Slytherin Study Tables
 

Charms #1 Homework - Sophie
 

The charms textbook was indeed open, but not having found what he was looking for in it to save his common room from all of the pink, Cutty decided to crack open a book series on glittery vampires which he'd found in the Muggle section of the book shop. A slow, monkey-like grin started to crack into his face as he readjusted himself tilting his chair back, propping his feet up, and read on. His head was shaking and he let out a snortish laugh. Did muggles really think this way about vampires? "Merlins farting jinx." He uttered his disbelieving-yet-amused-filled comment out-loud to himself.

...and there he was--Cutty frazzling Mordaunt, the most annoying boy in the first year. Sophie made her way into the common room from a point somewhere behind where Cutty was sitting. She was armed with her wand in one hand and a water balloon in the other. She had permission to do this, and from a professor at that!

That made it all the better!

She paused behind him and rolled her eyes at the comment he made. Merlin's farting jinx? Whaa? Nevermind that. Not really knowing many spells to make this work expertly, Sophie just aimed the balloon at Cutty's head and lobbed it forward. It sailed toward him and now all she had to do was wait and see if it hit.

Cutty had gotten to a fairly meaty chunk of dialogue in the story and found it so hilarious that he began to laugh out loud. His head tossed back and his mouth open and the half-second between his first syllable was when it happened.

K A P L O O O O S H K!!!

Soaked from the head on downward, his dark eyes grew wide and the area across his nose and cheeks flushed crimson as his head flung in the direction of the offending water balloon. SOPHIE NEWELL!!! Who he seemed to think was his arch-foe, even though he totally started it that day at the opening feast. "Ah-heh! So you want to play it that way, do ya? Alright then, Newell. Have it your way!" Cutty's hand reached into his bag and pulled out his Bertie Botss Every Flavour Beans, the entire contents of which he intended to toss one by one towards Sophie.

Briefly, somewhere in the back of his mind Cutty had considered the profit loss. But he was too lost in the moment to not think it would be worth it. He opened the bag and in his impatience half of the colourful little beans scattered towards Sophie as though they were siding with her, very much to Cutty's chagrin.

No matter. He still had plenty of ammo. And he intended to get the first shot in. His dirty little hand immediately grabbed a handful of beans and began chucking them her way. Raspberry Ice! Shoe lace! Fortune Cookie!

Somewhat the start of Charms homework
 

AHHHHH HAHAHAHAHA!

Sophie's grin spread widely across her face as she saw that her attempts to both startle and soak this boy with the water balloon were successful. She hadn't thought about this ahead of time, but she would have really looked like a failure of a person had she missed. Nevermind that, though. She'd hit him--and hit him REALLY GOOD, too!

Sophie didn't have much time to dwell on that. A few seconds later, jelly beans started hurtling her way. A few hit her, but in the long run, she got all the wiser and moved out of the way. "Cutty Mordaunt!" she said. "Be a Slytherin, why don't ya?" She picked up a jelly bean, a single bean, and threw it at him. This was more of a wake up call than anything. "Are you really going to lose your entire box of jelly beans just to hit me with something soft? You should get your wand out--practice charms a bit. We have to do it for homework anyway."

She picked up another bean and gave him a questioning look. Could he stop the bean?

P I P!!!

The little bean hit and bounced against the boy's temple before he could stop it. And eager for revenge, Cutty's hand was already in the bag reaching for more beans when he heard Sophie's little voice. Her logical little voice. Remind him of his loss.

"Maybe." He said, unable to resist the opportunity to pipe-up something jerky in reply to her question. "No." There we go! Now, we're getting somewhere. His jury was still out on whether or not Sophie Newell was just a weak and fragile little tottie, but for the moment, she had saved him roughly 1.3 sickles and that was valuable.

He twisted the open end of the beans bag and tucked them away whilst removing his wand, though he seemed somewhat resigned to do it. He'd have to ask her about that Slytherin comment she'd made because clearly there was something to that which she got and he hadn't yet been gung-ho enough about to investigate. The prefect had told him that it was the best house, but she hadn't really gone into why.

