone offering to help and Maddie going to alert the Healer was enough. Rylee sent him a look that basically said 'she hoped he was alright'. The professor had it taken care of already so there was no reason to offer any help though she had wanted to do so.

Then there was Marchand who looked like he needed to go back to bed. Was he ill? He sounded like it when he spoke. Why hadn't he simply changed the day of the lesson so he could get some rest.. or have the lesson inside so he wasn't out in the cold? All these things crossed her mind leaving her unable to keep practicing the charm before the lesson moved on. At least she had done so already and knew that she could.

Raising her hand she gave an answer. "Bluebell flames are safe to touch or hold on the palm of your hand. You can't do that with incendio since the flames are much stronger and will burn you." A simple answer, yes, but an answer all the same.

Differences between bluebell flames and Incendio? Bluebell flames were simply awesome,
and Incendio was boring, if Daehyun were honest. And bluebell flames were a lot less dangerous, too.

He raised his hand. "Bluebell flames are cold, Incendio flames are hot. Bluebell ones are blue, the others fiery red. I'd say they're polar opposites. As for similarities? "And they're... both fire conjuring spells? I mean... they're different, but at the same time similar because it's just fire?" He was confused. They're were both conjuring fire... hot and cold fire.

Thankful that Derf seemed to be doing better and that Professor Marchand wasn't angry with her, she finally took a moment to hear the words Derf had said. She did make a bluebell flame! She tried not to let the excitement over having actually casting the spell show on her face, didn't want to seem rude since she had just burned another student, but she was absolutely giddy inside.

Once she finished her little internal celebration, she cast a worried look towards Professor Marchand. He did not look well, at all. In fact he looked down right horrid. There had to be something seriously wrong with the man. In addition to his languid appearance, he wasn't acting his normal self. "Sir, you really don't look well." She picked up her wand and said "Flammae Caeruleum!" this time extra carefully and landing the little flame firmly inside of the jar, then took it over to the professor. "Maybe warm yourself up a bit and you will feel better?" She gave him a timid smile, then returned to her seat.

When it was time to answer the next question, she held her hand up for her turn to speak. "Sir, the bluebell flame should be less dangerous." She let a little nervous giggle escape "but indendio is very dangerous since it's hot and will burn anything that fuels it."

How could she not beam at the older girls especially when they were telling her good job. She was on cloud nine getting help from them both. This was amazing and fun. Though she still hadn't actually done anything. So out her wand came and she tried to think about the spell. "Flammae Caeruleum"

Looking at the jar she huffed a bit, but knew she probably wasn't going to get it to do anything on the first or maybe five hundredth time. Chloe was determined though and she was going to get this.

Just as she put her wand up again, she heard a strained voice coming from the professor and set her wand down quickly. Grabbing her notebook she listened. What was the difference?

Did she even know?

She looked around at the older kids answering and looked back at her notes, "One is blue and one is red?"

Could that be?

Maddie returned the professor's nod of acknowledgment. Hopefully the Healer would turn up soon, and it not, hopefully the burn paste would work its magic. She turned her attention to the question that had just been asked then listened as her classmates pretty much sprouted out everything she already knew. MERLIN. They were fast! It'd be hard to come up with something different to say at this point.

The most obvious answers had already been said, so Maddie tried to think about something not so obvious. Finally, her hand rose into the air. "You can also tell the difference between them by their colors," she said. "Bluebell flames are...well--blue. Incendio produces orange and red flames."

...and just as she said that, she realized the kid just before her had said the exact same thing. Bummer.

Honestly, Ronan didn't practice the charm as much as he probably should have. But then again, he already knew it anyway, thanks to being a seventh year. So when Professor Marchand moved the lesson on, he simply extinguished the flames and listened. And didn't really have anything to add, since the main differences had already been said and there were only so many ways to say the same thing without it getting boring.

So, instead of answering, he cast the charm again. What, it was cold out here.

Penelope had tried to keep up with the Hufflepuff but her older legs quickly had her falling behind, finally though she reached charms class and entered to look around

Bluebell flames. Of course. Surely Professor Marchand had some burn paste on hand though yeah? Especially for a lesson that dealt with fire? She approached the Professor who himself looked like he needed something and gave him a smile.

