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hpluvr037 · 06-21-2016, 07:08 PM

Love was in the air as February arrived in the castle. A rare lull in the weather created a peaceful atmosphere for romantic strolls on the grounds. However, today's lesson would be about the opposite of happy romance and Tiara hoped the students brought their wits and thinking caps.

She had arrived in her classroom even earlier than her normal early. She spent several minutes conjuring up more desks for the expected influx of students. Arithmancy was an elective; DADA was not. Then, in the cleared area near her own desk, she placed a nondescript stool topped by a nondescript box. A few movements of her wand later, she smiled in satisfaction.

Once the layout was complete to her satisfaction, there was nothing to it but to wait for Hirsch. Tiara positioned herself near the warm fire Tinka had been so kind as to start. And then she waited in eager anticipation. This was going to be a great lesson.

class progression:

- How would you try and break open a cursed box?
- About cursed objects
- Arithmos Revelio Scindo Mini Activity
- Parts of a Curse
- Explanation of the curse on the box at the front
- How to break that curse + another example + main activity

Ameh · 07-01-2016, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

In reality, the man wasn't too surprised if some of the students found this difficult. It wasn't an easy topic, just like Arithmancy and Defence weren't easy subjects. What he was surprised by were the number of numbers that were popping up here and there and the fact that they weren't giving up with this task. Most people would.

And then he heard a familiar voice calling for a Professor.

Since he was nearby, Hirsch went over to Jaemin and glanced down at him first and then at his notes. He even bent down a little to talk to the boy better and not make his neck suffer. But then again, craned necks were the last of his worries. "What's wrong, Jaemin?" Because he wouldn't have called a professor over just to say that they liked their glasses, would he?

Ah yes, good. He'd gotten a professor. Jaemin looked up at Hirsch, biting his lip and holding up his notes. He needed help. Help us, Hirsch. "I'm not good at stuff like this... there's too many options and I don't know which ones to go with."

Had he mentioned that straightforward worked best for him? Had he? Because it was TRUE.

Text Cut: notes notes notes

"I dunno which thing is right for the kernel... and I don't know if the range and cline are right either. I don't want to do anything without knowing for sure, because..." he looked at the box suspiciously. "Neither one of the options for the kernel sounds like it would be very fun at all."

WhittyBitty · 07-01-2016, 02:51 AM

Glancing through her notes a few times, Esme had to come to the conclusion that she was dealing with either the Full Body-Bind Curse, Leg-Locker Curse, or the Jelly-Legs Curse. They all effected movement and balance since the legs lost ability to function and she had no idea which was the one that had been cast on the box. This was not her strong suit and she was SO confused right now. Was Juno getting along better? Probably not since this was something that they both struggled with.

She needed heeeeeelp but knew better than to ask one of the Professors to give her the correct curse. She'd have to get through that on her own. In the meantime she would ask something else because she was rather uncertain about one of the aspects of the range. Esme raised her hand. "Professor Hirsch, Professor Tanner..." Either one would do. "I'm uncertain of a part of the range. The number 1 indicates verbal expression. That means that I have to do a non-verbal spell or I activate the curse, right?" Because that was what it seemed to be to her.

SHE WASN'T SURE OF ANYTHING AT THE MOMENT.

MadMadamMalfoy · 07-01-2016, 03:14 AM

Fiyero was quick to return Azura's smile. "Great, thanks for being my partner," he said, After all, two heads were better than one, right? "Good job on figuring out how to open that box, by the way!" He was impressed by how fast she got that box open. At this rate, they'd decode his box in no time!

"My box has a different number than yours," he continued, jerking his thumb toward the small box on his desk. "Here's what I've got so far..." He handed his notebook to her so she could look over it.

Text Cut: Fiyero's notes

"Does that look right so far?" he asked. He was totally lost, so it was entirely possible he was wrong! "Any ideas what the range could mean?"

Goblinfrog · 07-01-2016, 03:28 AM

Kitty sat back and listened with interest as the professor's explained counter curses. The reason she didn't contribute to the debate for the next few questions was because an overwhelming urge to drink water overcame her at that moment and she feared that if she tried to talk her voice would come out raspy and otherwise unladylike. Making as little movement and noise as possible; she slowly dug in her backpack until she found her teacup. Then she placed the teacup on the table and drew her wand. "Aguamenti," she muttered under her breath. A small trickle of water came out of her wand and filled her cup. She then sipped the water very politely (meaning not slurping or making any other distracting noise) as she continued listening to the debate.

After drinking half her cup her thirst went away. Lucky, because that when the activity was beginning. Kitty examined the box that was given to her without touching it.

Steelsheen · 07-01-2016, 04:05 AM

Did he say Sir? He meant to say Sriracha, because that’s what Professor Tanner is. Red hot chilli mama. But he knew well enough one cant call Professors red-hot-mama to their faces. So he just gave her his trademark Tenacius grin.

But yes he did get that sample curse down right didn’t he? #NailedIt

Now Professor Hirsch began to speak and the Gryffindor Ace wasn’t sure how to answer his question. His go to solution of kick-it-to-break-it wouldn’t work unless he wanted to make like a pint-sized Statue of Liberty. So he sat there pondering what and how and......well apparently theres a counter curse. But what counter curse is it? He may have missed something because he didn’t get what the answer was.

