Below are the 16 most recent journal entries recorded in liya_vonperle's LiveJournal:

Friday, November 24th, 2006
11:49 am	Herbology Lesson Three Lesson Three Professor Longbottom was waiting in the classroom as usual, smiling his kindly round smile at all his students. Most of them were still excited about last week's traveling lesson, and were eager to see if the experience was to be repeated. "Professor? Are we going back to the desert today??" one girl asked. Professor Longbottom smiled mysteriously. "No, we're not going back to the desert." The class looked a bit disappointed at this revelation. "But we are leaving Hogwarts again." The class was once again filled with eager little smiles. Professor Longbottom beamed, his face reddening. He was so glad that the students liked Herbology! "Now," He said, in a more serious tone. "Today is more of a be-well-behaved sort of lesson than a follow-directions-stick-near-me sort of lesson. Although those two rules to apply. Today we will be guests in the home of a dear friend of mine. We will be eating dinner there, and visiting his garden. He very kindly agreed to allow all of you in his house. Rightio, gather round and remember what I told you about being on your best Hogwarts behavior." The students nodded, talking excitedly to one another as The Professor looked at his watch and held out a dirt smudged planter, each of them putting a finger on it. "Just a second...Three...Two...One..." There was the same sickening feeling, and they were transported out of the castle. The new place was pretty, peaceful and green. The house was unfamiliar to most of the kids, but obviously the Professor knew it at once. He rapped on the door. "This is the house of my esteemed friend, Mr. Atsumori Asano. He's a member of International Cooperation division of the Ministry of Magic. You will address him as Sir or Mr. Asano at all times. This is Japan, by the way." The class was awed as the great wooden gate opened and a stooped old Japanese Wizard opened it. He greeted The Professor with silent bow, and Professor Longbottom returned it wobbily. "Your Class, Longbottom?" he asked, gazing at them all sternly. The professor Nodded. "Come then. They have traveled far." The Professor motioned for the kids to follow the two adults up the steep stone stairway, through a dazzling tree filled courtyard up to a traditional Japanese house. The front door slid open, and the class filed in silent awe. "Please sit." The old man motioned to a very large room full of low tables and pillows. What looked like a feast was laid out for them. Professor Longbottom nodded and took a seat, sitting cross legged next to the old man. They chatted quietly, eating what looked like fish and little squids, and lots of interesting plants. "Try the pizza," the professor said to a boy, who looked thoroughly disgusted by the selection in front of him. The pizza was an Idaho Special, with potato chunks, sliced bacon, onion, corn, parsley, black olive, mayonnaise, and cheese. ((To see a Japanese Pizza selection, go here )) After they had all eaten their fill, Mr. Asano led them out to the garden, describing several of his favorite plants. They stopped at one in particular, and he gazed at it fondly. "This is one of the most magical trees in existence, and one of the only ones. It grows only under special conditions of families who are deemed acceptable. It looked like a regular Cherry Blossom tree, or Sakura tree, but it was a bit different...something seemed to just radiate from it. "It is The Sakura Inochi . My family has guarded it's secrets well for many many centuries." The class looked at it in awe. It was very huge and very beautiful. It was quite a treat to see one of these. "Well class, please thank Mr. Asano, and we must return. The pail is here." He waved his wand and a pail appeared. "We have precisely twenty minutes before we return. You may take the rest of the class to walk around the garden, or to visit with Mr. Asano. Remember to remain on your best behavior." With that, he turned to his old friend, sat on a bench beneath the Sakura Inochi and had a nice long chat. --------------- Homework: Do one or more of the following -Roleplay the lesson (eating the Japanese feast, learning about the tree, walking around the garden, etc) -Write a short paragraph on the magical properties of the Sakura Inochi Have fun! (Comment on this)
11:49 am	Herbology Lesson Two "Rightio!" Professor Longbottom said, clapping his hands together excitedly. "Today you've got a special treat! A special one indeed! I do it every year, with special permission from the headmaster and the Ministry of Magic, but just to prevent catastrophes, I will lay down a few rules. "Rule Number One: Stay with me. Things can get mighty dangerous, and I don't want anyone seriously wounded." He looked at them solemnly, so solemnly that none of them dared take it for a joke. "Secondly, You must behave in a manner befitting of Students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will be polite, courteous, and well mannered. You will not be rude or anything of that sort." He was still looking at them gravely. "You must also remember, that no matter what happens, Don't Panic. Whatever it is, I will be able to help you. Don't resort to anything foolish because of a few moments of ill spent panic." He nodded, round face reverting to it's normal cheerful smile. "That said, I'm sure you will all enjoy this. Gather round, and place a finger on the shovel..." He held out a small dirt covered shovel and looked at his watch. "Ready Kiddos? Five...four...three...two...one..." and with a whoosh and a sickening feeling, the entire class was transported...somewhere. "Welcome to the Sahara Desert!" Professor Longbottom said, flinging his arms at the sky and the sand and the huge hot sun. "Isn't it brilliant??" The class looked utterly bewildered. "Professor...?" One young girl asked timidly. "How did we get to the Sahara desert? I can't apparate...and we didn't fly...?" "Right you are. That shovel was a portkey. A means of transporting people from one place to another. Very advanced magic, I set it up through Dumbledore, authorized by the Ministry. But enough about that. Just look at all this vegetation!" The class stared at the professor in disbelief. Vegetation? It was a desert! There was nothing but sand and sky and...nothing! "What Vegetation!?" a boy shouted, wincing at the bright sunlight. "Aha!" Longbottom said, triumphant again. "That's just why I brought you here. Follow me." He turned abruptly and began trudging through the sand, as if at random. He must have known where he was going, because in a few minutes they arrived at a small oasis. It was dry and hot, but the shade was a relief. A few tall sinister looking cacti and some spindly looking trees made it up. "This tree." He said, placing a hand on the rough bark of the tree. "Is a mesquite tree. It's roots grow hundreds of feet into the ground to find water. That's how it survives here. It's non magical. But this..." He tore off a thorn from a branch and pried some of the bark off the tree. "Is quite magical." He held up what looked like a small worm, but it was green and sluggish. "It's actually a live plant that grows in the bark of the mesquite trees in this particular desert. If removed from their habitat they die, so it's impossible for me to show you these (alive anyways) at Hogwarts." "What is it?" A student asked. Longbottom smiled. "A Loofaleafa." He said. If you eat this, you will have enough water in your system to last nearly a week. That's what makes it Magical." He winked. "But after a week, it will turn your hair green, your skin brown, and your feet into roots. It turns you into a mesquite tree. That's what causes these oasises out here. A muggle (or an unfortunate wizard) uses it as a last resort. After all, there are ways to reverse the effects, but it's quite hefty transfiguration and lots of time in St.Mungos." "Properly prepared, it can be useful in potions and things like that, for instance, reversing the effects of the bubotuber. But if you eat one now, I'm afraid the consequences would be dire." "Now! Your assignment. You have the remainder of class to gather these (Do NOT eat any of them) and put them in this pail." He waved his wand and a pail appeared at his feet, clattering on the hard earth. "Be back here in precisely 45 minutes, of I fear you will be left here in the Sahara for ever." --------------------- Homework: Roleplay one or more of the following -gathering loofaleafas -the lesson (your reaction) -"meeting" the wildlife of the oasis -being sunburnt Remember, the better the lesson, the more the house points that will be awarded! (Comment on this)