“I have been summoned? What can I do for you sugar?” She said as she put a hand to her blonde hair and tried to smooth some of the strands that had come dislodged during her brief run to the charms classroom.

Derf was watching Emmalyn carefully, though his eyes were soft and affectionate, hoping that she didn't...well...spiral out of control like he often did with these sorts of things. But...she seemed to be okay - better than okay, even - which brought quite the smile to his face and then his own attention was back on his own jar containing the lopsided bluebell flame. Maybe someday...hopefully before OWLs.

At least he knew that he COULD perform the spell and produce something, which was more he could say than his patronus.

Derf was about to give the spell another go when the professor moved things along somewhat. "Um...well...bluebell flames take on more of a definite form on their own," he noted as he glanced as his own jar. "Like...it's more able to maintain itself too? Incendio we use to light burners and stuff...but it doesn't hold a shape and can't sustain itself..."

Aaaaaaaand then the healer was here. Sweet Scamander.

Derf sunk a little lower in his seat and pulled the hood of his robes over his head in a completely mature attempt to make himself look inconspicuous - which of course had the entirely opposite effect.

Text Cut: Daisy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ginevra

Daisy was still looking at Professor Marchand with concern as she raised her hand at the professor's question. "Bluebell flames are waterproof because they don't rely on fuel to burn. Incendio is like lighting a fire the way Muggles do, thus making it reliable on fuel and dangerous to the touch."

Daisy's look of concern did not go unnoticed, and a fresh pang of guilt gripped Gaston's heart for worrying her. Luckily, he saw her hand go up, and her answer gave him a momentary distraction from his sadness. "Very good, Miss Swann," he said, giving her an approving nod.

Text Cut: Rylee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Rylee blinked in surprise her eyes widening alarm at the commotion. She hadn't seen the entire incident and therefore was unsure of how Derf had managed to burn his foot but everyone offering to help and Maddie going to alert the Healer was enough. Rylee sent him a look that basically said 'she hoped he was alright'. The professor had it taken care of already so there was no reason to offer any help though she had wanted to do so.

Then there was Marchand who looked like he needed to go back to bed. Was he ill? He sounded like it when he spoke. Why hadn't he simply changed the day of the lesson so he could get some rest.. or have the lesson inside so he wasn't out in the cold? All these things crossed her mind leaving her unable to keep practicing the charm before the lesson moved on. At least she had done so already and knew that she could.

Raising her hand she gave an answer. "Bluebell flames are safe to touch or hold on the palm of your hand. You can't do that with incendio since the flames are much stronger and will burn you." A simple answer, yes, but an answer all the same.

Was Gaston imagining things or did Rylee seem a bit distracted during the practice? Or maybe he was the one distracted instead. Oh well, no time to think about that now. He called on the girl as soon as he saw her hand, listening intently as she too mentioned the difference in the flames' ability to be touched. "Yes, that's true. Thank you, Miss Prichard," he said.

Text Cut: Daniel

Quote:

Originally Posted by debpetrisor

Differences between bluebell flames and Incendio? Bluebell flames were simply awesome,
and Incendio was boring, if Daehyun were honest. And bluebell flames were a lot less dangerous, too.

He raised his hand. "Bluebell flames are cold, Incendio flames are hot. Bluebell ones are blue, the others fiery red. I'd say they're polar opposites. As for similarities? "And they're... both fire conjuring spells? I mean... they're different, but at the same time similar because it's just fire?" He was confused. They're were both conjuring fire... hot and cold fire.

Gaston saw another hand in the air and called on Daniel. A small smile formed on his lips as he listened to the boy's answer. "A very thorough answer, Mr. Yoon," he said with an approving nod. "Thank you."

Text Cut: Emmalyn

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birchwoodmom

Thankful that Derf seemed to be doing better and that Professor Marchand wasn't angry with her, she finally took a moment to hear the words Derf had said. She did make a bluebell flame! She tried not to let the excitement over having actually casting the spell show on her face, didn't want to seem rude since she had just burned another student, but she was absolutely giddy inside.