In any case now they got their own little ~~mother~~boxes and Tenacius sat there excited for the challenge. He raised his wand and made the twirl above the box and uttered "Arithmos Revelio Scindo". And like magic (because it was) the numbers appeared twinkle glowing above his box

✨✨52 525 71 9 9 ✨✨

Ok so notes time. This is the tedious part of this process. No wonder Curse breakers gets all the galleons

SPOILER!!: notes

The Range part caught his eye though. So if he doesn’t say a spell verbally, he can actually avoid tripping the curse and even able to open the box?

Ohhhhhhh......

Tenacius has never consciously done a non-verbal before. He has been reading up on wand lore, and he discovered that his particular Alder wood was adept with non-verbals. He looked at his wand and whispered "You know that thing you do when I'm not prepared and you just do your thing and I keep getting angry with you? Forget that. Do you thing. Help me open this box."

He breathed in a few times, set his jaw and concentrated on the ultimate objective of opening the box. He made an inverted swish of his wand on the box and thought of the unlocking spell Open sesame box!

Did it work?

Magical Soul · 07-01-2016, 01:04 PM

Text Cut: Arielle :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by ginnilie

Arielle was still having trouble coming up with the kernel. She knew so far that the basis of the numbers meant that the spell affects physical touch and humans. So that must mean that it affects the physical touch of a human. The range, what activates the spell, she knew was verbal magic, so she could not use a verbal spell on the box to open it. The cline numbers meant that the curse is immediate and short-lived. The kernel she was still having trouble with, and looked back down at the number meanings to try and figure it out. So far she had change written down, so the spell must change something... And physical touch was what it affected, so maybe physical touch was also what it did? It could change physical touch and... something with a 2... humans? The same as what the spell affects? Arielle gathered her thoughts and jotted them down in her notes.

SPOILER!!: notes

Looking up from her notebook Arielle glanced around the room. Her eyes stopped when she saw a box with the same golden numbers as hers. It was the only one like hers in the room. Maybe the girl had some ideas? But she looked more confused than Ari. Maybe if we worked together... Ari thought. Deciding to go over to her, Ari picked up her notes and her box and strode over to the girl's desk, the numbers above the box gliding with them.

"Hi, I'm Arielle," she said, and sat her box on the girl's desk. "My box has the same numbers as yours so maybe if we work together we can figure it out." Arielle sat down and spread her notes out on the desk, immediately jumping into an explanation of what she had worked out so far. "Okay. So. So far I know that the spell affects physical touch of humans. And I'm pretty sure that the kernel means the spell changes a human's physical touch, which I think means that the curse is a jelly-fingers curse. But I'm not sure. I do know for sure that it's activated by verbal magic, and that the effect is immediate and doesn't last long." Arielle stopped to take a breath and see if the girl was following. "Anyway, half of the assignment is to break the curse, and I don't really know the counter curse for a jelly-fingers curse. I don't even know how to cast a jelly-fingers curse, I've only heard about it. But the other half of the assignment is to open the box, and since the spell is only activated by verbal magic we can just physically open it, right? I mean, as long as we open it we should get half credit..."

Maybe Arielle wasn't as confused as she thought she was. Explaining everything out loud seemed to help her connect everything. She glanced down at her notes and then back at the girl. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked. She could have been wrong about what curse it is and she could be wrong about physically opening it. And maybe the girl knew the counter curse. Arielle finally shut up and waited for her new partner's input.

Someone must've seen the despaired look on Genny's face because in no time, a new girl came over and offered to partner up. Genny's face lit up for the first time this lesson and she made space for her new partner, Arielle, who seemed to know more than Genny in long ways. The second year was amazed how a first year managed to keep up with the lesson this quickly. Yes, they were already at the end of the term where firsties must've learned much more but Genny never seemed to find Arithmancy easy to keep up.

A hard, concentrating look passed over the Gryffindor's face when Arielle started explaining things. It didn't sound too complicated at first, but then there were verbal magic and physical touch curse and Genny was confused again. "Uhm. I think what you said sounds good. But.. if the curse is activated by magic... shouldn't it have been activated when we cast the spell that made the numbers appear?" Hmm? "In any case, I can try and open the box with my hand first and see if it opens or if it turns my fingers jelly-like." She couldn't help but puff up her chest a little at that. She was more than willing to be cursed and go through an exciting adventure in this boring class where no one is dueling anyone else.

Without waiting for an agreement from Arielle, because she might refuse and deprive Genny of her desire to be cursed, Genny grabbed the box and tried to open it.

*Kolyander* · 07-01-2016, 01:08 PM

Hadleigh stared down at her notes silently. The best thing for her to do was to finish filling in the blanks and decipher what ever number meant. Then she could work the rest out. So she started off with what she already knew.

SPOILER!!: Previous Notes

It was a fair amount but not complete. There was numbers that had no meaning and ones she wasn't sure of. Chewing her lip Hady looked between the numbers and the notes that told her what each number stood for. Going over it all she slowly took her time in finishing to fill out everything.

SPOILER!!: Current Notes

Setting the quill down after scratching out some of the notes and adding others Hady was still left with one question...

How did she open the box?! Sure a Jelly Brain jinx wasn't to bad to deal with but she wasn't sure if she should risk anything. So far she knew that it affected house elves and their magic and humans. It was instant but short lived and that it was the Jelly Brain Jinx. Was she missing anything?

Hady didn't think she was missing anything. She'd gone over it all a bunch of times. If it affected humans and house elves and their magic how could she op- wait! The brunette wrinkled her nose a little in thought. It was activated by magic. Therefore she shouldn't use magic to open the box. Did that mean she could just open it without any problems at all? Was it really that simple to do?