The little firstie got into position, wand in hand and shot Sophie a fire away look.

Heh. Look at that--she'd hit him again. She simply smirked at this, because in the end, it was trivial. She'd challenged him to something completely different altogether. Could he throw and dodge at the same time? Better yet--using magic? They'd see.

Plus, she'd apparently gotten him to stop wasting his jellybeans in some idiotic effort to hit her. Maybe Cutty Mordaunt had some sense and some Slytherin to him after all. Before long, he looked armed and ready for his fight against the jelly beans. Sophie scooped a small handful off the floor, put all but one in her pocket, and then moved to stand to the exact opposite of him.

Good at Charms? We'll see. On that thought, she threw the jelly bean in his direction.

Sophie had a better throwing arm than Cutty had thought the little witch capable of as the little bean came soaring directly at his head in a blur of colour. His hand gripping the hilt, he suddenly found himself ducking the bean, but in a quick after-thought turned and waved his wand at the bean what had soared behind him.

"Arresto Momentum!" He took fire to the object and it responded in kind, not by stopping completely, but by moving as though suspended in a gelantinous goo.

Smirking, Cutty approached the suspended bean and plucked it out of the air shooting a side-glance at Sophie. "Hope yer ready, Newell.", he said and without further delay flung the little bean back toward her.

Slowing it down #1
 

Sophie stood back, pleased with her throw. As she watched the jelly bean soar toward Cutty, she didn't know whether or not he'd succeed. She did know, though, that she'd at least given it a good throw. How bad of a failure would she have looked had that jelly bean soared in the wrong direction, the results of a terrible throw? Just as that thought left her mind, she saw Cutty give the spell a go, and she found herself rolling her eyes as he ducked. "Are you muggleborn?" she asked, not meaning it as an insult but just as the result of a curious mind.

At least he'd snapped out of it in the end and slowed the candy down to a near halt. He plucked it out of the air, which was Sophie's cue to begin getting armed and ready. She positioned her wand in front of her and eyed the jelly bean, planning on following it the entire way. It was so fast, though! Why hadn't they chosen something easier to see? Oh, right--because Cutty started randomly throwing them at her. The jelly bean grew closer, causing Sophie to wave her wand and focus intently on the candy slowing down in front of her. "Arresto Momentum!" she called out. Just as she thought the jelly bean would hit her, it slowed down, and she plucked it from the air and tossed it into a nearby bin. She had a pocket full of jelly beans and didn't wish to keep any they'd practiced on.

She plucked a lime green candy out her pocket and hurled it toward Cutty without any warning.

Attept 2-Stopping
 

Cutty found her comment equal shares amusing and annoying. He snorted and tried to mimic her voice asking the question, only not very well as it came out sounding rather like a whining cat though hitting the highs and lows of her question and having the correct amount of syllables. Sophie was probably from one of those pureblood families who married from within the same family and thought that was a good thing.

His father's family was like that. Ugh!

"No! I'm not a muh!" But he stopped as he saw the lime green streak coming right for him. "Arresto Momentum!" But his intent was changed by his mood and he ceased the little object from his projection cold, stopping it entirely. He approached the object slowly and rounding on it, gave it a sniff, wondered it if was bogey flavour and chucked it back towards Sophie. "I'm not a muggleborn. Are you?" He asked, not thinking it likely but knowing that this might be the sort of question that might bother her if she were a pureblood.

Slowing it down #2
 

Sophie couldn't be sure, but she was almost sure that her question had gotten to him. BWAH HAHA! A weak link in the system! It was excellent when one found said link in their opponent, especially in the middle of battle. She smirked so proudly as she watched him battle with the jelly bean. In the end, he hadn't exactly done as he intended to, she thought, but he hadn't gotten hit either, which spoiled Sophie's smirk.