Once she finished her little internal celebration, she cast a worried look towards Professor Marchand. He did not look well, at all. In fact he looked down right horrid. There had to be something seriously wrong with the man. In addition to his languid appearance, he wasn't acting his normal self. "Sir, you really don't look well." She picked up her wand and said "Flammae Caeruleum!" this time extra carefully and landing the little flame firmly inside of the jar, then took it over to the professor. "Maybe warm yourself up a bit and you will feel better?" She gave him a timid smile, then returned to her seat.

When it was time to answer the next question, she held her hand up for her turn to speak. "Sir, the bluebell flame should be less dangerous." She let a little nervous giggle escape "but indendio is very dangerous since it's hot and will burn anything that fuels it."

Gaston sat slumped on the bench, sadly mulling over the accident. His head jerked up as Emmalyn spoke, and he blinked in reply to her words, Did he really look as bad as he felt? Before he could react, the girl was giving him a jar of bluebell flames. His breath caught in his throat, but luckily a well-timed fit of coughing masked it. Acts of kindness never failed to touch his heart, but his already heightened emotional state multiplied the effect 100 times. He had to turn away for a moment, pressing a hand to his eyes. Good Godric Gryffindor, these kids were going to turn him into a blubbering mess before class was over!

"Th-thank you, Miss Walsh," he said once he'd found his voice, too overwhelmed to remember to award house points for her kindness. He clutched the jar in a vice grip so tight, he was surprised it didn't shatter . "I do feel a bit better." Well, the warmth soothed his body, but there was nothing she could do for his heart. None of them could; they just didn't understand.

He was still grappling with his mounting emotions as answers to the question came in. He saw Emmalyn's hand go up and listened to her answer, nodding in reply. "Very true, Miss Walsh," he said. "An incendio spell with poor intentions or execution can be extremely dangerous indeed, but there are some magical fire safety precautions we can take to make it less so." He would cover those in more detail in a minute.

Text Cut: Chloe & Maddie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

How could she not beam at the older girls especially when they were telling her good job. She was on cloud nine getting help from them both. This was amazing and fun. Though she still hadn't actually done anything. So out her wand came and she tried to think about the spell. "Flammae Caeruleum"

Looking at the jar she huffed a bit, but knew she probably wasn't going to get it to do anything on the first or maybe five hundredth time. Chloe was determined though and she was going to get this.

Just as she put her wand up again, she heard a strained voice coming from the professor and set her wand down quickly. Grabbing her notebook she listened. What was the difference?

Did she even know?

She looked around at the older kids answering and looked back at her notes, "One is blue and one is red?"

Could that be?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Maddie returned the professor's nod of acknowledgment. Hopefully the Healer would turn up soon, and it not, hopefully the burn paste would work its magic. She turned her attention to the question that had just been asked then listened as her classmates pretty much sprouted out everything she already knew. MERLIN. They were fast! It'd be hard to come up with something different to say at this point.

The most obvious answers had already been said, so Maddie tried to think about something not so obvious. Finally, her hand rose into the air. "You can also tell the difference between them by their colors," she said. "Bluebell flames are...well--blue. Incendio produces orange and red flames."

...and just as she said that, she realized the kid just before her had said the exact same thing. Bummer.

Chloe's hand was the next one Gaston saw, and he called on the young Ravenclaw. Her answer got a small smile from the professor, but before he could reply, he saw Maddie's hand in the air, and she too mentioned the color of the flames in her answer. Well, great minds think alike, right? He gave each of the girls an approving nod. "Too right you are, Miss McCarthy and Miss Kemp!" he said.

Text Cut: Ronan

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazykitty

Honestly, Ronan didn't practice the charm as much as he probably should have. But then again, he already knew it anyway, thanks to being a seventh year. So when Professor Marchand moved the lesson on, he simply extinguished the flames and listened. And didn't really have anything to add, since the main differences had already been said and there were only so many ways to say the same thing without it getting boring.

So, instead of answering, he cast the charm again. What, it was cold out here.