Looking at the box on her desk she studied the designs for a long time, hand hovering in the air just a few inches away. Was she really about to do this? Chance opening the box without knowing for sure. Letting out a breath she set her hand on the box before she could change her mind and opened it waiting for something to happen...

hpluvr037 · 07-01-2016, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Azura looked up at Professor Tanner as she spoke and she sighed softly.. "I thought it meant human touch as well, so it's just human magic." Wowwww.. She was overthinking it a bit.. "So I can just go over and open it then." Which would make perfect sense actually. The Professor's would know what they were capable of magic wise and probably wouldn't give them things that were TOO hard..

"Thank you Professor Tanner, i guess I was overthinking it a bit." The teen gave the Professor a warm smile as she looked up at her.

With a warm smile, Tiara replied. "Correct, just magic. The number for touch was not involved." She nodded. "You can simply go open it!" And then she watched as the girl did so with success. "Enjoy the sweets!" she said, knowing the girl was about to find some Honeydukes wares inside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

Glancing through her notes a few times, Esme had to come to the conclusion that she was dealing with either the Full Body-Bind Curse, Leg-Locker Curse, or the Jelly-Legs Curse. They all effected movement and balance since the legs lost ability to function and she had no idea which was the one that had been cast on the box. This was not her strong suit and she was SO confused right now. Was Juno getting along better? Probably not since this was something that they both struggled with.

She needed heeeeeelp but knew better than to ask one of the Professors to give her the correct curse. She'd have to get through that on her own. In the meantime she would ask something else because she was rather uncertain about one of the aspects of the range. Esme raised her hand. "Professor Hirsch, Professor Tanner..." Either one would do. "I'm uncertain of a part of the range. The number 1 indicates verbal expression. That means that I have to do a non-verbal spell or I activate the curse, right?" Because that was what it seemed to be to her.

SHE WASN'T SURE OF ANYTHING AT THE MOMENT.

Seeing Esme's hand and glancing to see where Hirsch was, Tiara decided to take this one herself. She noted the numbers atop the girl's box and shifted her brain to that particular curse. "Absolutely correct!" she praised. "Any human speech will trigger the curse, as will touching it because of the 5." Well done, Darcy, well done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Skylar understand all the theory behind the numbers, but in terms of putting it to practical use was where she struggled still. But focused as ever to at least MAYBE get this to work, the first year scrunched up her face as she thought about the incantation and what she wanted it to do. She knew from her parents and older friends and siblings that when you want something to work, you have to deliberately focus on that something. Which was exactly what she was doing, as she moved closely to the front and eyed the box furthest to the right; it seemed to have the least amount of students crowding it which was good because she didn't want to bother anyone as she was trying to focus.

"Arithmos Revello Scindo!" Sky pronounced clearly, flicking her wand appropriately. Expecting , as before, the spell to not work, Sky's light blue-gray eyes may have bulged slightly from their sockets at seeing golden numbers appear ever so faintly before her ...

32 037 72 9 9

Not strong enough to read, but there was something, which meant she was making PROGRESS! With that confidence boost within her, the first year quickly cast again, "Arithmos Revello Scindo" and grinned more broadly when the numbers appeared thicker than before!!! She was getting there and even though it wasn't quite as sharp colouring as some of the others, it was deep enough for her to be able to decipher the numbers.

32 037 72 9 9

Quickly jotting down the numbers in her notebook, Sky returned to her seat to figure out what the numbers meant. She could go back up to attempt to break it, once she knew what she was dealing with.

Basis (32) what the spell affects: humans, house elves/house elf magic.
Kernel/Core (037) What the spell does: nothingness/ceases complex thought, imagination, magic, wisdom
Range (72) What/how the spell is activated - activated via human magic. so by casting a spell on the box ?
Cline/Type (9 9) What kind of spell it is - short lived. immediate acting, probably a hex or jinx

So how to break it? It was activated by human magic, which meant what exactly? Somehow it seemed like it was more obvious an answer than what she was trying to decipher. She couldn't cast a spell on it - not that she knew many anyway - because well that was magic. Wait could she just go and open it? No, that would have been way too simple. Besides, it might have been locked and if it was locked, then she wouldn't have been able to cast alohomora on it because that would have been magic, would have activated the curse...

Oh heck, why not. Biting her lip, the first year approached cautiously and tried to open the box ... waiting ... hoping...

Tiara was pleased to see glowing numbers above the box of this first year from across the room. It had taken a few tries, but perseverance had won the day in the end.

A few minutes later, Tiara watched as Skylar seemed to make up her mind. She swiftly put her hand to the box and.. success! "Wonderful, Miss Diggory!" Tiara beamed at the young Snake. "Some well-earned Honeydukes for you!" she finished, hoping the girl liked whichever kind was inside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Did he say Sir? He meant to say Sriracha, because that’s what Professor Tanner is. Red hot chilli mama. But he knew well enough one cant call Professors red-hot-mama to their faces. So he just gave her his trademark Tenacius grin.

But yes he did get that sample curse down right didn’t he? #NailedIt

Now Professor Hirsch began to speak and the Gryffindor Ace wasn’t sure how to answer his question. His go to solution of kick-it-to-break-it wouldn’t work unless he wanted to make like a pint-sized Statue of Liberty. So he sat there pondering what and how and......well apparently theres a counter curse. But what counter curse is it? He may have missed something because he didn’t get what the answer was.