The jelly bean had been hurled back toward her, which would have been a no-big-deal sort of thing had he not paired it with a smart comment of his own. Was she a muggleborn? When had she ever given him the impression she wasn't purely magical? "Of course not," she said, her eyebrows knitting inward. She was about to give him a second attempt at a smart comment on how he obviously didn't know who her grandfather was, when...

*THUD*

"UGH!" she called out, just as the jelly bean hit her in the forehead. "Arres--to--Momen--TUM!" Her wand waving looked more like she was swatting a fly, though, and the candy hit the ground and rolled away.

FINE THEN, CUTTY MORDAUNT. She fished another jelly bean out of her pocket and threw it angrily toward him.

Attempt 3 - Slowing
 

He wasn't expecting that. Anything but a hit. Cutty let out a snortish sort of laugh. Clear and obvious of how amusing he found it. As the little bean came at him, this time faster than the last having some fire under it, he was ready. Or he thought he was. "Arresto MOHm!" Cutty's expression changed as though he'd been hit with a wave of sharp realization. He had. The jelly bean was lodged in his throat. With a gagging sound he dislodged it into his hand and looked up at the Newell girl.

"Yer no good at this. Here!" He said tossing the bean back to her and hitting it with the charm causing it to slowly make it's way towards her. Globulous spittle flopping and folding all around it as it moved from having just been in his mouth. "See if you can hit it, Newell!" He teased a little.

Slowing it down #2 v.2 (Mention of Maika, too)
 

Sophie gave a slight glare as Cutty started laughing. Riiiiight, like he was Mr. Perfect over there. But then...BWAH HAHA! Sophie slightly tossed her head back and let out an obvious laughter of amusement. That right there had been WAY better than her miss. She was still laughing when she looked up and realized he had hurled the jelly bean back in her direction.

Eww, that had been in his mouth!

"No good at this?" she teasingly asked. "I'm not the one who was nearly strangled by a jelly bean, am I?" But most of her focus was on that jelly bean. She was NOT touching...in any way...a jelly bean that had been in somebody else's mouth. She aimed her wand forward. Slow down, slow down, slow down... "Arresto Momentum!" she called out, moving her wand in a wave. The jelly bean slooooowed and made a peaceful descent into the trash can. PERFECT!

She was about to say something else, when some girl she didn't know asked them to keep it down. Sophie thought about getting annoyed, but then she realized they were being pretty loud in the study area. It was all Cutty's fault. She gave the girl an apologetic look then fished another jelly bean out her pocket. "Here," she said and hurled it back at Cutty.

Attempt 4 - Slowing
 

Cutty's attention was momentarily focused towards another first year girl who had asked them to try and be more quiet. He tried not to smile as he realized she was probably annoyed. One thing at a time.

"Oh, that." He began with a straight face. "Entirely intentional." Yeah. Totally meant to do it. "Shuddit, Sophie Newell." He said in a tone more casual than harsh, not giving a lot of space between his last words and that as though expecting her to say something on it.

"Arresto Momentum!" He did the wand wavey thing and concentrated on slooowing, not stopping the bean and briefly he thought he had failed from his perspective. It had been moving, just very slowly. Cutty reached out and surrounded the bean with his fist, then put his fist to his mouth and using it as a make-shift blow dart launch, blew the little bean in an arching trajectory towards her. "Well, what are you then if you're not Muggleborn?" though Cutty had a feeling he knew the answer to this.

Slowing it down #3
 

Sophie just grinned when he told her to shut up, in so many words. His near-choking experience had NOT been on purpose and both he and Sophie knew it. Just him telling her to shut up told her she'd gotten under his skin, and that was just PERFECT to her.

She watched him put on a show of sorts that amounted to him slowing the jelly bean and then blowing it back towards her. Heh. A Muggle tennis game of sorts. "My parents are both magical," she said, and she left it at that. The thing was, everybody on her mother's side was a pureblood, but her father had some half-blood in him. Sophie always chose to ignore that part and just identify herself as purely magical.

The bean was coming closer now. She didn't have to try hard to focus on it slowing down. It was becoming second nature now. "Arresto Momentum!" she said, waving her wand. The jelly bean slowed, and then trying to give a show herself, she thumped it right back in Cutty's direction.