Gaston's bright blue eyes darted in Ronan's direction. He noticed that the Head Boy had chosen to continue practicing the bluebell flames rather than answer the question. An eyebrow raised slightly, but he said nothing about it. While it was a tad unexpected, he wasn't that fussed about it. At least he was doing something relaed to the lesson, even if he had nothing to say at the moment!

Text Cut: Derf & Penelope

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Derf was watching Emmalyn carefully, though his eyes were soft and affectionate, hoping that she didn't...well...spiral out of control like he often did with these sorts of things. But...she seemed to be okay - better than okay, even - which brought quite the smile to his face and then his own attention was back on his own jar containing the lopsided bluebell flame. Maybe someday...hopefully before OWLs.

At least he knew that he COULD perform the spell and produce something, which was more he could say than his patronus.

Derf was about to give the spell another go when the professor moved things along somewhat. "Um...well...bluebell flames take on more of a definite form on their own," he noted as he glanced as his own jar. "Like...it's more able to maintain itself too? Incendio we use to light burners and stuff...but it doesn't hold a shape and can't sustain itself..."

Aaaaaaaand then the healer was here. Sweet Scamander.

Derf sunk a little lower in his seat and pulled the hood of his robes over his head in a completely mature attempt to make himself look inconspicuous - which of course had the entirely opposite effect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penelope Macmillan

Penelope had tried to keep up with the Hufflepuff but her older legs quickly had her falling behind, finally though she reached charms class and entered to look around

Bluebell flames. Of course. Surely Professor Marchand had some burn paste on hand though yeah? Especially for a lesson that dealt with fire? She approached the Professor who himself looked like he needed something and gave him a smile.

“I have been summoned? What can I do for you sugar?” She said as she put a hand to her blonde hair and tried to smooth some of the strands that had come dislodged during her brief run to the charms classroom.

Gaston had to bow his head to hide the concern in his eyes as he called on Derf. Here was an answer he hadn't heard yet; he was impressed... well, as impressed as it was possible to be with everything else weighing on his mind. "That's a good point, Mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne," he said with a barely perceptible smile. "Thank you for your answer."

He noticed the Hufflepuff prefect sinking down in his seat and pulling his hood up, and he knew Penelope must've arrived, even before he heard her speak. He rose from the bench,approaching the Healer. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Penelope," he said, looking at her with sad eyes that looked like they might fill with tears at any moment, eyes that reflected all the guilt in his heart.

His voice dropped to avoid drawing unnecessary attention - and to keep Penelope from hearing it break - as he explained the situation, "M-mr. Ashbury-Hawthorne had his toe b-burned by a rogue bluebell flame. I gave him burn paste and tried to bandege the area, but i'd feel better if you had a look at it, j-just in case it's more serious than it looks." He had to turn away as a sudden bought of coughing wracked his body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When all answers to the question had been given and the healer addressed, Gaston spoke to the class as a whole again, "Great job, class! I see you know the basic similarities and differences between the bluebell flames and incendio, but just to recap..." Merlin, he was regretting his decision to hold the lesson outside now! Aside from the cold, a blackboard would be really useful right now! Well, he supposed he'd just have to make do with that he had. With a wave of his wand, words appeared in the air:

Quote:

Bluebell Flames
- blue in color
- burns cold; may be touched
- Self-sustaining; needs no fuel source
- definite form

Incendio
- Orange/red in color
- burns at a high temperature; dangerous to handle
- requires outside fuel source
- free form

With a flick of his wand, he revealed a large crate of firewood hidden under a disillusionment charm near his feet. He summoned a few logs, neatly stacking them in front of him."In a few moments, you'll be using these logs to make your own fire, but before you even attempt incendio, be sure to cast a flame freezing charm on yourself! This will keep the fire from burning you..." He drew his wand. "Cast by waving your wand above your head and using the incantation 'Glacignis'; a successful spell will produce a white light." He waved his wand around his head, and a white light appeared as he said the incantation.