In any case now they got their own little ~~mother~~boxes and Tenacius sat there excited for the challenge. He raised his wand and made the twirl above the box and uttered "Arithmos Revelio Scindo". And like magic (because it was) the numbers appeared twinkle glowing above his box

✨✨52 525 71 9 9 ✨✨

Ok so notes time. This is the tedious part of this process. No wonder Curse breakers gets all the galleons

SPOILER!!: notes

The Range part caught his eye though. So if he doesn’t say a spell verbally, he can actually avoid tripping the curse and even able to open the box?

Ohhhhhhh......

Tenacius has never consciously done a non-verbal before. He has been reading up on wand lore, and he discovered that his particular Alder wood was adept with non-verbals. He looked at his wand and whispered "You know that thing you do when I'm not prepared and you just do your thing and I keep getting angry with you? Forget that. Do you thing. Help me open this box."

He breathed in a few times, set his jaw and concentrated on the ultimate objective of opening the box. He made an inverted swish of his wand on the box and thought of the unlocking spell Open sesame box!

Did it work?

The arithmancer noted Tenacius's numbers and then watched as he attempted to cast a spell on the box. Bad move! She moved towards him. "I think you may have mistaken the 71 range, Mister Salander. It is really more of an 'or' concept. Either talking or magic will activate the curse, and, well.." she trailed off. He'd done magic. "There seems to be an invisible forcefield around your box that will prevent you touching it now."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magical Soul

Text Cut: Arielle :3

Someone must've seen the despaired look on Genny's face because in no time, a new girl came over and offered to partner up. Genny's face lit up for the first time this lesson and she made space for her new partner, Arielle, who seemed to know more than Genny in long ways. The second year was amazed how a first year managed to keep up with the lesson this quickly. Yes, they were already at the end of the term where firsties must've learned much more but Genny never seemed to find Arithmancy easy to keep up.

A hard, concentrating look passed over the Gryffindor's face when Arielle started explaining things. It didn't sound too complicated at first, but then there were verbal magic and physical touch curse and Genny was confused again. "Uhm. I think what you said sounds good. But.. if the curse is activated by magic... shouldn't it have been activated when we cast the spell that made the numbers appear?" Hmm? "In any case, I can try and open the box with my hand first and see if it opens or if it turns my fingers jelly-like." She couldn't help but puff up her chest a little at that. She was more than willing to be cursed and go through an exciting adventure in this boring class where no one is dueling anyone else.

Without waiting for an agreement from Arielle, because she might refuse and deprive Genny of her desire to be cursed, Genny grabbed the box and tried to open it.

"Miss Tate!" Tiara exclaimed. "Excellent reasoning, well done!" Now the only question was how the pair would split the Honeydukes they had just found inside.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Hadleigh stared down at her notes silently. The best thing for her to do was to finish filling in the blanks and decipher what ever number meant. Then she could work the rest out. So she started off with what she already knew.

SPOILER!!: Previous Notes

It was a fair amount but not complete. There was numbers that had no meaning and ones she wasn't sure of. Chewing her lip Hady looked between the numbers and the notes that told her what each number stood for. Going over it all she slowly took her time in finishing to fill out everything.

SPOILER!!: Current Notes

Setting the quill down after scratching out some of the notes and adding others Hady was still left with one question...

How did she open the box?! Sure a Jelly Brain jinx wasn't to bad to deal with but she wasn't sure if she should risk anything. So far she knew that it affected house elves and their magic and humans. It was instant but short lived and that it was the Jelly Brain Jinx. Was she missing anything?

Hady didn't think she was missing anything. She'd gone over it all a bunch of times. If it affected humans and house elves and their magic how could she op- wait! The brunette wrinkled her nose a little in thought. It was activated by magic. Therefore she shouldn't use magic to open the box. Did that mean she could just open it without any problems at all? Was it really that simple to do?

Looking at the box on her desk she studied the designs for a long time, hand hovering in the air just a few inches away. Was she really about to do this? Chance opening the box without knowing for sure. Letting out a breath she set her hand on the box before she could change her mind and opened it waiting for something to happen...

And another success! "Excellent, Miss Lynch! Good work," she said with pride. See? She could do this. "Enjoy the reward inside!" Some of Honeydukes' finest.

hermionesclone · 07-01-2016, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

Ah yes, good. He'd gotten a professor. Jaemin looked up at Hirsch, biting his lip and holding up his notes. He needed help. Help us, Hirsch. "I'm not good at stuff like this... there's too many options and I don't know which ones to go with."

Had he mentioned that straightforward worked best for him? Had he? Because it was TRUE.

Text Cut: notes notes notes

"I dunno which thing is right for the kernel... and I don't know if the range and cline are right either. I don't want to do anything without knowing for sure, because..." he looked at the box suspiciously. "Neither one of the options for the kernel sounds like it would be very fun at all."

Too many options? Hirsch smiled warmly before saying, "That's something else that makes curse breaking difficult: options. The trick is figuring out the right one." And he wasn't even going to start on what happens when you're faced with multiple curses on a box.

He tilted his head slightly and glanced down at the boy's notes. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly as he read over the words, some more than others. "You're on the right path there," Encouraging? He hoped so. "Your range and cline are perfect and you have the kernel down well. All you need to do is dig a little deeper in your thinking."

A moment's pause before he continued, "Your kernel is what the spell does, right? Take a look at another word under the 5 number meanings. See that freedom listed there? If you put it with the others, you could almost say that the spell changes," He underlined that word using his finger. "Your freedom or ability to........" He the word 'physical touch' wth his finger as well.