11:47 am	Herbology Lesson One Lesson One Professor Longbottom watched the new first years file into the Greenhouse looking rather scared. He smiled at them reassuringly, remembering how he had trembled at the thought of classes in his first year at Hogwarts. Many of the kids looked at him curiously, some of them looked at the plants, and several more talked to each other quietly. When they were all in their seats, he stood up and addressed them, at which time they all quieted. “Hello, my name is Professor Longbottom. I’ll be teaching you this year and next year for your classes on Herbology.” Several students gasped and muttered, and the professor knew that none of the mutterings were about the types of plant life they would be studying. He cleared his throat. “Yes, well.” He sighed. A girl had already raised her hand, looking nervous but excited. “You have a question?” “Yes sir, are you…Neville Longbottom? Like, the one that…all those years ago…you know…?” The rest of the class was silent, waiting to see how he would handle this. “Yes, that’s right.” He said. “I knew Harry Potter and fought in several battles. But that’s for another time. Today, Herbology.” He flicked his wand at a shabby chalkboard slightly hidden by several leafy plants. The Plants (hissing slightly) recoiled, leaving the text that he’d placed on the board visible. QUOTE Herbology is EVERYWHERE The students looked a bit uncomfortable. The professor smiled kindly. "Herbology is the study of plants, magical and non-magical, although in this class you'll mostly be studying the magical sort." He hoped to get a bit of laughter out of them with that quip but...alas. "Rightio. So, where do we begin? If it's everywhere, it must be here as well right? Of course! There are magical plants all around Hogwarts. Your first assignment is to find two magical plants around the castle and bring them to class next time. You can search the grounds, the castle, the other classrooms. Spend the rest of class talking to your classmates and brainstorming where you might find some magical plants. This will also give you a chance, as first years, to explore the castle." "Here's a sheet to document them" And he flicked his wand at the board again. QUOTE Name of Plant: Place found: Appearance: Properties: ------------ Homework: Roleplay the lesson. This can be done by a combination of several ideas listed below -Brainstorming with classmates -looking for plants around the castle -gathering plants around the castle -avoiding looking for plants around the castle. -filling out the given forms (at least one, more if you like) You can use a friend in your post, but be sure to ask thier permission before using their character You may use real or imaginary plants. If you use real ones, please site a source. PLEASE READ THE HERBOLOGY GUIDELINES PLEASE POST IN THE DEFAULT FONT AND COLOR (Comment on this)
11:44 am	Flying Lesson Three Oliver walked to the pitch with a look of eager anticipation on his face. The students were doing a very very good job so far. Today’s lesson was a good one too. In his hand, Oliver carried six rings, rings which had been charmed specifically for this lesson. Arriving at the pitch, happy to see that his assistant had beaten him there for the day, Oliver approached her and handed her another set of rings from the pocket of his robes. “All right.” Oliver said, “Today we’re going to do some real flying, based completely on ability….but first, I’m going to explain today’s lesson. Go and get your training brooms and we’ll get the lecture out of the way.” Oliver watched as the students dispersed towards the broom shed, occupying himself with exchanging morning pleasantries with his assistant and tapping the rings against his leg. As the students gathered back around them, Oliver counted. Finding the correct number of students in front of him, Oliver nodded. “Before we begin I would like to introduce two special people to you guys.” Turning to his right, Oliver nodded, “This is my first assistant, Alexandria Davis, she’s a member of Ravenclaw house and she’s been my assistant for some time now. “She’s a seventh year however and I’m truly not sure what I’m going to do without her next year.” The serious part of the day over, Oliver grinned, he couldn’t wait to see the students in action, “Right then, today we’re going to fly a lot more. That’s what these are for.” he said, holding up the rings. “These six rings are charmed. When it is your turn, you’ll walk up to me and take hold of the rings. When activated, they’ll gage your flying ability, and spread themselves out around the grounds. Depending on your skill, the rings will put themselves in different places.” Oliver saw the looks of scared anticipation on some of the students’ faces and smiled at them, hoping to make them feel more at ease, “I promise you. The rings won’t go anywhere that you aren’t more than capable of finding them.” Looking around to be sure that the students understood what they were doing, Oliver smiled, “This is one of my favorite lessons because it’s simple to grade. Anyone who I, or Miss Davis think gives 100% effort gets an outstanding grade. That said, lets get started!” OOC- Alright guys…this really is one of my favorite lessons…all you need to do is what I said in the lesson. When you RP the lesson, just have the rings place themselves somewhere on the grounds and RP yourself flying around to find them. Have fun and happy flying! (Comment on this)
11:43 am	Flying Lesson Two Oliver briskly walked towards the quidditch pitch, it was a little cool but that was almost perfect conditions for flying. To Oliver there was nothing better than flying through the air, with the wind in his hair diving after quaffles before they could get through the goals. The last flying class had gone very well. The students had been amazingly receptive and he was feeling very eager to get to class, this was evident from the spring in his step and the wide grin plastered on his face. Today was the first time that Oliver would get the opportunity to see the students he’d met the previous week in the air. This was always one of Oliver’s favorite lessons, and today was no exception. If possible, Oliver’s grin widened as he walked up to the students who had already gathered at the pitch. Approaching that group of students was much easier this week than last had been, he knew what to expect, to an extent at least. Oliver didn’t know if it was just him, because it just didn’t seem like a situation you brought up with fellow professors, but Oliver got the distinct feeling that some of his students disliked him before they even came to class. Oliver frowned slightly at this thought, he thought he was a pretty likable guy and Merlin knew he tried his best not to ask too much of the students. Realizing that he’d been staring off into space as he stood in front of the students, Oliver nodded his head and smiled, clearing his throat before starting to speak. “Hello students. I’m glad to see that you all made it through your first week at Hogwarts at least reasonably unscathed.” Again, Oliver did his best to make eye contact with all of the students, giving them all encouraging smiles. “This week you will all be getting on a broom. For some of you, this will be a new experience, and for those of you who are familiar, this lesson will be mostly a review. I beg your indulgence and greatly appreciate your patience with me.” Oliver glanced around, eyes landing in particular on a few students he remembered having a great deal of flying experience despite their young years. Hopefully they wouldn’t mind today’s lesson too much, they were after all getting to fly. “Now.” Oliver said, continuing on with the lesson, holding out his broom. “Today we’re going to actually learn how to get off of the ground and into the air. If you’ll all look at the cleansweeps we have, they’re specific training brooms. The main difference between these brooms and the real racing or quidditch brooms is that there have pedals to control braking and turning. A real racing or quidditch broom is controlled completely by the rider’s movements. Don’t worry about transitioning though, the movements that have to occur to move the pedals on the back of a training broom are the very same movements that will move an actual racing or quidditch broom, and we’ll start using real, albeit slightly older brooms, in a few weeks.” Bending to lay the broom on the ground, Oliver held his right hand out over it, “Now, the very first thing that we’re going to do is get the broom ready to hover. To do this, simply hold your strong hand out over the stick and say in a firm, clear, voice, ‘Up!’ “ On command and at the sound of the word, Oliver’s broom flew up from the ground and into his hand. Looking around and nodding to his students, Oliver continued, throwing his right leg over the broom and settling back against the cushioning charm in a comfortable position. “It’s very important that you sit comfortably on the broom. If you’re not in a position where you’re comfortable it’s much easier to fall off.” Oliver moved from side to side for a moment on the broom, showing how sturdy his position was. “The rest is really pretty easy.” Oliver said and with that he grinned, “To go forward all you do is lean forward. To turn you push the back pedals, with your left foot to turn left an with your right foot to turn right.” As he spoke, Oliver pushed with each foot and the broom swung to each side. “Now, to go up you push on both at the same time and pull up on the handle of the broom. To go down you push the same way and point your broomstick at the ground. Braking is a little more difficult, you sit up on the stick and instead of pushing the pedals back you push them down.” That all said, Oliver took off and did a quick lap around the pitch, clearly demonstrating everything he’d just told the students, no fancy stuff. Coming back in to land in front of the group, Oliver smiled again, clapping his hands, “Go get your brooms out of the broomshed, come back here, and line up. I’m ready to see what you can do!” OOC – Alright everyone, welcome to your first day in the air. This class is completely based on RP’ing, so I would like to see serious effort from each and every one of you. Just do what I instructed in the lesson. Role Play your reaction to Oliver, his instructions, and take your first lap around the Hogwarts pitch. Remember! Hardly anyone is perfect and imperfection will not be penalized. Happy Flying! (Comment on this)
11:43 am	Flying Lesson One Oliver was feeling chipper this morning, he’d been whistling since he awoke in fact. Singing in the shower, a rather loud Scottish Ballad he’d picked up in a pub…those weren’t thoughts for now, Oliver thought as he walked jauntily towards the quidditch pitch for his first class of the year with his new first years. Whistling a much more appropriate tune than the one he’d been singing, Oliver made his way up into the stands that overlooked the quidditch pitch. This had been a favorite place of thought for the keeper since his third year at Hogwarts, the first year he’d played consistently on the quidditch squad. Sitting at the very top of the stands with his specially modified Nimbus 2001 laying across his lap, Oliver mulled over thoughts of the past few days and went over his introduction in his head, no matter how many times he’d done this now he still got a bit nervous on the first day. Being captain to a group of cheeky disrespectful adults was nothing compared to trying to teach children. Ah, that was all over now, his days as a captain and professional quidditch player, Oliver thought as he rotated his still sometimes painful shoulder, wincing slightly. Being a recruiter wasn’t all that bad though, he’d already found several delightful prospects for Puddlemere, and the team looked as though it was going to be nearly as strong as it had been for the last 10 years. Another advantage, Oliver thought as he watched the first years making their way out to the pitch, was that he had more time to devote to teaching, and Elli for that matter. Standing up and stretching as the group of students reached its maximum number, Oliver went over his welcome speech one last time before making his way down to them. Doing the same thing he’d done for the past several years, Oliver grinned, the hopped onto his broom, leaning close to the handle and doing a bit of flying. A loop, a barrel roll, and a dive later, the broadly grinning flying instructor stood in front of his students. “Hello” he said, his Scottish brogue clearly evident in the tenor of his voice, “I’m Oliver Wood and I’m your flying instructor here at Hogwarts.” Pausing for a second for that to sink in, Oliver began to pace, a habit from his days at Hogwarts. Looking at all the students, doing his best to establish eye contact with each of them at least once, Oliver smiled, and continued. “While this is a fairly relaxed situation, I’m still going to ask that you call me Professor Wood, it’s good for my ego eh?” Oliver said, winking at the students in general, he didn’t want them to think he was a stiff or anything. “This is flying class and here, you’re going to learn a skill that no wizard or witch should be without. Brooms are nearly as integral a part of wizarding society as a wand or a pointy hat.” The last was said with another grin and Oliver held out his broomstick, turning it slowly in his hands. “The flying broom is assembled as so. The handles are usually narrow, wooden, and polished smooth. For comfort, cushioning charms are usually placed on the stick in the factory, because let me tell you, hours of practice or flying on an uncushioned broom is not a pleasant experience.” Pointing to the opposite end of the broom, Oliver pulled one of the twigs out and held it up for all to see, “The bristles of a broom are different depending on the type of broom you’re riding. This is my specially modified broom, I’ve set it up to be as conducive to keeping as possible, and I have willow twigs in the brush. The Cleansweeps you’ll all be using have plain oak twigs in the brush. The brakes are charmed to stop on a dime, and I promise you all, the schools brooms are maintained every summer holiday by myself to ensure that they’re safe for your use.” Oliver nodded, it was utterly painstaking work to go through the school’s brooms individually to replace broken twigs and check the airbrakes, but it was a job that he would trust nobody else to. Now it was on to the fun part. “With the advent and more serious development of floo poweder and apparition, as well as muggle transportation, it might be a curiosity that people still use brooms as a means of travel. It really shouldn’t be much of a curiosity at all. If one does not speak clearly during the use of floo powder, they often find themselves far from where they intended. Apparation is a very complex thing to learn and rather than run the risk of splinching themselves twice, many who fail the apparition test use a broom for the rest of their lives.” Oliver winced, here was the part he usually got groans and glares during, no use putting it off, he thought and took a deep breath, speaking again. “While this is flying class, I’m afraid that it’s not quidditch class. In fact, there will be no quidditch taught throughout the course of the year. My purpose here is to teach you all the basic skills that you’re going to need to fly. Yes, these skills will help you in quidditch, but all three of the moves I showed when I flew down here this morning can also be used in a defensive situation.” There it was said, now Oliver could move on to the specifics of the class, the first day was always so tedius, so much talking and so little action, he could only imagine how the students must feel and as if on cue, one yawned, bringing a grin to the Flying Instructors face.. “Now, I know that this is going to disappoint some of you, but I will not be