"T-to cast incendio," he went on, hoping no one notice the slight tremor in his voice. "move your wand in a flame shape, sort of like an open-bottomed teardrop..." He demonstrated the wand movement. "...and say the incantation." That didn't bear repeating, did it? Gaston took a deep shuddery breath. Time to cast the spell... no turning back now. His hand wobbled as he raised his wand, and he hesitated. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd successfully cast incendio; he hoped his magic wouldn't fail him now, with his entire class watching! Then he remembered that every time he'd cast that spell in the past, he'd been angry... so all he had to do was make himself angry now! He thought back on how he'd let a student get hurt on his watch again, allowing the self-loathing to crash over him, and...

"Incendio!" Red-orange flames shot out of his wand and engulfed the logs in front of him,. The hand that wasn't wrapped around his wand gripped the edge of the bench so tight, his knuckles turned white. It was taking every bit of self-restraint he had not to jump up and back away from the fire! Did everybody see that demonstration? Good, then he could put the fire out now. Barely seconds after he'd ignited the logs, he waved his wand again to extinguish the fire. He was glad that was over!

"Come up and get a few logs; these logs are enchanted with a fire containment charm so they won't ignite anything else in the surrounding area. Arrange them in a neat pile -be sure to SPREAD OUT! - and don't forget to cast a flame freezing charm on yourself BEFORE starting your fire, and remember 'Extinguo' if you need to put it out. You have the rest of class to practice the flame freezing charm and Incendio, starting... NOW!"

OOC: Sorry for the delay in posting! I lost & had to rewrite half of this post. Anyway, activity time! First, have your charrie practice the flame freezing charm on his/herself; then use incendio to start a fire using the logs. You may work in groups or alone, but every person must attempt both spells for full credit. If you need help/have questions, indicate in the title of your post, and Gaston and I will get back to you asap. You have ABOUT 4 DAYS (7 AM EDT June 20) for this activity.

Also, anyone who has done something kind for Gaston or someone else and not yet been promised house points, we're not ignoring you/playing favorites. It's just slipped Gaston's mind in his current emotional state.

Daisy quickly wrote down some more notes.

Once Daisy had completed her notes, she decided to practice the pronunciation of the Flame-Freezing Charm first. She said in her mind, "Glacignis, Glacignis, Glacignis." She didn't bother with practising the Fire-Making Spell because she had seen her mother light the fireplace and home. Jemma had told Daisy about the spell.

Daisy then got up and retrieved some logs and set them up carefully. She then waved her wand around her head as she firmly and clearly said, "Glacignis!" A bright white light appeared which indicated that the Hufflepuff had performed the spell correctly.

She then aimed her wand at the small pile of logs and waved it in a flame shape as she clearly said, "Incendio!" Soon the logs were burning brightly.

After what had already happened in class, she couldn’t believe he was having them, or more specifically her, create more fire. He really must be very sick to not realize what he had asked them to do. She was torn between wanting to complete what was asked of her and running back to the castle to keep everyone safe.

Ultimately, her desire to do what was asked of her won out and she pushed forward with the tasks. After gathering several logs, she ventured out to the far left of the class area, away from the other students and as far as possible from Derf as she could manage. She was not only determined not to set anything but the logs on fire, but she wasn’t going to hurt her housemate again.

Satisfied with her location, she placed the logs neatly on the ground and focused her efforts on making the flame freezing charm. She held her wand pointing above her head and commanded “glacignis!” A small white light briefly sputtered from the tip of her wand, but quickly went out. With more focus, she tried again “Glacignis!” A brighter, more stable white light flooded forth from the tip of her wand. She had done it! In her excitement, she momentarily forgot about the earlier bluebell mishap and readied her wand to try out incendio. Her wand movement for incendio was fairly simple. Flame shaped, open teardrop. She was certain she could do that. “Incendio!” She commanded and sparks fluttered from the tip of her wand. “Incendio!” Proper red-orange flames burst forth from the tip of her wand, devouring the logs before her.

The warmth radiating from the fire before her was much appreciated. Her fingers and toes, almost frozen, were starting to thaw. All she really needed was a stick and some marshmallows. “Professor Marchand? Are there any marshmallows? “ Her stomach growled at the thought and she grinned.