Attempt 5 - Stopping
 

Cutty could see the little bean spinning yet beelinging towards him so that it looked a little like a small and colourful Muggle flight vehicle. Then, just for the challenge of it, Cutty narrowed his mark to just the center of the bean and not the spinning ends of it. He waved his wand and uttered the incantation freezing the bright blue bean.

What flavour was it? He approached it put his mouth around it and swirled it around in his mouth, his gaze towards the ceiling in consideration. He swished the bean to his cheek and said his thoughts outloud. "Sardine. How misleading." Though it's deceptive colour was sure to come in handy one of these days, he felt, but did not voice. In case intended victims were within earshot. He turned back to Sophie and SHOT the bean back at Sophie covered with Cutty saliva.

Stopping it #1
 

Why, oh why, did Cutty Mordaunt insist on sending saliva-infected jelly beans hurling toward her? She could see the little beads of spit in the air as the candy soared her way. Boys could be so disgusting at times. "I'm surprised you don't taste dirt," she said, "since it's been on the floor." Did he even remember that? ... Did he even care? Again, boys could be so disgusting.

As the bean grew closer, Sophie raised her wand and tried to get a good aim. She did not want Cutty's germs hitting her on the face. Eww... This time, she had to actually stop the jelly bean, so she pictured it freezing it mid-air right before her. "Arresto Momentum!" she called out, waving her wand. The jelly bean froze in mid-air, earning a smile from her, and then she used her wand to knock it into the trash can.

She fished another jelly bean out her pocket, and as she aimed it toward Cutty, she casually said, "So I read about you in the Aparecium." Then she tossed the bean right at him.

Attempt 6 - Stoping
 

Cutty's eyes widened in a sort of hit-by-wonder manner at Sophie's next words. Did she understand what a disappointing thing she had just brought up? "I know." His voice sounding a bit too filled with sorrow and regret for him to have been truly sorry had the bean tasted like dirt.

Aparecium? Why hadn't he seen this yet? "Oh yeah?", he began casually. "Well, it was only a matter of time, really." He concluded arrogantly having assumed it was some kind of board where they put Hogwarts's best students. He concentrated and interrupted himself with the incantation. "Arresto Momentum!" He said, aiming at the bean and getting it to cease it's motion as though it had SLAMMED on the brakes and skidded a little.


"What'd it say about me?" He asked a somewhat cocky smile playing around his mouth as he whacked the mid-air bean towards Sophie with the end of his wand.

Stopping it #2
 

HA! Cutty Mordaunt was OH-SO-EASY to get to! She was starting to figure out ways to get under his skin and get the one-up on him. She grinned at his realization about the dirt-flavored jelly bean. Then again, he could be pulling one over on her, too. There were mysteries about Cutty she just hadn't figured out yet, and that was a challenge to her.

What had the Aparecium said about him? "Oh, you know...gossip," she said. She wanted to let that line hang in the air for a bit before the big reveal. She used the pause in conversation to focus on the airborne candy headed right toward her. Only two more successful attempts at stopping thrown beans, and she'd be done with Cutty for now.

Okay, jelly bean...stop.

"Arresto Momentum!" she suddenly said, giving her wand a wave. She watched the jelly bean put on the brakes, and suddenly the candy was staring her eye-to-eye. It was a weird sort of situation to be in at first.

Now, what had that gossip mag said? "Just that you had a new girlfriend in Hufflepuff," she declared, and then on that note, she thumped the candy right back at him.

Although, his mind was mostly concentrating on what what said about him in the Aparecium thing, Cutty had also been considering other ways to use the charm Professor Fuller had taught them that day in class. "Arresto Momentum!" He said, slowing down the object. He then repeated the incantation to stop it dead in it's tracks. He then grabbed the still bean, tossed it into the air and gave it a good whack as if he were trying to stop it from going through goal posts.