allowing you to bring your own brooms to class. This will keep it fair for everyone, no matter your skill level. Another thing regarding skill levels, whether you’ve been flying since you were in the cradle, or today is your first day ever seeing a flying broomstick, you will do every single lesson.” That said, Oliver stopped his pacing, it was time for the day’s lesson to begin. “Unfortunately, after the wealth of information I’ve just given you, we don’t have time to actually get on the brooms today. That’s okay though. What I’d like all of you to do is to step up to me one at a time and introduce yourselves. I’d like your name, your house, how much flying experience you have, and something that makes you different from everyone else. Who’s first?!” -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ OOC- Okay guys, first class of the term, lets start it off right. Most of this class is going to be soely graded on RP'ing. I don't expect everyone to be a great RP'er, just to try their best. What I want you to do for this first lesson, is RP your character's reaction to Oliver himself, his description of the class, and then I'd like you to do what he asked. I'd like to know a bit about you all. Give me your house, your previous flying experiance, and give me a distinguishing characteristic that sets your character apart from the rest. I promise we'll be getting into the air soon, happy posting! Just post this when you can...I'm going to leave the first few lessons open indefinately until I get caught up. (Comment on this)
11:42 am	Potions Lesson Four Professor Giordano was sitting at her desk in the Potions dungeon, holding her head in her hands and wishing with all she was worth that this pounding would just stop. She would have screamed if that hadn’t been so very likely to cause her head to explode. Maybe she shouldn’t have had that bottle of red wine the evening before when she had been grading essays – but the alcohol had made them a much more enjoyable read… As a result, the grades were probably much better than the homework would have deserved, but then again, with a headache as hers, the next essays’ grades would balance that back out. The door slammed open with the enthusiasm that only a first-year could possibly work up, and Isabella jumped, winced and moaned. “Please,” she whispered. “Not so loud…” “Sorry, Professor!” a girl’s voice piped up, most likely an octave higher than usual, just to spite her. Isabella waved the girl inside and nodded slightly, hoping that this little movement would not send a stab of pain through her head – which it did. Please stop. Please stop… I swear I will never drink again – well, at least not so much. Mmm… Red wine… Another twitch as though she deserved any more punishment. She sighed softly. The dull pounding in her head would not cease. As more students filed in, the professor sat up straight despite the painful stabs that this sent through her skull. She had to blink a few times to get her eyes to focus again. All those little flashing stars looked interesting but were sort of disconcerting in the long run. “Good morning, Professor Giordano!” a little girl almost sang when skipping into the classroom and pulling the door closed. The banging noise made Isabella’s forced smile flicker like a badly tuned Muggle TV channel. “Do sit down,” Isabella said as loudly as she dared to which was probably barely above a whisper, judging from the faces of her students. “I changed the lesson plan a bit…” she added, forcing herself to her feet, fighting the urge to wave the ickle blinking stars away that merrily danced in front of her eyes. Changed… Heh… Right… Just too drunk last night to prepare a proper lesson, more like… the sarcastic part of her brain seemed to mutter. You know you can’t handle alcohol very well. I expected better of you, it added, tutting almost audibly. Yes, Professor Giordano deserved to be hung-over. “Um… yes… you see, the occasion arose that…” she trailed off, pacing carefully so as to not cause her heels to produce a noise on the floor that would make her curl up and whimper. She was racking her uncooperative brain for a tiny bit of inspiration. There had to be something that she could teach those kids. Yes, brilliant idea—Ouch… The idea slipped from her mind like the wine had slipped down her throat the previous night. “… that I had to… er… change the schedule… yes. You don’t mind, do you?” The little ones goggled at their usually so very composed Potions Mistress and very very slowly shook their heads, one or the other of them whispering, “No, ma’am.” “Ah, good. Now that’s out of the way, back to me and my headache… Bloody alcohol,” Isabella added the last bit under her breath. ALCOHOL! “Today…” she winced at the sound of her own voice. “Well, you know… As you see I’m not quite in a state to lecture you about the dangers of alcohol except for maybe the details about what the hang-over from hell feels like. While it’s probably not the most dangerous of consequences of the overconsumption of alcohol, it’s pretty far up on the ladder of nastiness.” As if on cue, an immense racket could be heard, coming from the floor above, causing Isabella to clasp her head in her hands and whimper while she all but crawled back to her chair. PEEVES!!! I’D KILL YOU IF YOU WEREN’T ALREADY DEAD!!! The entire class seemed to jump at the noise and look at the ceiling so that Isabella was spared much of the inevitable humiliation – not that she had the energy to care about that at the moment. “I’ll kill that ghost…” she muttered. “Alright, children, I have to do something to get rid of this headache. So you’re in for an essay today, while I whip up a nasty hangover cure. Your topic will be ‘Alcohol’ because it’s so fitting. Have a week that’s better than how I’m feeling right now…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homework: An essay of no less than 200 words but no more than 500 on the dangers of alcohol. (Comment on this)
11:42 am	Potions Lesson Three "Welcome to this week's Potions class," Professor Giordano greeted her first-years, wearing a broad smile on her face, something that was rather unusual for her. This might just be the reason why the little students inched past her, trying not to make eye-contact with her on the way to their desks. When all of them were seated, the professor rose and slowly walked around her desk, taking much more time than she usually did. "I trust you've been well?" she stated, still wearing this somewhat disconcerting half-grin on her face. Like a cat that had swallowed a canary. "You!" she rounded on a student, relishing in the fact that the poor little one jumped in fright. Those tactics would secure Isabella the attention that she needed – not that she did those things consciously, of course. (Yeah, right…) "How are you today?" The unfortunate one gulped. "I'm a bit… er… shaky maybe?" "Shaky,” the professor repeated. "Shaky… And to what do you attribute your current shakiness?" "Um… Actually…" the boy stuttered. "I haven't been feeling too well since… since…" "Since what?" Isabella prompted him. Oh I think he fell for it! Inwardly, she rubbed her hands together, maybe even performed an odd sort of dance, but on the outside her countenance did not betray her emotions. "Since you… gaveusthatpotiontodrink," the boy gushed out. Professor Giordano had a hard time suppressing the triumphant grin that was aching to crawl onto her face. "Really?" she breathed, beginning to walk up and down the aisles between the desks. "You know – and I mean all of you, maybe except for the ones that were unaffected by the potion of their choice – your well-being has not been affected by the liquid that you imbibed at the end of last week's lesson. Not at all. As a matter of fact, absolutely none of the available potions was an actual potion. None of them could have had any influence of your state of health. None of you suffered from headaches, insomnia, sleepiness, nervousness etc etc… because of the imbibed liquid. Not even the more extreme effects were triggered by a potion. It was all a trick of the human mind, and as you're magical your mind thinks magical, so to speak. You had all a good reason to believe that you should be