Xerxes strolled down the designated path toward the meadow clearing. He was wearing comfortable clothing today instead of his usual robes and full Hogwarts uniform. As he made his way into the center of the clearing, he looked around at all the squishy cushions. He picked one that deemed to be the most squishy-looking and took seat. He put down his school bag and took his wand out of his jeans pocket and placed it on the ground directly in front of him.

Normally he would have taken this time to greet his Professor, but she was no where in sight. Therefore he simply sat back and enjoyed the beautiful weather and warm sunshine on his face and arms.

Ary, being the type to enjoy days outdoors when the weather was this blissful, couldn’t be happier that he would be held in one of the meadows today. To make things even better, uniforms weren’t required and he was dressed in a plain white tee shirt and faded jeans. His feet were comfortable in trainers. The Slytherin followed the path and was there at the lesson spot in no time.

He scanned the place and saw no sign of anyone but a first year Hufflepuff and white wolf. Ary shrugged, thinking it was the professor in disguise. Yep, he was used to a few of them taking their Animagus form to linger before the start of their lessons. Now, he selected a cushion at the very back then adjusted himself comfortably. He was all set for this lesson!

As a true nature lover, Aurora was always especially happy when it came to being outside. So of course she was excited when she saw that Transfiguration would be held outdoors. Dressed in her comfy clothes, she made her way over to the open meadow where she saw Xerxes and Ary already seated.

She waved to both of her friends before taking a seat on a cushion by Xerxes. ”How’s it going?” she asked both of her friends cheerfully. Rory wondered where the professor was, but then when she looked off past the blackboard she saw a white wolf. Ah. So there she was.

”Hey Rory. It’s going pretty great. I love having class outside. What do you suppose we are gonna learn about today? Maybe Switching Spells? Or turning grass into silk fabric?” he said.

He settled down into his cushion and stretched out, enjoying the light breeze running through his pink hair.

The warmer weather meant that Kara was one day closer to getting to see her best friend again. Although she had to admit that second year had turned out to be much easier and less homesickness than first year; she got along well enough with her dormmates and she had Gobstones to look forward to. But she hadn't quite found that close confident yet.

Today's lesson was especially motivating as any excuse to ditch the uncomfortable pleated skirt and tights, Kara was completely on-board with. Jeans, a t-shirt, and trainers, the Gryffindor waved at her peers already present as she surveyed the area for Professor Stone. Well that's strange. Had she misread the notice board on the location of the lesson?

"No professor?" Kara stated matter-of-factly. Even though she was a second year, she still hadn't quite absorbed the fact that some of their professors were animagi yet. If she was being completely honest, she hadn't even absorbed what an animagi was in the first place.

The blue-eyed gaze of the wolf flickered towards the gathering students as time went on, taking measure of the growing group preparing for the latest Transfiguration lesson. First, a young Hufflepuff…than a Slytherin known for being a friend of creatures…and another badger and then a Gryffindor. And on and on as more and more young witches and wizards made it out to the grounds representing all the houses. The wolf didn’t seem to care at first until enough had gathered in the clearing for the right amount of time to have passed. Then the creature stood up with a natural grace and started padding over to the group, smoothly morphing into a woman with whitish blonde hair that the students had no doubt been waiting on.

“I assure ye there is a professor,” she remarked with a bemused look as she caught Ms. Walsh’s question as she stopped in front of the class. “And ye will just have to wait and see, Mr. Cadwallader,” the transfiguration professor added for the boy’s benefit before turning to the group as a whole. “Good morning…” Professor Stone greeted non-challant with a friendly smile. Yes, totally natural for the animangus to be hiding in plain sight though it wasn’t like it was the first time she had taken her form since coming to teach so there was potential for students to know of her skill…other than her independent study students. She made her way closer to the blackboard to allow them a moment to regroup if they were taken aback by her sudden presence before continuing on to start the lesson.

“To begin…I wonder if anyone would be willing to share a time when they or someone else needed some form of first aid.” She was open, of course, to anyone answering, but there was no pressure to supply a response if one was uncomfortable. It would be interesting to see what stories would be shared, however.


ooc: Class has begun! Do not post arriving after this unless you wish to deal with IC consequences.

Jan was feeling good being here today. He had gotten some surprising and happy news from home, so seeing a pleasant smile on his face wasn't unusual, especially sitting next to his friends and nice acquaintances. He watched as Professor Stone transifigured herself from the wolf to begin the lesson.