Cutty's face froze as though Sophie had missed her jellybean and had hit him instead. What did she just say? "WOT?!" His expression was squinty-eyed thought from the eyes up, and sneering disbelief from the nose down. This could've only been about Fern Godzilla Quimbley. That was pretty much the only Hufflepuff girl Cutty knew at this point. Had she started this rumour? Probably for want of it being TRUE! HA! Cutty's little brain began to buzz at he realized what this could mean.

"Oh yeah." He said with a shrug that was meant to be casual and tried to hide his want to burst with laughter with occasionally shaking shoulders. "Well, she's one of 'em." Meaning, one of his girlfriends.

Stopping it #3
 

Sophie didn't even pay attention to Cutty's interaction with the jelly bean. Well, she might have if she sensed another near-choking or something else equally as fun to watch. As it was, though, it was just your ordinary, run of the mill, Cutty-type jelly bean fight. Meh.

What she did pay attention, too, though, was his reaction to the gossip mag's news of the week. Oh, yeah. She'd gotten to him. This she was sure of. She didn't care what he said or how he looked on the outside. She'd gotten to him on the inside. BWAH HAHA!

For a moment, she had to focus on the jelly bean, though. All she had to do was stop this one dead in its tracks, and she was declaring the war OVER. Of course, she was also declaring herself the winner, but that went without saying. "Arresto Momentum!" she said, waving her wand toward the bean. It stopped, just as she knew it would, and she knocked it, too, into the bin. "Done," she said, and she fished into her pocket and deposited the remaining two jelly beans into the bin, as well. "With homework, I mean."

...and surely he didn't expect her to stay around and remain social?

"As much as I'd love to stay around and chat," she said, speaking somewhat sarcastically, "my other homework needs my attention, too." Stuffing her wand back into her holster, she made as she was about to leave. Then at the last minute, she produced her copy of the Aparecium and tossed it his way. "Have a good day, Lover Boy." Then she casually made her way to the girls' dorms, confident she'd at least given Mordaunt something to squirm about.

Cutty waited until Sophie had left and the other Slytherin girl looked relatively deep enough into her homework before he dove down to pick up the copy of Aparecium. Holding it in his moist little hands he read it with eager eyes.



"Ickle. Hearts." He repeated and held out the paper as though it were some sacred relic with a wild and maniacal smile on his monkey face. He folded up the parchment and decided he was going to sleep with it. This was definitely going to be useful, especially if Fern had started this little rumour herself. He grabbed his bag and headed out.

Herbology Post 1
 

Herbology Post #1
 

The girl in the bed next to Sophie's bed had managed to snore all night long, which resulted in Sophie finally giving up on sleep pretty early on and making her way into the common room. Maybe she'd just nap on the couch until everybody else got up. At least it might be quieter.

So that's just what Sophie planned to do as she bee-lined toward the nearest couch. She had just plopped down, when she happened to glance over by the study tables and see her brother. Huh? What was he doing up so early? Then she happened to notice his wand moving about. "Herbology, huh?" she said. Without thinking about what she was doing and how early it really was, she pulled her own wand out her holster.

"So what's this for anyway? Aren't the greenhouses hot enough?" she asked. She glanced over at Caleb's notes then began making two little clockwise circles with her wand. She followed that by moving her wand up and down. Then she started all over again. She moved her wand in two little clockwise circles then made the up and down motion. Easy enough.

Herbology Post #2
 

Herbology Post #2
 

"Oh, I like Herbology," she said, lowering her wand for just a moment. "I just hate homework. Herbology's pretty important to potions and that kind of thing." She shrugged. "I didn't like the whole tea thing much, though." She may have liked it better had they not taken so many notes. Sophie and note-taking didn't really go well together.

She diverted her attention back to her wand and began making two little clockwise circles once again. She followed that with the same up and down motion she'd done before. "So are we actually supposed to perform this spell or just sit here doing the wand movement and incantation over and over?" she asked.

He was the one with the notes in front of him. He should know.