Was that a knowing smile on his face?

"So what do you think the box does to you if you touch it? What spell could be acting on the box that changes your ability to touch it?" The Slytherin knew it, Hirsch knew that he knew it.

OOC: You're all doing so wonderfully

Just thought I'd mention a few things: Firstly, if you've finished with the curse and have broken into the boxes, you'll find some Honeydukes chocolates and sweets in there. Feel free to make up whichever ones you want ^^

And secondly, I'm going to extend the time for this activity until tonight at 11:59pm GMT+1. This is in approximately 6 hours' time.

Have fun! ^^

MunchyBubbles · 07-01-2016, 07:25 PM

SPOILER!!: MadMadamMalfoy;11983174

Azura smiled as she took the sweets in her hand and then moved to sit next to Fiyero. "Of course! Anytime." She said with another warm smile at him as she sat down by him.

"Oh thank you! I felt kinda dumb cause I could just go on over there and open it.. I think I was making it a bit to complicated then it was." She said with a sheepish smile as she looked over at his notes..

"All right.. so the Range is 15?" She asked as she peered up at the board.."Well, that looks like Verbal expression and Physical touch.. I think.." Ohh.. was this a harder one? "So, touch activates it.. and Verbal expression? But it didn't say anything about magic.. So we can use it? Perhaps?" Azura looked at him..

"Why do you think?" Was she right about that?

"As for the Cline.. It looks like it takes place immediately and lasts for awhile? If I'm interpreting this right." She passed her notes over to him.

SPOILER!!: Az's notes

Ameh · 07-01-2016, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

Too many options? Hirsch smiled warmly before saying, "That's something else that makes curse breaking difficult: options. The trick is figuring out the right one." And he wasn't even going to start on what happens when you're faced with multiple curses on a box.

He tilted his head slightly and glanced down at the boy's notes. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly as he read over the words, some more than others. "You're on the right path there," Encouraging? He hoped so. "Your range and cline are perfect and you have the kernel down well. All you need to do is dig a little deeper in your thinking."

A moment's pause before he continued, "Your kernel is what the spell does, right? Take a look at another word under the 5 number meanings. See that freedom listed there? If you put it with the others, you could almost say that the spell changes," He underlined that word using his finger. "Your freedom or ability to........" He the word 'physical touch' with his finger as well.

Was that a knowing smile on his face?

"So what do you think the box does to you if you touch it? What spell could be acting on the box that changes your ability to touch it?" The Slytherin knew it, Hirsch knew that he knew it.

Well at least he had some of it right. Jaemin listened intently to Hirsch, gaze flicking between the man's face and his hand whenever it moved over his notes. He hadn't gotten it all though, which meant he probably shouldn't look into becoming a cursebreaker any time soon... hm.

...he'd picked the wrong word. Jaemin squinted at his notes, then at the book, at the meanings for each number. Freedom would make sense in this case, too. That just added another possibility for what kind of curse could be on the box, but Hirsch wouldn't be suggesting it if it were the wrong option, would he? Because if he would... that would just be rude. And awful. Awful professoring.

"Change your freedom to touch..." he mumbled, looking at the box. "Activated by human magic, affects your ability to touch, and it's powerful but doesn't stay very long..." The boy looked up at Hirsch questioningly. "So it's sort of a barrier curse, then? That makes it so you can't touch the box?"

But if it was activated by magic, then that meant he just... had to open the box. It didn't say it was activated by human touch, after all. The boy looked from Hirsch to the box and reached out a hand to touch it, to attempt to open it. If Hirsch's face showed even a FLICKER of anything bad, he would soooooo snatch his hand back.

hermionesclone · 07-01-2016, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

Well at least he had some of it right. Jaemin listened intently to Hirsch, gaze flicking between the man's face and his hand whenever it moved over his notes. He hadn't gotten it all though, which meant he probably shouldn't look into becoming a cursebreaker any time soon... hm.

...he'd picked the wrong word. Jaemin squinted at his notes, then at the book, at the meanings for each number. Freedom would make sense in this case, too. That just added another possibility for what kind of curse could be on the box, but Hirsch wouldn't be suggesting it if it were the wrong option, would he? Because if he would... that would just be rude. And awful. Awful professoring.

"Change your freedom to touch..." he mumbled, looking at the box. "Activated by human magic, affects your ability to touch, and it's powerful but doesn't stay very long..." The boy looked up at Hirsch questioningly. "So it's sort of a barrier curse, then? That makes it so you can't touch the box?"

But if it was activated by magic, then that meant he just... had to open the box. It didn't say it was activated by human touch, after all. The boy looked from Hirsch to the box and reached out a hand to touch it, to attempt to open it. If Hirsch's face showed even a FLICKER of anything bad, he would soooooo snatch his hand back.

The man kept his eyes on Jaemin, a smile on his face and a slight glint in his eyes. The cogs were turning in the young Slytherin's brain, he could almost see it.

And there it was.

The smile on Hirsch's face, if possible, widened. "Knew you'd get there," he said, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "You're completely right: it's a barrier curse, almost a shield, that the box creates if you use magic on it." It wasn't too hard, was it? He hoped not.

Standing up, he watched as the boy moved his hand to, what looked like, touch the box itself. The Defence Professor gave him an encouraging smile and a nod. Go on, Jaemin. Open the box by your hand. You're nearly there.