Okay...the Charms professor needed more than one chocolate frong because the man was responding to this whole thing as though the fifth year were dying and it really was just a singe. His skin wasn't even blistering. "Actually the fabric from my socks did," he corrected, eyes on the healer as he peeked out slightly from under his hood. "Cotton socks and the melting of my shoes did it....but I'm fine." Really.

Reaaaaaaaaaaally.

But, since he had to wait and have the woman examine him...Derf's hands were sorta tied with what he could do in terms of practice right now. Though he supposed working on this Flame-Freezing Charm that he had never performed before was a good place to start. "Glacignis," he said to himself, letting the incantation roll off his tongue and around in his mouth. "Glacignis...Glacignis...Glacignis...."

Merlin he was bound to slip up and say Glacius instead of Glacignis...

...and there was the firewood! That meant fire, and lots of it, was coming soon!

Maddie followed along extra closely as the professor gave details of the assignment. You could never be too careful when it came to fire, especially when a whole class was casting it at once! She started to take notes of all the incantations and wand movements but figured extra parchment being out probably wouldn't survive this activity. So instead, she took good mental notes of everything she was supposed to do.

She stood up and walked into a little area not overly crowded by other students. She had never cast the Flame Freezing Charm on herself, and she wondered how she would know if it worked or not. She didn't want to find out the hard way! She said the incantation a few times to herself. "Glacignis! Glacignis! Glacignis!" she called out. She raised her wand and waved it above her head.

Okay. Step one, which was knowing what to do, was done. Now it was time to actually try it! She glanced toward Derf for any sign that he knew what to do, but he didn't seem to be any further along than her.

Harriet had to admit she was feeling pretty concerned right now. The professor did not look well at all, and he then wanted them to all to be creating fire. It did not go down well with her. No offence, but she was pretty sure he would not be able to handle a emergency right now. At least the healer was here. Maybe she would notice that the professor was not well and suggest the lesson ended. She knew that was what her mother would do. But the seventh year figured she should probably get on with what they were meant to be doing, even if she didn't think them using incendio was a good idea. It bound to end badly, and that was not good.

The blonde stood up, and collected a few logs. She found her own space, and placed them on the floor, in a little pile that would burn up. She still wasn't really sure this was a good idea, and may have purposely going a little slower than usual. She needed to do the flame freezing charm on herself. So that would waste a bit more time. She pulled her wand out, and waved it over herself whilst saying "Glacignis" A white light appeared so she knew she'd done it right.

Now. Hmm. Should do the incendio bit. But the hufflepuff looked around, trying to stall a little. Hmm. Everyone was okay yeah? Nobody burning up yep? Stalling was working well.

Gaston rubbed his gloved hands together over the bluebell flame jars and took a quick sip of coffee. His bright blue eyes, though tired and sad, were alert as they scanned the class for any sign of trouble. The hand that wasn't holding his coffee mug wrapped tightly around his wand, poised to react to any rogue flames, but for now, he was going to stay as far away from the fires as possible.

He heard Derf correct him but merely acknowledged his words with a nod. He wasn't going to waste his already strained voice debating how or why the burn happened; the important thing was that he had been burned... and in his watch.

As Gaston watched the class, he was relieved to see no more mishaps so far. That made him feel a little better, at least emotionally. He beamed at Daisy as she successfully cast Incendio, though his heart dropped at the sight of the flames themselves. "Well done, Miss Swann!" he said.

Elsewhere, Emmalyn was also doing well with both spells. The professor gave her a big smile. He'd been worried about her; he thought the incident earlier might've shaken her confidence, like it had his own. "Great job, Miss Walsh!" The question about marshmallows caught him by surprise, though he had to admit, that was a good idea! "I'm afraid I don't have any marshmallows, but I can summon some if you like."

He kept watching the class, beaming at Maddie, Derf, and Hattie each in turn as he watched them cast their flame freezing charms. "Nice flame freezing charms, you three!" he said.

Gaston glanced at his watch. He hoped the rest of the class would continue to go smoothly, but there was still plenty of time for something to happen. Please, no more mishaps today, he thought to himself. He wasn't sure he could take much more excitement in his weakened physical and emotional state. Looking up, he addressed the group, "You still have plenty of time left; no need to rush!"