Herbology Post #3
 

"Eh, I guess you're right. Do Aurors need Herbology though?" he asked. He was pretty sure they didn't REALLY need it, but it was RECOMMENDED. Ugh. Caleb had to ask his mum again. "Really? I liked the tea!" he chuckled. Tea was yummy. And so was coffee. He knew that was a bit odd for his age, but whatever. Dad had let him have a sip a few times growing up and he got hooked!

"I think so. And then test to see if the air is...moist," he said. UGH WHY DID HE JUST SAY THAT? He hated that word! He practiced the spell's movement a few more times, and then added it with the incantation.

"Siccus Aerous," he muttered, doing the two circles as he moved up and down. He stopped and reached forward into the air he'd just charmed. It felt a LITTLE warmer...and quite sticky. Yuck.

Herbology Post #3
 

Caleb wanted to be an Auror? What a Gryffindor thing to say! "Is that what you're aiming to be?" she asked. She hesitated for a moment then said, "Yup, because...what if you have to protect somebody against a Venomous Tentacula or something? You'd be a pretty bad Auror if you didn't know anything about the plant."

Sophie made a face. "Well, I like tea...sort of. I just don't like writing about it," she said. "Especially long periods of note-taking." UGH. Sophie was in the middle of trying the wand movement once again, when she heard Caleb say the incantation and realized she hadn't even practiced it yet. She lowered her wand to her side then looked into thin air and said, "Siccus Aerous...Siccus Aerous." Yeah. She sort of felt like she was talking to a brick wall.

Eh.

"Siccus Aerous," she said again.

"Everyone knows about Venomous Tentacula," Caleb said, even though Sophie had a point. Caleb was NOT about to admit to her that she was right, though. He was just going to stubbornly continue to hate Herbology forever. "And yeah, I think being an Auror would be pretty awesome. I know it's early to be thinking about that but..." Caleb trailed off. What could he say? He was ambitious and determined. It was the Slytherin coming out in him.

He began to practice the spell again. "Siccus Aerous," he muttered as he moved his wand up and down and moved it in circles. The air around them was starting to get really humid and sticky, and Caleb did NOT want to think about how gross it would feel once Sophie started up her spell.

"Well, it's humid all right - not something that happens regularly in the dungeons," Caleb chuckled. SO that meant he was successful at the spell, yes?

Herbology Post #4
 

"Not everybody," she said, "because you have to learn at some point. What if you come across somebody who's too young to know? Or what if it's a person who's not that great with spells and can't defeat it?" She had really valid points, so if Caleb thought he might want to be an Auror, he better pay attention in Bentley's classes. "So why an Auror anyway? Isn't that a Gryffindor kind of job?" Because a personality was a personality, whether you were graduated from Hogwarts or not.

As Caleb went on about how humid it now was, Sophie began another round of practicing the spell. "Siccus Aerous," she said. "That sounds right... Siccus Aerous. I think I have it down pat." So that meant she should try it all together. She raised her wand then moved it in two little clockwise circles. She followed that by doing the up and down movement. "Siccus Aerous!" she said.

Did it get any hotter? Hmm...

"I meant that I'll be fine because I know it," Caleb explained. Of course he didn't expect a child to know about it! But Venomous Tentacula was easy - just use sun. Or burn it up with Incendio. Done and done.

"It's a POWERFUL job," he pointed out to her. Aurors were very well respected in the Ministry! Much more than say someone from Transportation. Yuck. The way he saw it, if he was an Auror he'd basically get to do all sorts of cool stuff and get respect. It was a perfect plan.

He reached his hand out to where Sophie had pointed and flexed his fingers. "Feels humid," he said with a shrug. He raised his wand again and began to circle up and down. "Siccus Aerous!" he exclaimed.

Again, it seemed humid. Ugh, it was really getting stuffy in here.

Herbology Post #5
 

"Mmhmm," Sophie said, in a tone of voice that indicated she'd believe that when she saw it. She shrugged when Caleb said being an Auror was a powerful job. She didn't see it, but then again, she and her brother had completely different tastes anyway.