Share a time they needed first aid... Jan didn't have to think too long about that when he rose his hands, "When I was five years old playing with my little brother, we were playing tag and I tripped skinning my knees against the pavement. But it was okay, since my Dad E came over with my mum and Firther before he patched me up with a spell. Then he placed some bandages with decorated dragons over it for looks." They were good times, and he had to urge to want to hug his parents now.

Ary lifted a hand and waved back to Rory. As he lowered it, one of the Gryffindors asked a question that drifted towards him. He was sure she’d find out soon enough that the professor was indeed there. See? There Stone was, making her appearance in human form now. He had a feeling Bry was loving this as she was in training to be an Animagus.

As the lesson started, the Slytherin tilted his head. This question sounded somewhat familiar. Was it Professor Cole who had started off one of his lessons with a similar one? Anyway, he wracked his brain for another scenario where he had gotten injured, since he didn't want to talk about the same one as he had in Herbology.

“This one time when Bryony and I were younger, she was playing around on the monkey bars.” AKA engaging in her Ninja Warrior training. “She attempted to jump from it but didn’t know I was close by below her. In the process, she collided with me and I fell. The gravel bruised my knees and palms. One of my palms and both knees bled a little but my dad was able to make things better in no time using some spells.” Dad Adi was good at stuff like that. He had to be if he dealt with Hippogriffs and Dragons all day, everyday.

Xerxes raised his hand and answered. “One time when I was really little, I burned my leg on a crucible that my parents were using for a magical fire. I began to cry loudly until my mom put this unctuous orange paste all over the burn. After that the pain stopped and the burn healed after only a few hours. ”

Xerxes put his hand down and listened to the other students answer, comparing notes on their tales to his own. It was very pleasant being out here on the grounds, enjoying the sunshine and warm, refreshing breeze. Xerxes privately thought that all his classes should take place outside on the grounds.

There seemed to have been a rash of skinned knees amongst the Slytherins, both of those snakes who answered, as well as the girl mentioned by Mr. Atreyu-Rehman had given the experience as their example. But then that was one of the more common injuries with kids growing up, broken bones being the other, especially when one was the curious, rambunctious type. With a touch of the whimsy with the playful bandages no doubt as a way to sooth a “Aye…” she remarked in acceptance of the stories. “The spells used were likely a combination of Episkey and pain relieving spells, both of which are charms. And very useful to know.” However, not exactly the topic of today’s lesson since surely the castle’s resident charms expert and school healer might like to be the one who taught on those subjects.

Professor Stone tried not to physically wince as Mr. Cadwallader spoke of his own experience. Burns were certainly one of her own least favorite injuries as they could be quite painful. A memory unlocked of attempts to learn various spells like the flame-freezing charm and the less than perfect outcome that became of the life lesson. “Indeed…potions and pastes are another form of first aid,” she agreed with a nod. And also very useful, especially when one worked with various magical creatures that had a thing for fire like the parents of some of her present students. A few more answers were given from assorted students, each idea jotted down on one side of the board for reference, before the transfiguration professor brought everyone’s attention back to her to move them on to the next bit.

“Today we will be working with a first aid spell in particular,” Aurora began, writing one six-letter word on the center of the board. “The incantation is Ferula…or fer-rool-lah.” The phonetic spelling joins the word on the blackboard to give assistance later on when they practiced the spell. “With that in mind, I want to see what you think the spell might do or what it would help with. Remember it’s a transfiguration spell, which would fall under one of the five categories of transfiguration…transformation, switching, conjuration, untransfiguration and vanishment.” That should get them thinking on the matter. All categories were studied at Hogwarts and she had given an overview of them all the the beginning of term to get her feet wet, testing what various years knew from their previous instruction.


ooc: Onto question two. Feel free to get creative. We'll be moving on in about 36 hours.

Potions and pastes as first aid. Ary knew of those all too well! Dad Adi and Aunty Lux always saw to it that the Reserve possessed an ample amount of those forms of remedies. He didn’t remember what spells his dad would have used on him at the time but he did remember that he was patched up in no time. Dad Adi was good with that sort of thing, and Ary always felt safe under that sort of care.

Ferula. Adi knew of that one but hadn’t the need to use it at any point, fortunately. He raised his hand immediately. “Ferula is a spell that conjures bandages then wraps them around a wound. This splints broken bones and can help reduce some amount of the pain experienced.”

Jan found it interesting to see the lesson would be tackling on the healing subject. Oh, Ferula! He recognized that as a Bandaging charm, but it was also listed as a conjuration spell, perfect for Transfiguration. Nodding as he heard Ary talk about what the spell did.