affected in some way or other after all. Can anybody tell me what this effect is called?" The little ones looked rather relieved at the revelation that they were not in any way ill or indisposed. Previously pale cheeks became a healthy pink again; previously nervously-fidgeting children sat completely still and listened with rapt attention. But none of them raised their hands. Isabella had not really expected them to know those things. Most of them were only eleven years old, a few of them already twelve, but still no age in which they'd have to necessarily know what their professor was talking about before she explained it to them. "No one?" she asked, just to make sure. "I gave each and every one of you something that is called a 'placebo'. And now I will explain to you what it is and why some of you were affected in such a manner." She casually ambled through the isles between the students' desks while she continued her lecture. "The ones of you that grew up in contact with Muggles might remember occasions in which their parents or grandparents concocted various 'potions' that, according to the knowledge of generations of old house-wives, would cure various illnesses rather easily. However, the actual efficiency of those so-called potions is highly doubtful. Spice a glass of water with a bit of camphor so that it smells and tastes like medicine and your patient might very well feel better, even though it's impossible for this potion to have had any effect at all on the body. It is the mind that comes into play here. The mind is a truly mysterious thing. It can be deceived in such a manner that it in turn will deceive the body into acting as though it had received medical support in fighting an illness. Mediwizards commonly describe this kind of apparent – and sometimes actual – 'cure' as a purely psychosomatic one." The students blinked almost audibly at the professor. Right… She always had to remind herself that she was talking to eleven-year-old children here. "It basically means that if you believe that a potion will give you a headache, it is likely that it will, even if it technically can't have an effect on you. It's as though I handed you a cup of clear water, telling you that it would give you a splitting headache within the next hour. I bet half of this class would be on their ways straight to Madam Pomfrey within said hour – just because you believe that you should be feeling terrible." Some of the children nodded slowly, while others opened their mouth slightly in a silent, "Ahhh." "Very good. Now, what I've told you just now sort of throws a bad light on placebos, does it not?" Isabella continued. "But you see, it's a rather nifty thing, such a placebo. Many kinds of illnesses can be healed without enforcing any pressure on the human body. Placebos work on a subconscious level. The stronger your belief is in the 'medicine's' efficiency, the more likely is it that it will heal you. It's a very gentle way of healing actually – if it works." She chuckled softly, remembering another case in which placebos had become a rather useful addition to the medicinal branch of potion-making. "The prescription of a placebo is also a good way to cure people who are a tad paranoid about their health. That's called hypochondria. The people that are suffering from it are convinced that they are very ill, and therefore they ask for strong medication. But seeing that they are not actually ill in that particular way that can be affected by medicine, it would be rather silly and a waste of a lot of time and money to give them strong healing potions, right? It might do more damage than good, actually. Just consider all those possible negative side-effects! So they get a harmless potion, but are told that it's the most beneficial to their health, and they'll be fit as a fiddle again in no time." Another lesson had passed all but in a blur. "This will be all for today. For your homework I would like a 6-foot-long essay about whether you fell for my little trick and why you did – or not. Also include theories on why you think that placebos tend to have the same effects as actual medicine and what the consequences of this could be for regular medicine, medicinal potions and charms, and add anything else that you find interesting about placebos and that might interest me as well. Be specific and detailed. No slacking. By the way, you can stop being tired, nervous, forgetful or sleepless now. Really… You didn't think I'd slip you a memory modifier or something, did you? Weasley would have my head," she muttered on the way back into her office. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homework: Homework: RP the lesson WITHOUT copying and pasting any of my writing (This is not Mystery Science Theatre 3000!!!). Include your reactions. Write no more than 500 words. (Do NOT write the paragraph about if and why you fell for the trick. That's not included in the homework.) (Comment on this)
11:41 am	Potions Lesson Two When the first-years entered the Potions dungeon this week, they beheld a curious sight. The teacher’s desk was covered with what looked like a white bedspread that hid some oddly shaped objects from view. The students shrugged and began to file into the classroom. “Come on in, everyone! Welcome back! I hope you all did your homework and had an otherwise nice week,” Professor Giordano greeted her first-years, resisting the urge to tell them that if they hadn’t handed in their five foot-long essay and made that a habit, she’d come swooping down on them with detentions. Instead, she merely scanned the classroom, looking for any students that would avoid her gaze, a sure sign of their guilt. “You!” Isabella called out. “You handed in your homework, I assume?” “Um… yes, ma’am!” the little girl piped up, blushing to the roots of her hair and shivering with fright. “Good. How about you?” the professor rounded on a boy. “My owl… er… ate it…” the little student stuttered, apparently unable to decide whether blushing or blanching was the better option. “Oh really?” Professor Giordano’s eyebrow all but shot up two inches higher on her forehead. The little boy squirmed visible under her doubtful gaze and nodded hesitantly. “I have a vast array of truth serums at my disposal, young man,” the professor said, tapping her foot. The boy’s eyes went wide and he gulped audibly. “Um… I… I forgot… Sorry.” “Well, in that case you might use the old ‘A Slytherin dropped some Memory Potion into my pumpkin juice, so I forgot’ – excuse. Honestly, where did creativity go in today’s students?” she asked no one in particular. “Be that as it may, I expect everyone who mysteriously forgot to do their homework to hand it in as soon as possible. I have no qualms about failing you, don’t get me wrong. However, I regard each failure of yours as a direct consequence of my failure as a teacher. So no matter what it will cost me – or rather you – I will make you pass this subject, do I make myself clear?” The first-years nodded hesitantly, hardly daring to breathe. “Good. You know what? This little… dispute… actually gave me an idea for today’s lesson. You might want to listen closely, young man, just in case you ever find yourself under the influence one such a concoction. What would you do if you were under the influence of a potion like that? Hmm?” Isabella prompted the class to answer her question. A few hands shot up. The students spoke after having been allowed to do so. “Seek help!” “Tell the headmaster!” “Ask for an antidote!” Isabella nodded. “All very good ideas, but you’ve forgotten something very important. How would you know that you’re under the influence of a particular potion?” The class was silent. The little students exchanged nervous glances. Professor Giordano already wanted to continue when she noticed a very small boy in the back row nervously and hesitantly raise his shivering hand. “Yes?” she prompted the boy to speak and smiled encouragingly. “Symptoms, ma’am… er… Professor Giordano.“ „Very good!