As for Hirsch, he was just going to linger here for a bit. Just to see the boy's reaction to the treasure inside.

Ameh · 07-01-2016, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

The man kept his eyes on Jaemin, a smile on his face and a slight glint in his eyes. The cogs were turning in the young Slytherin's brain, he could almost see it.

And there it was.

The smile on Hirsch's face, if possible, widened. "Knew you'd get there," he said, giving him a pat on the shoulder, "You're completely right: it's a barrier curse, almost a shield, that the box creates if you use magic on it." It wasn't too hard, was it? He hoped not.

Standing up, he watched as the boy moved his hand to, what looked like, touch the box itself. The Defence Professor gave him an encouraging smile and a nod. Go on, Jaemin. Open the box by your hand. You're nearly there.

As for Hirsch, he was just going to linger here for a bit. Just to see the boy's reaction to the treasure inside.

Hirsch's reactions were enough to make Jaemin sure that touching the box was okay. Because Hirsch wouldn't mislead him like that... he was a good guy. A very good professor who wouldn't do stuff that would upset his students. Right? He seemed genuinely pleased that the Slytherin had figured it out... and Jaemin found that extremely confidence-boosting.

The small teen flipped the top of the box open. Though nothing changed physically, Jaemin somehow felt like a weight had been lifted; curse successfully cracked, he looked at Hirsch again before picking up the box and peering inside. There was a long moment of silence... and then came the question.

"You put these in here, right?" Nobody else? He regarded the candy with some wariness, which ran about equal with his urge to automatically stuff his face. Had to make sure it was safe. Safety first!

hermionesclone · 07-01-2016, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

Hirsch's reactions were enough to make Jaemin sure that touching the box was okay. Because Hirsch wouldn't mislead him like that... he was a good guy. A very good professor who wouldn't do stuff that would upset his students. Right? He seemed genuinely pleased that the Slytherin had figured it out... and Jaemin found that extremely confidence-boosting.

The small teen flipped the top of the box open. Though nothing changed physically, Jaemin somehow felt like a weight had been lifted; curse successfully cracked, he looked at Hirsch again before picking up the box and peering inside. There was a long moment of silence... and then came the question.

"You put these in here, right?" Nobody else? He regarded the candy with some wariness, which ran about equal with his urge to automatically stuff his face. Had to make sure it was safe. Safety first!

The idea of being a very good professor would've been something that would've touched the man deeply if he knew that that's what the young Slytherin thought. It was, pretty much, every professor's wish to be good at teaching, especially in the subject that they loved so much.

But alas, the man knew nothing of the sort and so, he just stood there watching the boy.

That reaction? Hirsch threw his head back and laughed for a moment before shaking his head. "Yes, I've put them in there and no, they haven't been tampered with. You're perfectly safe." Considering what had happened, he should've expected this. It really should've been something he'd seen coming ever since that poster was pinned up near his office.

WhittyBitty · 07-01-2016, 10:51 PM

Okay, so she was right about having to use non-verbal Magic. Esme smiled. "Thank you, Professor Tanner."

Now she knew how to activate the curse though she still wasn't certain WHAT said curse was. Well, she was going to try the only counter curse that she could think of that could restore movement and hope that it did the trick because otherwise she was at a complete and utter loss. Esme wasn't going to let that bother her though; she put all her concentration into what she wanted to do as she made three clockwise circles with her wand before pointing it at her box.

hermionesclone · 07-01-2016, 11:04 PM

As much as he hated it, time was ticking. A glance down at his watch told him that it was nearly time for the bell to ring, thereby signalling for the end of, he had to admit, a great lesson. Hirsch's eyes found Tiara and he gave her a nod, hoping that she knew what he was talking about.

When it was time, the man raised his voice ever so slightly and called, "And time's up, folks! If you've managed to successfully crack the code and open the box, the treasure inside is yours to keep." Which would result in some happy students, he hoped. "If not, I hope you still managed to learn something in this lesson. Thank you all for attending."

And that was it. Class dismissed!

Sad. He'd been enjoying that.

He'd wait until the students had left to pick up the boxes. As for now, he wandered over towards Tiara and said quietly, "So I think that was a job well done. Thanks for doing this lesson with me." Because there was no way he'd have been able to do this on his own.

OOC: EEEEEEEEE!

I hope you guys enjoyed that lesson and it wasn't too confusing or anything. I'll leave this thread open for a bit if you want to post your charries leaving.

Thanks for coming! <3

Goblinfrog · 07-01-2016, 11:08 PM

"Arithmos Revelio Scindo," she muttered, pointing her wand at the box making the correct circular motion like she had been instructed. Slowly, vaguely, golden numbers began to appear:

88 066 15 9 4

Kitty began scribbling down notes. First she copied out on an empty sheet the number chart:

0: Decay, nothingness, cessation
1: Beginning, independence, innovation, leadership, verbal expression
2: Harmony, unity, relationships, collaboration, duality, humans
3: Imagination, house elves/house elf magic, complex thought
4: Endurance, sober-mindedness, practicality, complexity
5: Change, freedom, physical world, physical touch
6: Balance, nurturing, family focus, domestic and work issues, stability
7: Analysis, wisdom, spiritual focus, magic
8: Authority, self-mastery, fluidity, movement
9: Endings, metamorphosis, power/strength, short-lived, immediacy

Then she spelled out, a little below this, the four parts of the lock:

Basis: 88
Kernel: 066
Range: 15
Cline: 9 4

Right. Now she just had to interpret it all. Two eights next to each other probably meant that the curse would affect her self-mastery and movement. Ugh! Kitty remembered last year when she had been frozen by the Hag along with Haddie. That was not something she wanted to repeat.