OOC: You still have JUST UNDER 48 HOURS to finish the activity.

He was pretty confident when it came to heating charms, but Max still made sure to scribble down as many notes as he could. Who knew if any of this stuff would come up in OWLs. The more notes, the better was his philosophy this year.

He made sure his notes were neatly tucked into his rucksack before drawing his wand and attempting the flame-freezing charm. "Glacignis!" He waved his wand above his head just as Professor Marchand had done and felt a little tingle which hopefully meant it had worked.

Satisfied that he wasn't in danger of setting himself on fire, Max made a beeline for the logs.

Now that Derf had been taken care of, Lydia could practice the bluebell flames. She recited the incantation to herself a few times and also practiced the wand movement. Finally, she took a deep breath and waving her wand, said, "Flammae Caeruleum!" A jet of blue flames shot out of her wand and into the jar she'd taken for just that purpose. She hadn't felt like holding the flames in her hands, no matter how many times Professor Marchand said it was safe.

Lydia studied the flames happily. "Look, Professor Marchand!" she said excitedly. "Professor Marchand?"

Lydia glanced toward the professor. He really didn't look too well. After he'd helped Derf, he'd gone to sit down again, and his face was so pale. She was surprised he'd decided to hold today's lesson at all. Lydia frowned in his direction. If only there was something she could do to help, but she heard a 4th year Hufflepuff asking him if he needed anything. Hopefully, he would be all right.

Lydia turned to the flames and with some sadness cast Extinguo. They vanished just as quickly and easily as they had appeared. Charms was great. It was something that came more easily to her than other subjects. Hadn't the shopkeeper at Ollivander's said something about that too? Hmm.

Professor Marchand was continuing with the lesson. Lydia was glad to see him looking a bit better after the bluebell flames incident.

Several other students answered before she got a chance to say anything, but Lydia figured she would still participate. It couldn't hurt after all.

"One difference is size, I think. Bluebell flames tend to be smaller. Incendio can cause a much larger, more dangerous fire."

Lydia was distracted by the arrival of Healer Macmillan. Poor Derf. He looked so embarrassed. Lydia tried to give him a consoling smile. She could definitely relate to the feeling of wishing the earth would swallow you whole at any moment.

Turning her attention back to Professor Marchand, Lydia watched his demonstration of the flame-freezing charm and incendio. Was it her imagination or did the professor seem a bit...afraid? Surely that couldn't be. Obviously, it must be her imagination.

The professor hadn't had a chance to admire her work with the bluebell flames so Lydia was determined to impress him with her use of incendio. First, she practiced both spells for several minutes, jotting down notes as necessary. Finally, when she felt she was ready, she cried, "Glacignis!" A shimmering white light appeared around her body, and she felt a bit strange. That must mean it was working!

Lydia gathered some logs and laid them down at her feet, making sure she was at least five feet away from anyone else, especially Derf. She didn't want to accidentally set him on fire, even though the professor assured them that wouldn't be possible. She didn't want to take any chances!

"Incendio!" said Lydia, waving her wand in the shape Professor Marchand had indicated. Almost immediately bright orange flames shot out of her wand and crackled to life in the pile of logs. All right, now this was a spell! Lydia put her wand back in her cloak pocket and extended her mittened hands over the fire. Nice and warm.

She turned to look around. Hopefully the professor hadn't missed this!

Skylar turned and glanced over at Derf when he chimed in about differences between transfiguration and charms, which of course, confused Skylar as well. Because hadn't she sort of said something similar? Kind of? And then Hattie offered her insight on the matter, before Marchand responded and clarified things. She took some brief notes on his clarifications of the differences, figuring she'd go over it again later.

And then, he was asking about her own stash and the seventh year nodded. "Necessary," surely he'd understand the stresses of being a seventh year. With that, she glanced towards the castle, non-verbally summoning the pepperup potion from her dorm. She waited casually before catching the individual vial (because she'd had prepped them in neat single-doses), "Here you are."