"I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate," she said. She hadn't even had enough classes under her belt to figure out what she liked and didn't like, or what she was good at or not so good at. She was AWESOME, though, so she doubted she'd have too many failures.

Sophie raised her wand and did the same two little clockwise circles she'd been doing for what felt like hours. With an up and down motion, she gave a firm "Siccus Aerous!" She waved her hand in the air in front of her wand and felt a warmer, more humid temperature. Lowering her hand, she said, "I think I mastered it. How much practice did she want us to get anyway?"

charms hwk 1 post 1
 

Derry was sat at the study tables with her charms book open in front of her and her wand poised ready in her hand. Charms. Yes. Homework. Catching up. Doing things. Sigh. She really had to get back into the swing of things, and she figured charms would be a good place to start, but this was making no sense in her head. Derry's charms were usually pretty good, but she was kind of restless and all the words were spinning around on the page and making no sense. She'd rather be outside, doing stuff.

Okay... Carpe Retractum. Hmm. She should probably make sure she could say it first... before she tried to actually use the spell. Especially since she'd missed the lesson. "Carpe Retacum..." she mumbled, her brow furrowing slightly. No... that wasn't right. There were letters missing... "Carpe... Re-tact-um." Better? Ugh... she didn't know. HEEEEEEELP. Derry put her wand down briefly and was going to bang her head against a desk in protest to the work... but decided against it, her head didn't need any more banging. So instead, she sighed heavily and rested her head on her hand. Psh.

"Heyyy Derry Ferry." West didn't have TOO much more work to do but he did want to get started on that potions essay so while he had a minute or two he'd headed to the study area and there was Derry. She... shouldn't have been that behind right? Between him and Ascanius they'd had all her homework and class notes and all that sorted...

He sat down. "Need a hand?" He was good at that one.

Derry was contemplating the option of dropping out of school to become a hermit - dramatic, maybe, but she had missed an entire month of work: they hadn't even let her read... - and had come to the conclusion that a cave at this time of year would be very cold, when she heard her name. "Hey West Odessa." she said, before she even saw him. Nobody else called her that.

"Yeah, that'd be good actually." It was kinda difficult to cast spells when you hadn't been in the class, okay? So she was going to have to accept as much help as she could with this stuff. "Carpe Retractum, right?" OH! That did sound right. Derry grinned a little to herself. "Would you show me? It'd be easier if I saw it first I think."

"Oh yeah, sure." But on what? Hmmm. West looked around, spied a little pot plant, and grabbed that. He put it in the middle of the table and stepped back.

"So this one, when I do it, on account of plants are alive, will be an orange-y gold colour." In theory. "If you do it on inanimate objects, its more purple-y." She'd probably read that. Anyways, after a quick smile at Derry, he concentrated on the plant and whipped his wand at it.

"Carpe Retractum!" The whipping motion, it was important. This time when he did it the light that formed into a rope was orange laced with gold, both shades sort of woven together.

How rope-like with the weaving and all.

It lashed out and hooked around the plant.... and then West leaned and pulled... the plant came flying at him, luckily not being pulled out of its pot, but coming at him pot and all. He caught it (a little awkwardly because it was a plant) but didn't spill any soil. Welp. He called that a win. West set it down again.

"The whipping motion and then pulling once you've actually connected with your target are key." He said cheerfully. Not so bad yeah?

Theodore had lots of stuff with him, because he was in the mood to be productive. He had two lots of homework, and three letters from family and friends... Okay... just family. Theodore didn't have any friends at home, not anymore. It was sad but he was coping.

He plopped his bag onto a study table and clicked his fingers.

Okay, brain. Do yo' thang.

Theodore stared at his stuff but nothing was actually clicking at all... as usual, he supposed. Starting the letters first would be easier, so he picked up an envelope that had Casper's handwriting on it. He only ever got a letter from Casper maybe twice a year, and they were always because their mum made him. Theodore opened it up and frowned hard.

A birthday card.

His birthday was months away. CASPER'S BIRTHDAY WAS THE SAME DAY AS HIS.... HOW?!!!!!