Charms Lesson: Cheering Charm

[PhoenixRising]

It was a semi warm morning for mid-March as you make your way to the third floor for another charms lesson this term. And as for your professor? She's greeting you with blowing bubbles from her wand when you enter because clearly she's 6 not 60-something

"Good morning, take a seat... we'll begin shortly" She stated calmly.



ooc: HI!! I completely forgot to post an announcement up forewarning this!! BUT welcome to the charms lesson this term!! We'll begin in about 24-26 hours from now. ALSO, even though this is the first lesson ooc, it's not your first IC lesson. Any questions, don't hesitate to VM or PM me Lesson has started. Catchup posts welcome, but no late arrivals unless you wish for consequences :3


Lesson Progression
Q1: What do you know about the cheering charm?
Mini Activity: Incantation and Wand movement independent practice
Main Activity: Practice with a partner
Concluding Questions: Root of Gaudeo? what uses for the cheering charm? Negative connotations?
Wrap-up/Class Dismissed

[MadMadamMalfoy]

SPOILER!!: attempting to catch up

Out of the corner of her eye, Desiree caught the nod from Professor Mancini and gave the professor a small smile in return. Looks like she was on the right track with the wand movement after all. What a relief! She’d hate to send herself or someone else into fits of hysterical laughter when the time came to practice the spell for real!

Speaking of which, Desiree wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that was the next activity. She listened intently to the professor’s instructions. Seemed pretty straightforward so far… Her bright blue eyes scanned the room in search of a partner, but it looked like everyone was already paired. Now what was she going to do? She might turn into a wombat at any moment, and she’d like to practice the spell before that happened! Unwilling to let the lack of a partner stop her from learning a new charm, she decided to practice on herself instead.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. How would she know if the spell worked? She was usually pretty cheery to begin with, the whole Peeves incident and random teddy rat transformations notwithstanding. Hmm, maybe if she thought of something sad before casting, it would create a stark contrast in her mood? It was worth a try, she supposed.

She racked her brains for the saddest things she could think of: injured animals, tragic love stories where one of the romantic leads dies, her family and friends upset, being stuck as a teddy rat forever… Okay, that was enough of that! If she made herself too sad, she’d start crying and be unable to concentrate! With a look of intense concentration, she drew her wand and made the cartoony tongue shape, taking care not to make it too wide or too pointy. “Gaudeo!” she cast, aiming at her free arm. Did it work?

All at once, Desiree forgot all about the sad thoughts! A wide smile spread across her face, and a giggle escaped her. Just a little one, not a hysterical fit! Whoa, that actually worked! Desiree thought. Wait until Dad hears I did the cheering charm on myself! That thought lifted her spirits even more than the charm itself.

Desiree faced the front, listening carefully as the professor spoke again. Holy hippogriffs, that was a lot of questions! She was silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, trying to break that huge chunk of questions down into something she could answer. Okay, so she didn’t know enough Latin to answer the first part of the question. Luther had already mentioned distracting an opponent with the cheering charm, and she couldn’t think of any other use for it in dueling.

She decided to focus on the “negative connotations” part of the question. As she thought, Ash’s answer jogged her memory. That sounded a lot like her dad’s reasoning behind his refusal to ever use the cheering charm! Aside from the whole artificial happiness thing, he said the cheering charm was just a way to hide from one’s negative emotions. WIth that in mind, Desiree raised her hand and said, “Some people might use the cheering charm’s artificial happiness as an escape from other emotions and develop an overdependence on the charm… which I guess is a negative connotation because if you hide from your real feelings, you don’t learn to process them.”

Did that make any sense at all? It did in her head, but when she tried to voice it, it sounded wrong!

[PhoenixRising]

SPOILER!!: Students <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Sorry for creeping you out, Ash! But yes, Aria at least was thrilled that you were feeling some happiness! Grinning, she returned two thumbs up. Ahh, it was so lovely that things were working out in this lesson. Also, she did mean it when she said that Ashely should smile more; that Ravenclaw had a GORGEOUS smile! “No problem!’’ They had made an excellent pair and at least they didn’t seem to have any issues with each other now.

With Mancini moving the lesson along, the more than happy Slytherin turned her attention to the woman. So MANY questions. Aria blinked slowly, trying to pick one to answer. Finally, she decided, thought of her answer and raised her hand. “Being too happy would definitely boost one’s confidence. That overconfidence could fuel that person to do tasks, let’s say a dangerous one, they would otherwise be uncomfortable doing.”

Leanne turned her attention Aria who spoke up first. "Yes, I could definitely see increased confidence perhaps fueling adrenaline crazes that could cause you to ..." She paused considering her word choices. "To make irrational choices." Fortunately the charm was only a temporary one, but she supposed one could continually cast it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyr

Luther relaxed and then sighed as the magical warmth left him slightly longing for it. "It was great but I don't know... I felt too happy, I don't know how to explain it. But it worked." said Luther.

Taking a deep breath, he continued "Ok here it goes." and thought to himself 'You can do it!' while mentally repeating 'Gaudeo! Gaudeo!'. Taking another deep breath, he said in an excited tone "Gaudeo!"



Luther listened to the Professor intently. He was not familiar with the incantation's origins, however, he thought he could guess. 'I should learn Latin sometimes, I guess.' he said mentally.