“ Isabella beamed. “Take five points for that. Right. Symptoms. Depending on the potion that you had slipped into your goblet, the symptoms can range from mere headaches to memory loss, from sleepiness and nightmares to insomnia. The range of symptoms is as endless as the number of potions that can cause them.” She spun around and returned to her desk, her heels producing clicking noises on the hard stone floor. In a fluid motion, she dramatically swished her wand through the air and pulled off the cover, revealing numerous bottles and vials. She had a hard time resisting the urge to shout, ‘Voilà!’ or ‘Tada!’ Wearing a smirk on her face, Isabella turned back to the class. “Various potions,” she explained. “Some of them are the same, others are only present once because the ingredients are too valuable to waste too many of them just for demonstration purposes… And half of those vials and bottles merely contain water or vitamins. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the taste if I were you. The most poisonous substances can be sweet and pleasant while healthy things may taste absolutely horrible.” “We’re supposed to drink that stuff?” came an incredulous voice from somewhere in the classroom. “Now there’s a smart one! Yes, I expect each of you to choose a vial of their choice and empty it to the last drop.” The entire class blanched as one. “Oh please, they’re all rather harmless and will wear off within a matter of days. It’s not like they’d leave any lasting damage.” She rolled her eyes at those children. Did they honestly think that a teacher would cause them any serious harm? Well, she didn’t know what the previous Hogwarts Potions masters and mistresses had done. “Well, since our time is almost up, I’d like you to grab a vial on your way out of here and empty it. Put the empty vial back on the desk and label it with your name. For your homework I would like a detailed report on your symptoms over the next few days until we meet here again. Symptoms may include but are not limited to headaches, dizziness, insomnia and the like. Have a good week!” she added with a somewhat disturbing glint in her eyes. Professor Giordano watched her first-years gulp down one potion each and smirked slightly. She could hardly wait… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homework: RP your reactions and pick a vial (or not. Wimp ). If the potion has an instant effect on you, RP that as well. The RP should not exceed 500 words. OOC Note: You're first-years. As such you can't go all "OHEMGEE! I got some Confusing Concoction and am all confused!" Read: Your character's knowledge of potions is extremely limited by default and you're unlikely to trace the symptoms that you're suffering from back to the exact potion. There are side-effects involved in potions, after all. (Comment on this)
11:40 am	Astronomy Lesson Four Lesson 4 Gas Giants Isisa sat in the classroom waiting for the students. This lesson was blocked in as "Gas Giants". It wasn't her favorite lesson and previously Rytalia had taught it for that reason. Sighing she missed her counterpart. Though she did have a change planned for the lesson. No more statistics it was time to work on some ’cool’ stuff. Isisa was woken up from her musings as loud scraping chair noises invaded her mind. Clueing in she observed most of her rather large class had arrived. "Good most of us are here." She said closing the door, "Welcome to lesson 4!" She greeted enthusiastically. "This time we are discussing Gas Giants. I could lecture you on all the particulars, however I find that really boring. All your facts are in the book, if you want to pass the exam I suggest you read it. Up until now I have given you most of the point form notes. Today I have decided to go in to the Mythology behind the planets. Usually I leave this stuff for a much older year, but I think you can handle it." Her smile beamed with pride at her youngest students. "So our planets are named after the primary gods and goddesses in Roman Mythology. What you possibly do not know is the Roman's just renamed gods from other cultures and adopted them as their own." She paused taking out her wand and flicking it at the board. Broad nicely scrawled letters appeared. "Jupiter for example," She pointed to the first line with her wand. "Was a version of the Greek god Zeus, the Hindu god Garu or Brihaspati, and Egyption god Ammon." The students took notes she was pleased so far how the topic was being handled. "Our next planet is known as Saturn to the Romans. The Greeks refer to him as Kronos the god of Agriculture. He ruled the heavens in a time called 'the golden age'. He brought the world social order and arts. He also planted the seeds of civilization. Saturn was replaced as king of the gods by his sons Jupiter, Neptune and Dis. I am only giving you a brief overview if you wish to know more look it up." She nodded to them, "You can find many books in the library." Isisa noticed her chalk had finished writing what she had said and went on to the next planet. "Uranus is Latin version of Ouranos the Greek word for Sky or... of the sky. I am not a language expert so I can not be more specific sorry dears." She apologized, "In Greek mythology Uranus is the son and Husband of Gaia mother earth. They had many children together and are the ancestors of Jupiter. The family tree of the gods could make the Wizard Soap Opera look like children’s stories." She rolled her eyes. Many people subscribed to the Opera magazines. The over dramatic tales of magic and relationships gone bad always bored her in comparison to the ancient Mythology. "Uranus is equal to Coelus in Roman mythology." Her chalk scrawled quickly and dropped seemingly ready for her to go on. She would have to thank it later for all of its hard work. "Lastly we have the blue planet Neptune. Lovely beautifully colored planet is named after the Roman god of Oceans and water. In Greek mythology you would know him as Poseidon. He is one of the three songs of Kronos and helped his brother Zeus and Hades take over as king of the gods. Together they divided their new realm in to 3 area. Poseidon was given the domain of water." "I hope this lesson has piqued your interest. If you want to learn more detail feel free to check out your text book.. or the library. Or wait for Sixth year and Pass your OWL's." She grinned at them wickedly. Hopefully she had sewn some seeds of interest this hour. ------------------------- Homework: Pick a gas giant and tell me about it through a story poem or diary entry ect use imagination! (Comment on this)
11:39 am	Astronomy Lesson Three Lesson 3: The Terrestrial Planets (Practical) Setting: 11:00pm Astronomy Tower "Welcome back class!" Isisa had told the first year children to come to the Tower even though it was a practical lesson. The weather was... not that hospitable, Isisa could hear the pitter patter of the rain against the windows. Not the best night to be outside. The room was toasty warm with a large fire lit in the back. Perfect on a night like this, Isisa even asked the house elves to bring up some hot chocolate for everyone. Each desk had a steaming mug, "Take your seats. I know this is supposed to be a practical lesson but the weather seems to be... less then cooperative so I will do my best. We left off with an over view of our ‘Solar System' today we are going to narrow it down to the first four planets closest to the sun. We refer to them as Terrestrial Planets. These planets are made up of Silicate Rocks and have a hard rocky core. The word Terrestrial came from 'Terra' meaning Earth. Terrestrial means 'earth like'. The first 4 planets are closer to being the same as earth then a gas giant would be. These 4 planets and Pluto have solid surfaces unlike a Gas Giant which we will be learning about next lesson." She added the end part because some kids had no idea what a Gas Giant was. A number of hands shot up in the air. "Ah yes you in the back what is it dear?" She said to the only one who hadn't put their hand up. The student looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "OH I am just teasing." She winked and pointed to a girl in the front row. "Yes you." The girl smiled at Isisa. "Well Professor I know every planets, names, mythology everything." She had quite a smug look on her face. "Well that’s wonderful." Isisa said turning to the rest of class, "Moving on then," The girl looked daggers at her. Isisa wasn't