Next came the kernel. Zero stood for decay and nothingness while the two sixes represented balance, nurturing, family, and stability. Huh. Did that mean that the decay and nothingness of the zero was going to interfere with stability? How did it correspond to the ability to move? Kitty was so lost.

Moving to the range. One stood for beginnings, innovation, independence, and verbal expression while five stood for freedom, change, and physical touch. Did that mean that she was required to do something innovative...such as touching the box?

And now the cline. Nine stood for endings, metamorphosis, power/strength, short-lived, immediacy; while four meant endurance, sober-mindedness, practicality, complexity. This certainly WAS complex. It probably meant that what was coming was going to be short lived but powerful. Ugh.

Kitty sighed and put her face in her hands as she thought about it. Slowly she was beginning to piece it together, or at least she thought she was.

"Professors..." said Kitty, raising her hand somewhat awkwardly. "I think the curse will affect my movement, stopping me from moving at all. So...it's going to interfere with my stability...yeah." Had she just said that? "And...it's going to be triggered by physical touch or if I use verbal magic. So I guess to open it I have to use non-verbal magic." Now she was back on track. "And it's going to be short lived but very powerful."

ginnilie · 07-01-2016, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magical Soul

Text Cut: Arielle :3

Someone must've seen the despaired look on Genny's face because in no time, a new girl came over and offered to partner up. Genny's face lit up for the first time this lesson and she made space for her new partner, Arielle, who seemed to know more than Genny in long ways. The second year was amazed how a first year managed to keep up with the lesson this quickly. Yes, they were already at the end of the term where firsties must've learned much more but Genny never seemed to find Arithmancy easy to keep up.

A hard, concentrating look passed over the Gryffindor's face when Arielle started explaining things. It didn't sound too complicated at first, but then there were verbal magic and physical touch curse and Genny was confused again. "Uhm. I think what you said sounds good. But.. if the curse is activated by magic... shouldn't it have been activated when we cast the spell that made the numbers appear?" Hmm? "In any case, I can try and open the box with my hand first and see if it opens or if it turns my fingers jelly-like." She couldn't help but puff up her chest a little at that. She was more than willing to be cursed and go through an exciting adventure in this boring class where no one is dueling anyone else.

Without waiting for an agreement from Arielle, because she might refuse and deprive Genny of her desire to be cursed, Genny grabbed the box and tried to open it.

Arielle opened her mouth to try and stop her, but it was too late. Her new friend opened the box and... Nothing happened. Fingers still normal, senses all good, the girl took out some Honeydukes candy. Arielle wondered if the curse was broken when the box was opened or if a nonverbal counter curse needed to be performed. That must have not mattered though, as Professor Tanner praised Arielle's partner for her work, meaning they didn't need to do anything else. Tanner had called the girl "Miss Tate" and Arielle realized she didn't know what to call her. "I didn't catch your first name..." she said to the girl, and then turned to her unopen box that Proffessor Tanner hadn't noticed. She unlatched the box and took out the candy while both the proffessors were busy with other students. She didn't know if partners were only allowed one box, but she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity for Honeydukes, and Arielle didn't much enjoy sharing.

WhittyBitty · 07-02-2016, 02:00 AM

So Esme hadn't managed to open the box but that didn't really bother her. For one thing she didn't like chocolate so she wouldn't have enjoyed it if that was the prize that she had won. She could give it to her sister but yeah... not really a big loss to her. The CHALLENGE was what appealed to her most of all. She would just have to get better at it in the future. At least she had managed to figure out a lot on her own and had learned some important things.

She started packing up her stuff while making sure not to touch the box. "Thank you for the lesson Professors. It was very informative." If not confusing... Now she was off to get something to eat!

Ameh · 07-02-2016, 03:04 AM

As long as Hirsch had been the one to put the candies in the box, they were surely safe. Jaemin gave the professor a nod before unwrapping a small caramel and popping it into his mouth; there was enough of it that it took him a fair amount of time to actually chew his way entirely through it, and by the time the last little bit was melting in his mouth, Hirsch was sounding the end to class. The small boy dumped the rest of the candies into his bag, humming happily to himself; he would add them to the snack stash he'd gotten for his birthday from his parents, which was also marked as safe to eat. Lots of goodies. He added his books back to his bag and stood from his desk, swinging it over his shoulder.

He couldn't leave, however, without talking to the professors. The slightly-less-diminutive-now Slytherin made his way up to Professor Tanner and Professor Hirsch, giving them both a smile. "Thank you for the lesson, professors. If I wanted to try more of that, to maybe get better at it... could I go to either of you, or...?"

Both? Neither? He looked between them expectantly. It was interesting, even if it wasn't straightforward... it was something that would give his brain some probably needed training, to think outside the ~~cursed~~ box.

MadMadamMalfoy · 07-02-2016, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Azura smiled as she took the sweets in her hand and then moved to sit next to Fiyero. "Of course! Anytime." She said with another warm smile at him as she sat down by him.

"Oh thank you! I felt kinda dumb cause I could just go on over there and open it.. I think I was making it a bit to complicated then it was." She said with a sheepish smile as she looked over at his notes..