After raising his hand to be recognized, he spoke in an unsure tone "I don't know Latin, Professor but does it mean something like happy, happiness or be happy?" and continued in a more confident manner "Also, from what I felt, I guess, if you overpower it, your opponent can be distracted and maybe... also they can lose their ambition or will to duel properly as they are too happy."

"Close. The root of gaudeo means literally to rejoice. Which is essentially synonymous with happiness." She considered his example. "Well... i think that would be advantageous for the person who cast it on you, wouldn't it?" She grinned.

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Ash felt good. She was happy... she didn't want to go back to the way she was before. That gave her an answer to the professor's question. "The happiness is artificial. So... once it wears off, I won't feel good anymore." She tugged at her bracelets, twirling them around as she thought. "I think that's negative because someone might feel like they can only feel happy with a magic spell instead of genuinely feeling happy by... um, painting! Or putting on a cute outfit or something. Happiness is better when it's real and lasting." Okay, that was all she had to say. Wait. "Also, Like Luther said, overdoing the charm can make someone kind of hysterical." That wasn't good either. Okay, she was done now. Wait- she had more things. She didn't want to say more than her fair share, though, so she just wrote it all down in her notes.

"This is very true and a key point yes!!!! The happiness is artificial. It's temporary. It's a bandaid and doesn't fix the root. You would be much better suited for finding happiness in hobbies or fashion." She nodded to at the other part. "Yes, overdoing the charm could create hysterics."

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

SPOILER!!: attempting to catch up

Out of the corner of her eye, Desiree caught the nod from Professor Mancini and gave the professor a small smile in return. Looks like she was on the right track with the wand movement after all. What a relief! She’d hate to send herself or someone else into fits of hysterical laughter when the time came to practice the spell for real!

Speaking of which, Desiree wasn’t the least bit surprised to learn that was the next activity. She listened intently to the professor’s instructions. Seemed pretty straightforward so far… Her bright blue eyes scanned the room in search of a partner, but it looked like everyone was already paired. Now what was she going to do? She might turn into a wombat at any moment, and she’d like to practice the spell before that happened! Unwilling to let the lack of a partner stop her from learning a new charm, she decided to practice on herself instead.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. How would she know if the spell worked? She was usually pretty cheery to begin with, the whole Peeves incident and random teddy rat transformations notwithstanding. Hmm, maybe if she thought of something sad before casting, it would create a stark contrast in her mood? It was worth a try, she supposed.

She racked her brains for the saddest things she could think of: injured animals, tragic love stories where one of the romantic leads dies, her family and friends upset, being stuck as a teddy rat forever… Okay, that was enough of that! If she made herself too sad, she’d start crying and be unable to concentrate! With a look of intense concentration, she drew her wand and made the cartoony tongue shape, taking care not to make it too wide or too pointy. “Gaudeo!” she cast, aiming at her free arm. Did it work?

All at once, Desiree forgot all about the sad thoughts! A wide smile spread across her face, and a giggle escaped her. Just a little one, not a hysterical fit! Whoa, that actually worked! Desiree thought. Wait until Dad hears I did the cheering charm on myself! That thought lifted her spirits even more than the charm itself.

Desiree faced the front, listening carefully as the professor spoke again. Holy hippogriffs, that was a lot of questions! She was silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, trying to break that huge chunk of questions down into something she could answer. Okay, so she didn’t know enough Latin to answer the first part of the question. Luther had already mentioned distracting an opponent with the cheering charm, and she couldn’t think of any other use for it in dueling.

She decided to focus on the “negative connotations” part of the question. As she thought, Ash’s answer jogged her memory. That sounded a lot like her dad’s reasoning behind his refusal to ever use the cheering charm! Aside from the whole artificial happiness thing, he said the cheering charm was just a way to hide from one’s negative emotions. WIth that in mind, Desiree raised her hand and said, “Some people might use the cheering charm’s artificial happiness as an escape from other emotions and develop an overdependence on the charm… which I guess is a negative connotation because if you hide from your real feelings, you don’t learn to process them.”

Did that make any sense at all? It did in her head, but when she tried to voice it, it sounded wrong!

She had to admit watching Desiree cast the charm on herself was quite impressive. When Desiree added onto what Ash's answer was, she gave a nod of approval. How were these students so grown up in their thinking??? Because she was sure when she was a teenager she hadn't learned to process feelings so well. Actually take that back. Just because you know you should do something, doesn't mean that you actually do. "This is very true if you did use the charm as an escape. It's important to remember that it's not reality. I don't know if you all ever heard of the Mirror of Erised. It's a legendary Hogwarts artifact... that shows your heart's desire. Wizards have wasted away in front of it, because they have failed to recognize that it's not reality. Much is the same for the cheering charm. While useful in creating temporary joy, it's not reality."

After what seemed like the last student offered their two knuts worth, Leanne took to the front of the classroom. "Well I hope today's lesson was informational in terms of learning both the pros and cons of the cheering charm and should you wish additional time to continue practicing it, you're welcome to stay late or you may also utilize the practice room at anytime should you need a quiet area to practice or study. Until next time."


ooc: Class dismissed!!! Thanks for bearing with me and participating!! I will close the thread later tonight / tomorrow morning if you wish to make departure posts and/or last minute catch-up posts.