sure what the student had expected really. The rest of the class snickered. "Now now everyone,” She pursed her lips at the students, the most stern she had ever been. A silence filled the room and she continued. “In your text book there is a list of the first four planets and the important information related to them. Read that when you can. For tonight we are going to try and locate Venus and Mars with our telescopes." She smiled their faces lit up. "As we are doing this I want you all to think about what it would be like to take a trip to one of the first 4 planets. If it was wizardly possible of course," The students rose and placed their telescopes are various points along the wall. "You should be able to see through the wall… but that darn cloud hmm..." She contemplated something. About 10 years ago she had been studying the Aztec Astronomers in South America with a colleague of hers when they got stuck in a storm just before a very important event took place. "YES! That’s it." She smiled remembering the spell... flicking her wrist. She said a few words in another language most students didn't know and just over Hogwarts the cloud pushed to the sides. "We only have 1 hour of clear sky, usually our telescopes can see through but this is a particularly nasty storm; So make use of it everyone. Venus is located to the north of us directly over the school so you may have to look right up. It is larger then Mars will be and very bright." The students positioned themselves and Isisa helped. "Good make sure to auto focus spell it." She reminded them and everyone observed the planet in question. They moved on to mars which was in the west area of the sky very hard to see as it was dimmer then Venus but they managed and soon were all sitting in their desks. The cloud had sprung closed precisely 1 hour after they had started. "Now we can all say we know what Mars and Venus looks like." She smiled at them. "For this lessons homework I would like you all to read the chapter and tell me what it would be like to visit one of the first four planets. You may write it as an essay a story or a poem. Be creative and have fun. Class dismissed." She smiled at them as the students talked with one another and finished their hot chocolate. Each student put their dirty cup on a tray as they left. "Have a good night everyone." ------------------ Homework: Write me a story/Poem/Essay on what it would be like to visit one of the terrestrial planets. Include climate, and atmosphere if there was indications of water ect. Have fun with it. For Guaranteed O Please give me a nice (detailed) RP of the lesson. (Comment on this)
11:34 am	Astronomy Lesson/Chapter Two LESSON TWO Lesson 2: What is a Solar System? (Practical Lesson) It was the second lesson for the first years and Isisa was excited! It was midnight and she was prepared on the lawn. Practical lessons were held on the lawn with their telescopes usually unless any further instructions were given. A prime time for looking at the stars she smiled at the clear sky. Early in the day she could usually be seen napping in her office with a pile of grading underneath her. The thought made her smile, how she had missed Hogwarts during the vacation period. Isisa's thoughts were broken when the first years arrived on the lawn, each with their telescopes in tow. "Welcome back students! I hope you all remember me from last lesson. For those of you who were hit with a memory forgetfulness charm I am Professora Avon.” She winked at them, “Please set up your telescope where ever you want as long as you can hear me of course." The students did so and Isisa walked in through them every now and then. "I hope all of you remember the spell I taught you last lesson, now would be a good time to test it out. You have 10 minutes free telescope time." She smiled letting them do as they wished for a few moments. Isisa pulled out her 'pocket' telescope that was more powerful then any of the students here. She held it up to the sky and scanned to see what she could see, picking out a number of constellations she let her lens glide towards the moon. It was almost full but not quite, with her telescope she could pick out the craters and the line that separated the dark side from the light. Smiling she put it away and clapped her hands. "Ok class now on to the lesson. I hope you enjoyed your little free time. Tonight we are discussing the Solar System." She smiled, "Please sit a moment while I give you some background then we can get back to the practical part of the lesson." Isisa's wand appeared in her hand and she flicked her wrist. A bright coloured smoke spiraled out of the end and began to form a cloud. As it grew bigger the colours separated to form round objects. In the center was a giant orange blazing one which was obviously the sun. "Now lets see the definition of Solar System is the Sun and all the bodies that orbit it; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, their moons, the asteroids, and the comets." As she named the items they appeared on her floating diagram which was growing big enough for all to see and tilted on an angle. As she mentioned orbit, thin white lines of smoke traced a pattern of the objects orbits around the sun. The planets started to move. "Now in-between here," She pointed to the area between Mars and Jupiter, "There is an Asteroid Field. We will go in to much more detail on each of the objects that create our solar system in future lessons so for now, you have some time to find a few things in our sky with your telescopes." Isisa knew how much 1st years loved to use their new school items. It was time to allow them a bit of fun. The diagram shrunk slightly but still hung in the air for a moment before turning in to wisps of smoke and blowing away. "Oh before I forget please read in your text book chapter 2. It will help you imensly when the test comes up." ---------------- Homework: A DETAILED Roleplay of the lesson and playing with your telescope at the end. Easy things to see (THE MOON, The North Star (Polaris), Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.) If it is less then 300 words or you copy most of what I say in the lesson I will give you an A. Guaranteed O: If you do both a detailed roleplay and this option you will get an O. Pick your favorite planet and tell me why in 250 words or more. * Chapter 2: The Solar System The Solar System! It is always good to know about the area in which one lives. The Solar System just happens to be earths 'block'. Of course I am jumping ahead so to back track here we have it. WHAT IS a Solar System! It is basically a star and all the objects associated with it (Orbiting it). Got that? Good because I am now moving on. Of course our Solar System has been an object of review for many many many many many many many years. So many manies I cannot count them all. For a long time Muggle’s believed we were the centre of the Solar System, and the centre of the universe for that matter. However Wizards always knew the truth about the sun. It was quite obvious from the beginning it never moved. Only in the last 400ish years or so did Muggle’s realize that earth was not the "centre", and that the Universe is immense. We Wizards are to blame for that. It was leaked by a non-magical wizard family member to his Muggle wife and spread from there. As much as the ministry tried to stop the spread it crept up again and again. Finally they gave in realizing it was not the end... or the centre of the world for that matter. All together our Solar System is made up of the Sun, 9 Planets, comets, 135 known moons, asteroids dust and gas. The 9 planets, comets, 135 known moons and asteroids all travel in orbits around the sun. These orbits are circular paths (sometimes no so circular) around an object with great gravitational pull. They travel in an ANTICLOCK wise direction if you are looking down at them from above. I think that does it for now. You know exactly what OUR Solar System is. Don't be fooled in to thinking it was just that simple. I am going easy on you and doing the basics. The bazaar, and mystifying hasn’t even begun to show itself. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