And Derf was injured? What? Skylar whirled around to look at the Hufflepuff Prefect but the Professor was there along with other students... wow. Distracted, she'd missed the question he asked about the bluebell flames versus incendio. But it seemed that her peers covered similarities and differences. The only thing she really had to offer was that bluebell flames were more controlled.

They were moving on though to lighting firewood, with incendio which was a spell she was rather comfortable with. Although she'd never cast it non-verbally. Waving her wand above her head, she started by first casting "Glacignis," because she wasn't about burning herself. She had enough things on her mind without having to worry about burns.

Approaching the stack of firelogs, the seventh year used the levitation charm to levitate a few. Because why do heavy lifting when she could use a charm to carry them for her. And she levitated them over away from others. "Incendio," she cast, non-verbally, flicking her wand in the shape demonstrated and as she'd done previously. As had happened in previous castings of the charm, red-orange flames shot from her wand, only this time they lit something meant to be on fire.

Did she have to extinguish the flames? because it was rather toasty here by her fire....

Wait, wait, WAIT!!!


They were switching already? She didn't have the first one yet, she hadn't really even made a spark and they were now moving to a new spell. Did she keep trying the first or move to the second?

Chloe looked at the bigger girls to see what they were doing and then around the room.

Alright she would just move on. Taking a deep breath she started saying the next spell, "Incendio, Incendio, Incendio" At least it was easier to say this time. Making sure she had the wand movement right she took a deep breath.

"Incendi"


Nothing!

Oooooh... did she just not use the o?

"Incendio"


Still nothing!

"Thanks, Professor Marchand!" Maddie said, hearing his voice over the crowd of students. She'd only been practicing the incantation and wand movement, but it was nice to know she must have been doing them correctly. She should probably move on now, seeing as she was on the right track.

She headed over to the pile of logs and gathered a few in her hands. Carrying them back to the small area she'd been working in, the third year laid them out before her then began to arrange them in the neatest pile she could get them in. When she was satisfied with her work, she stepped back and drew in a deep breath. Time to set things on fire!

"Glacignis!" she said, and then she waved her wand over her head. Instantly, she felt a little something different about her skin, and that answered her earlier question about how she would know if her spell worked. Well, this was reassuring. So she'd gathered her logs, arranged them in a neat pile, cast the Flame Freezing Charm on herself, and the only she had to do now was cast Incendio.

Well, then. Let's get this little party started.

Now she didn't just have one spell not working, but she had two! The blonde first year sighed before going back to work.

"Incendio"


Nothing....

"Incendio"


Nothing...

"INCENDIO"

Nothing...

She slammed down her wand and sat in a tantrum like state on the ground. She didn't care if it was cold, she couldn't do these charms and now she was getting upset. She knew they were hard, she knew she was a first year, but she should be getting them like everyone else.

WHAT WAS SHE DOING WRONG????


Giving up, Chloe figured she would just sit here in a ball until it was over.

Honestly, Ronan didn't see the need for the flame-freezing charm with a simple incendio on a pile of logs. If you were dumb enough to be standing close enough to the logs to catch on fire, then you deserved to be burnt. Nor did he see the need for the older students to practicing these spells either. They should already know them. But, whatever, he still wasn't in the mood to argue, so he cast a silent Glacignis on himself, followed by an equally silent incendio on his pile of logs, which lit up much like as if they were in a fireplace. A welcome feeling, since they were outside in the middle of winter. He held his hands over the flames, trying to warm them.

She beamed with pride at her accomplishment. And, if he hadn't looked so ill, she probably would have taken up on the offer to summon some marshmallows. Instead, she would simply stand closer to her fire and keep warm. "Thank you, sir. No need to trouble yourself with the marshmallows, we always have some in the Hufflepuff common room, I'll have a snack after class." She then made a quick mental note to see if she could bake some cookies to take to the professor after class. Cookies made everyone feel better.

Content to keep warm and wait for the class to move on to their next task, Emmalyn simply watched the other students working on the spells and warming themselves by their fires. It almost looked like a little campsite with all the piles of wood ablaze.