"All right.. so the Range is 15?" She asked as she peered up at the board.."Well, that looks like Verbal expression and Physical touch.. I think.." Ohh.. was this a harder one? "So, touch activates it.. and Verbal expression? But it didn't say anything about magic.. So we can use it? Perhaps?" Azura looked at him..

"Why do you think?" Was she right about that?

"As for the Cline.. It looks like it takes place immediately and lasts for awhile? If I'm interpreting this right." She passed her notes over to him.

SPOILER!!: Az's notes

Fiyero listened carefully to Azura's thoughts about the range and cline. "Yeah, that sounds about right," he said, nodding in agreement. "So the curse affects balance and movement, takes affect immediately and lasts for a long time..." He tried to think of what spell that could possibly be. "Maybe a leg-locker curse...or a jelly legs jinx." So how in the name of Merlin were they supposed to break the curse if it reacts to touch and verbal expression?

Before he could riddle it out, Professor Hirsch called time. Darn! They almost had it... he just hoped the teachers wouldn't take points off for not opening the box. Fiyero turned to Azura with a small shrug. "It looks like we're out of time," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "but thanks for. your help anyway."

Steelsheen · 07-02-2016, 07:33 AM

Tenacius looked up at the Arithmancer as she explained and then at his box. Aww nuts. He tripped the curse. So it was magic in any form-- spoken or otherwise. He looked sadly at the hazy air surrounding it that looks like its been shielded from any other tampering. Awww sad Curly Top is sad.

But hey at least he tried right? And he quite enjoyed this lesson.

He picked up his things as the Professor dismissed the class "Thanks Professor Hirsch, Professor Tanner. It was a great lesson!" even if he kinda failed at the end "Is there anything else I can do to help with around here?" because he may be able to pick up a few tips, maybe properly handling cursed objects? Who knows.

Goblinfrog · 07-02-2016, 10:03 PM

Kitty hadn't managed to open the box, but that was okay because she wasn't the only one and it had been a fun lesson. She loved learning new things and this was something she had never even heard of before. "Thank you for the interesting lesson Professors. It was actually pretty fun."

She glanced one last time at her unopened box, wondering if she would get the chance to try again sometime this term. Then she turned and skipped merrily out of the classroom.

hpluvr037 · 07-04-2016, 02:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

He'd wait until the students had left to pick up the boxes. As for now, he wandered over towards Tiara and said quietly, "So I think that was a job well done. Thanks for doing this lesson with me." Because there was no way he'd have been able to do this on his own.

Well that had been a success! "Yes, it went very well. I was proud of them, especially the younger students." A few of them had managed to open their boxes, even! But she chuckled at the man's thanks. "If you remember, I was the one that practically ordered you to my office when you first arrived so we could discuss this." Was that really a year and a half ago? Time flew. "Sorry about that, by the way. I was just excited about the opportunity." She couldn't remember where she'd heard he was into this stuff, but she knew their previous DADA professor hadn't been as much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

She started packing up her stuff while making sure not to touch the box. "Thank you for the lesson Professors. It was very informative." If not confusing... Now she was off to get something to eat!

Tiara nodded as Esme exited the room. "You are most welcome, dear. Now go grab some lunch, you earned it!" she smiled.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

"Professors..." said Kitty, raising her hand somewhat awkwardly. "I think the curse will affect my movement, stopping me from moving at all. So...it's going to interfere with my stability...yeah." Had she just said that? "And...it's going to be triggered by physical touch or if I use verbal magic. So I guess to open it I have to use non-verbal magic." Now she was back on track. "And it's going to be short lived but very powerful."

Ah, good reasoning from the Ravenclaw. "Yes, good thoughts Miss Valentine," she encouraged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

He couldn't leave, however, without talking to the professors. The slightly-less-diminutive-now Slytherin made his way up to Professor Tanner and Professor Hirsch, giving them both a smile. "Thank you for the lesson, professors. If I wanted to try more of that, to maybe get better at it... could I go to either of you, or...?"

Both? Neither? He looked between them expectantly. It was interesting, even if it wasn't straightforward... it was something that would give his brain some probably needed training, to think outside the ~~cursed~~ box.

"Of course, Mister Song!" she said. Well, maybe she shouldn't really speak for Roderik, but she was sure he would say the same. "We will do more of this in arithmancy and I suspect Professor Hirsch might do more in his lessons as well. But obviously you are most welcome at any of my office hours!" She loved when students' intellectual curiosity led them to discover more outside of class time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

He picked up his things as the Professor dismissed the class "Thanks Professor Hirsch, Professor Tanner. It was a great lesson!" even if he kinda failed at the end "Is there anything else I can do to help with around here?" because he may be able to pick up a few tips, maybe properly handling cursed objects? Who knows.

"Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it!" she said sincerely. "As for helping out.." Hmm. Was there anything? "I cannot think of anything off the top of my head, but I truly appreciate the offer, Mister Salander." It didn't come from students very often.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

Kitty hadn't managed to open the box, but that was okay because she wasn't the only one and it had been a fun lesson. She loved learning new things and this was something she had never even heard of before. "Thank you for the interesting lesson Professors. It was actually pretty fun."

She glanced one last time at her unopened box, wondering if she would get the chance to try again sometime this term. Then she turned and skipped merrily out of the classroom.

Kitty sounded shocked that a lesson could be fun. Tiara understood the feeling; she had been a student herself, after all! That was usually her biggest struggle: how to make arithmancy lessons enjoyable. "I am so happy you enjoyed yourself, Miss Valentine. Now off you go to get some lunch!" She'd definitely earned it today.

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