"Even though it's a healing spell of sorts, it mostly focuses on conjuring an object such as bandages or a splint to help the healing process." Jan said after he was called on, "I'm not sure if it allows customizing the design of them or if it just goes for what's practical." While he mentioned that, he was very curious to know the answer.

Aurora awaited the answers she would receive on her posed question and the two students that finally spoke up certainly didn’t disappoint. “Aye correct Mr. Atreyu-Rehman and Mr. Grunt…that is precisely what Ferula does,” she confirmed with a nod as she tapped the blackboard to reveal the description she had previously written down for the class to see. “More formally referred to as the Bandaging charm, it helps keep a limb, both arms and legs, immobilized to better allow one to be able to get to a healer with less discomfort where it can be actually treated. Thus living up to the Latin meaning of Ferula which is a rod” Though technically more in reference to the vegetables that are shaped like one like carrots and such rather than metal or wood like one would expect. It was such veggies that were often used by Romans to create their own walking sticks and muggle splints.

“And aye, it is a spell in the conjuration branch of transfiguration as it creates out of thin air. “ No switching or changing from something else. And now they were going to practice the spell so they were ready for the end of class. Taking out her wand the transfiguration moved to demonstrate the casting without the incantation at first. “It’s wand movement is one stroke downwards, then turning to draw a small hump. Kind of resembling a lowercase h. And it doesn’t have a light so don’t expect one. ” Instead you simply saw the conjuration spell at work to know you had done it correctly. Showing it a few times she added the drawing and phonetic spelling of the incantation on the board before facing the class once more.



“Now for a few minutes I want ye to practice it one yourself. I suggest on a leg so it’s easier to aim.” Rather than dealing with your non-dominate arm freezing up when the spell took force. “Ye can cast a simple finite to end the spell to try it more than once or when ye or satisfied with yer work. When everyone is good with the spellwork we’ll move on to our class activity.” One that she was sure most if not all of her students would enjoy…and why they were outside of course.

ooc: Sorry about the delay. Had some comp issues. We'll move onto main activity late Tuesday.

As the details were finalized for their next meeting, Vivienne adjusted her cushion and neatly arranged her robes under her knees. A wave of relief washed over her as she realized she had additional time to get ready for the upcoming exam. While collecting her notes and personal items, Vivienne found herself appreciating the continuous guidance and support provided over the semester. Fueled by a newfound determination, she embarked on crafting her study timetable to secure triumph in the upcoming exam.

She whispered the incantation a few times to herself, “Ferula… Fer-ROOL-lah…”, until her tongue didn’t trip over the unfamiliar syllables. With a deep breath, she raised her wand and prepared to cast the spell, hoping it would work as intended. The air around her crackled with energy as she focused all her concentration on the task at hand. As she channeled her magic into the wand, a faint glow began to emanate from its tip, signaling that the spell was about to be unleashed.

“Ferula,” she said aloud, guiding her wand with precision as a bandage materialized around her injured limb, providing support and relief. She sighed in relief, grateful for her skills in magic in times of need. She knew that without her wand and knowledge of spells, she would have been in significant discomfort and unable to continue on with her day. With a smile, she continued on her journey, confident in her abilities to overcome any obstacle that may come her way.

Ary too, was curious to know about any customising the spell may allow, now that Jan mentioned it. But it sounds like it went more in the practical direction based on the explanation Stone gave. He scribbled his notes as best as he could while balancing his book on his lap.

The wand movement itself was an easy one, and Adi started his practice with that: the wand was brought down in a downward movement followed by that hump-y bit. But hey, it could have passed for the lowercase ‘h’. The movements were repeated until the Slytherin was fluent at it. “Ferula. Ferula.” Easy peasy, this part of the lesson was completed for him.

“Could have practiced it on you, Jan,’’ Ary said cheerfully. “And my arms and legs would have been available for you to do the same.” But he wasn’t about to defy Stone’s instructions so he got to work by sticking a foot out. “Ferula!” he thought as he traced out the movement. Immediately, white bandages wrapped around his knee. “I think Professor Feirgrund would have been proud of this,’’ he continued, examining the secure but comfortable manner in which the bandages were wrapped.

Jan was tracing out the wand movement and the spell, as he thought about how useful it would be. He luckily never had a broken arm or leg, but there was a chance of that during Quidditch all the time.

Smiling at Ary, "Who knows, maybe something will happen and we'll get to use it on each other." Jan said. Friends always help one another. "Ferula," He then began the wand resembling an 'h' over his leg, and presto, a cast was bandaged around it. After he cast a 'Finite' to remove it. Now, he could do it silently... well, he could practice in the meantime.

Professor Stone let herself wander the grass around the perimeter of the class to both allow herself the means to observe the practicing and provide assistance should any of the students need it. It did seem to her that she had a good bunch of workers today however, each one appearing to get the hang of the bandaging charm fairly quickly and decently enough as they worked. “Good job, Ms. Awning,” she remarked to encourage the first year, especially as she worked on getting the pronunciation right before moving on. She couldn’t help the slightly bemused smile that graced her pale features as she overheard Mr. Atreyu-Rehman and Mr. Grunt. They would indeed have their moment to do just that in the immediate future with her plans to wrap up the lesson.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a little bit more practice time, she returned to the front of the group to lay out the main activity portion of the lesson. “Now for a bit of fun…” the transfiguration professor remarked, offering a smile to the students as she waved her wand in the direction of the field besides which they had been sitting while learning. A disillusioned area slowly but surely materialized for all to see, showing two short poles spaced out to hold a line of students near them that marked out a starting line of sorts. Its mirrored finish line off in the distance marked with poles topped with small flags fluttering in the breeze. “Mr. Atreyu-Rehman and Mr. Grunt mentioned working in tandem with each other to continue working on Ferula and that is actually what we will be doing for the rest of class.”

Any ideas come to mind? Have you finally figured out why we are all outside?

“What I would like you to do is partner up,” Professor Stone began looking at the gathered students, some already clear to her that they would likely be working together. “Then with your opposite legs together, cast the bandaging charm to unite them…so we can have a nice three-legged race among your classmates!” Thankfully she had chosen a relatively level area of ground, well at least as level as she could find or make with minor improvements, for she had a feeling they would already be in danger of tripping over their own feet…if her experiences with her own siblings during her childhood were any indication. "Line up here when ready" the professor pointing at the starting line "... and then it's go!"


ooc: Great job so far! Now onto the fun part. You don’t need to wait for Aurora to start the race, just get bandaged up with your partner and go. Also, in case of not enough partners, act as if a non-named player is besides you traipsing along with you.

Feel free to do it in more than one post. We’ll wrap it all up and declare a winning team on Friday August 1st.

Kara wasn't sure she'd ever fully get used to the concept of their professors being animals. It wasn't even all their professors, but seemed like enough were animagi that she ought to be adjusted to the concept by now - even if it was only two. Or three?

She considered Professor Stone's question, opting taking notes using her "new" invisible ink she'd received for Christmas. There was the time when I was maybe five or six and had the worst stomach bug. Things were coming out of all my orifices, it felt like. Despite how disgusting I felt, my mom was there with chicken soup and hot tea. And a garbage pail. She didn't state anything aloud, feeling kind of self-conscious about her first aid story. She hadn't even thought about that bug in years, so why now was that the first aide memory that came to mind? She should have made something up about skinning a knee while roller skating.

Oh. They were learning the bandaging charm. That actually seemed kind of useful. Well if you were the type who broke bones. Which she wasn't. She wasn't really into sports, but she also didn't really do anything that might cause her to break or sprain anything. The Professor was introducing the task... a three-legged race? So the bandaging charm didn't NEED to be used for injuries? That was actually a fun use for the spell, but wasn't fun was finding a partner. It seemed Ary and Jan were going to partner. Where were Bria or Elena or Avalon?

Xerxes was about her size. He might work. Be brave. Be bold. Kara took a step over towards the first year Hufflepuff. "Wanna partner for the race?"

Look at that.

This pair of besties got to work together after all. A three legged race was an exciting activity! Though Ary wasn’t the most athletic, he had gotten better at that sort of stuff recently thanks to doing light workouts with Dad Adi and Bry. “You’re going to have to pull most of the weight for this one, Jan,’’ Ary remarked, laughter in his voice. He nonverbally cast Finite to remove his practise bandages.

“Here, have a leg.” He stuck his left one close to Jan’s right one. “You can do the honours of bonding us for life. I'll apologise to Hermy later for taking you away.” It was the level of comfort Ary felt with the other guy that made him say silly things. Even if they didn’t win this race, they were gonna have a great time!

Jan chuckled, "Don't I always?" Well.. mostly with his siblings, which was natural with him being the oldest and all. Adding, "Don't knock yourself down, you got the strength to help me as well."

Jan's last attempt as silently casting Ferula didn't succeed, so he was already bandageless when he joined Ary at the starting point. "I guess this isn't the right time to say break a leg," For luck and all. "If we weren't about to start I'd give you a shove for that," Smiling, they were close enough to not take the little jabs seriously. Snake besties had a knack for that.

Jan wrapped one arm around Ary for support. "We got this!" Then he mimicked the wand movement, "Ferula." Presto, the bandage wrapped around their joined leg. His weight immediately shifted before he adjusted himself. "Okay.. ready?" He was all set.

Kara wasn't quite sure if maybe she'd been too soft spoken with the younger Hufflepuff student. Nonetheless the second year Gryffindor decided to take matters into her own hands. She would compete by herself - as an only child she was used to doing things on her own.

Swiftly moving her wand in the appropriate movement, Kara cast "Ferula" on her legs, binding her two limbs together. She hadn't properly thought this through but perhaps Professor Stone would approve of ingenuity in completing the race. Arms out for some balance support, she hopped forward.

One hop. Two hops. She could do it. The arms out seemed to help.

Aurora smiled at Xeroxes and was about to answer him when suddenly Professor Stone had joined them and was starting the lesson. She had already figured out that the professor was the white wolf, but it made sense to her that some of her classmates would be surprised by the revelation. Especially the younger ones.

As the Professor spoke, Aurora listened attentively and took notes. It made sense to her that the spell they’d be learning today would be the bandaging charm. Something that was definitely useful to know.

Rory wasted no time in practicing the spell. Since the incantation was so simple, Rory didn’t spend any time on that. ”Ferula.” That done, she began practicing the wand movement, copying what she saw on the board. That was also quite simple.

Class was moving on again and it was time for the activity. Oooh a race. That sounded fun!

Teamed up, Aurora cast Ferula, binding her and her partner together by bandages. That done, they made their way to the starting point so that they could begin the race. As they started, she made sure to work her best with her partner to try and stay coordinated and make steady progress towards the finish line. She wasn’t sure if they’d win, but she would have fun either way.

As she went, she saw a younger girl who had opted to do the race by herself. That was definitely creative. Even though it wasn’t a three legged race.

SPOILER!!: Jan!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

Jan chuckled, "Don't I always?" Well.. mostly with his siblings, which was natural with him being the oldest and all. Adding, "Don't knock yourself down, you got the strength to help me as well."

Jan's last attempt as silently casting Ferula didn't succeed, so he was already bandageless when he joined Ary at the starting point. "I guess this isn't the right time to say break a leg," For luck and all. "If we weren't about to start I'd give you a shove for that," Smiling, they were close enough to not take the little jabs seriously. Snake besties had a knack for that.

Jan wrapped one arm around Ary for support. "We got this!" Then he mimicked the wand movement, "Ferula." Presto, the bandage wrapped around their joined leg. His weight immediately shifted before he adjusted himself. "Okay.. ready?" He was all set.

Ary was merely stating facts but it was always nice to have someone encouraging you. “Er, no. Because I would like to leave this lesson in one piece, thank you very much,’’ he said with a laugh. Though he supposed Professor Feirgrund would mend him in no time. “What? Don’t you want to be bonded to me for life?” With another laugh, Ary prodded Jan in the arm.

But now it was time to get serious. He followed Jan’s lead by draping an arm around him. “Yup, we do!” Sorry in advance if he made you trip, Jan! With their feet joined by the bandage now, he nodded. “All set.” They needed to ensure they were well coordinated. “Let’s start with these first.’’ Ary nodded at the pair strapped together. And so he moved to take a step forward with that first.

And once the pace was set, and the two boys were able to fall into rhythm, it became super easy for them to get their competitiveness on. Or at least it was for Ary. Competitiveness came naturally to him.

Xerxes had heard the girl speak, but wasn't quick enough in responding. Therefore, he saw the girl bind her own two legs together. This simply wouldn't do.

Xerxes ran up to her and said, "Yes, I'd love to be your partner for the race. I apologize for my delay in responding. But I'm here now and am very excited to be your partner. Allow me to do the honors."

Xerxes put his leg up against hers (after she had untied her own legs of course) and pointed his wand at their adjacent appendages. "Ferula!" he said, with a tap of his wand. Their legs were bound tightly in bandages. They were ready for the race.

Xerxes approached the starting line with his partner and then took off as soon as he heard the whistle. "I think if we count, it will help us to coordinate our movements." he said to Kara. "One. Two. One. Two. One. Two......just like that."

After a few unsteady movements, it started to work. They were off, and they were working in unison. Before long they were in the lead. The finish line was only a few feet away..........