12:03 am	Potions Lesson One LESSON ONE Hogwarts' Potions Mistress entered the classroom in which she had spent many hours listening to Professor Severus Snape teaching his students more or less successfully about the art of potion-making, glowering at the ones that treated their ingredients with less care than he would have liked to see and shouting at the ones that just didn't seem to be able to follow the instructions that he gave them. Isabella Giordano had more patience than her former Potions Master, yet it was not endless. Even though she had had no teaching experience whatsoever when she had accepted the position of Potions Mistress, she had received it, and by now it felt to her as though she had never done anything else but teach at Hogwarts. She hardly missed her little (even prospering) apothecary anymore by now, and teaching those children the art that she had been pursuing for some twenty years after her graduation was certainly something that she was abundantly qualified for. Hogwarts should indeed benefit from her knowledge. Isabella took a look at the clock. She was ten minutes early—as usual. More often than not had she been present in the classroom early, even for the first lesson of term, even though the little ones would probably get lost on their way to class and be a little late. The castle seemed to enjoy playing some tricks especially on the first-years. The Potions Mistress sat down at her desk and opened her notebook, once more reading through the notes that she had prepared for this lesson. Eventually, little first-years poked their noses into the classroom, looking very relieved all of a sudden when they saw that an adult person was there. A small girl with pigtails curiously looked at Isabella. “Are you the Potions teacher?” Isabella nodded and watched the girl heave a deep sigh before she skipped towards a desk on the far right and sat down. More and more students filed into the classroom within the next few minutes. After another look at the clock – the lesson had officially begun five minutes ago – Isabella stood and closed the door after another little first-year that managed to sneak in, mumbling an apology to the professor. Professor Giordano went and stood in front of her first ever students. “Welcome to your very first Potions lesson, everyone. I am Professor Isabella Giordano. You will address me with 'Professor Giordano' at all times.” She glanced around the classroom, taking in the sometimes excited, sometimes not quite as enthusiastic-looking faces of the students that she was about to teach. “I'm the Potions Mistress here at Hogwarts, and I shall do my best to teach you this subject properly – that is, if you've got two braincells to rub together. We'll get along splendidly for as long as you listen closely.” A small blond boy raised his hand. “Yes?” Isabella prompted him to speak. “Did you… did you go to school here, Professor?” the boy asked. Professor Giordano nodded. “Indeed. I used to be in Slytherin, from 1982 till 1989 to be exact. Those were rather peaceful times. No Death Eaters running around all over the place if you catch my meaning. But I digress. You're here to study the art of potion making, yes. But that does not mean that I will just let you loose on your cauldrons any time all too soon, little ones. You're first-years and have to learn a lot first. I don't quite trust a bunch of uneducated 11-year-olds to handle all those ingredients yet. You know why that is so? Bad memories. I myself messed up my very first attempts at potion-making so badly that my Potions master regarded me as a hopeless case at first. I spent the majority of my first year cleaning up the mess that I caused. Now I am where he was, and I will choose a different approach. What use is it to give you a set of instructions and a list of ingredients when you don't even know what it's all about? No use at all. Correct. Why is that so? Because you don't think Potions yet. It is an extremely precise art. Very small mistakes, one wrong ingredient or too much of a correct one can lead to a small catastrophe… Well… Let's just say that after that particular lesson, the third-years could put their knowledge about magical mess removers to some use immediately…” She smirked slightly, something that Slytherins commonly perfected by the end of their first year. It was like an epidemic. You were sorted into Slytherin even though you expected something else and yet you adopted the smirk. “You will brew your own potions, don't worry. But it is important to know what you're doing. When you're ready for it, we'll start with the practical lessons. I won't be expecting more of you than you can handle. All I ask of you is that you follow my instructions perfectly. It's important in this subject. How do you ever want to make a decent potion when you cannot adhere to the instructions that you're provided with?” A bell rang. “We'll continue this in the next lesson then. For your homework I want you to write a 5-foot-long essay about whether you think that potion-making has become a useless art in this time and age. Not an inch less than that. I will see you again next lesson.” Professor Giordano watched the first-years file out of the classroom. This had gone rather well in her opinion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Assignment: Part 1 (Out-of-character): After you have read the Potions FAQ, I want you to copy and paste the following into your post and sign it with your name: CODE [QUOTE]I, , have read the Potions FAQ thoroughly and have understood them (particularly the part about how good 50-words-RPs are if I don't have the time to do the entire lengthy homework and especially the part about how much Professor Giordano despises any and all posts that consist of "I attended/will edit" and nothing else). Woe betide me if I just told the untruth. Signed, [/QUOTE] wink.gif Part 2 (In character): RP what your character is doing during the lesson. Do not write the essay that Professor Giordano was talking about. Do NOT write more than 500 words. Do NOT quote the lesson. (Comment on this)
12:02 am	Astronomy Lesson/Chapter One LESSON ONE First Years Lesson 1 - Introduction to Astronomy Isisa walked in to the Astronomy tower and was greeted with the refreshing sight of a few of her new and eager first year students. "My My! Look at all your new faces!" She winked and went about her lesson set up which included 2 large telescopes near one window. Isisa had spent the summer away traveling and catching up on a few 'leads' to astronomical archaeological digs she had missed during the year. All in all she had some great things to share with her students this year. The less enthusiastic First Years trickled in as they always did, 5 minutes late and in a large group. All were out of breath... she had made sure to have this lesson in the middle of the day right after lunch. The New children would need time to get use to the trek up the Astronomy Tower. There was a lot of excited chatter as usual. Isisa produced her wand and tapped it gently on her desk to get their attention. "Welcome First years! This will be your first lesson of the year! So I am very glad to have you all with me here in Astronomy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do." she paused folding her hands inside her long robe sleeves almost like an extremely sparkly monk. Isisa wore her best robes today. The midnight blue made the hundreds of tiny dots on her robes shine like millions of stars in the night sky. Isisa loved it this way, if looked at in the right light would resemble the night sky. "I am Professor Avon," She introduced herself the chalk wrote her name on the board. "Over your years at Hogwarts you will be spending many a night up with me watching interesting events, going camping, mapping the stars, and all in all having fun!" A slight cheer went up around the room. "This year is a brief introduction on what is around us. Planets and such." Isisa noticed some Ravenclaws... and a few select others were writing everything she said down. She just smiled that would fade she chuckled to herself. "We may not wave our wands around like in Charm's but Astronomy is at the root of all magic in my opinion. You could say Magical theory with a twist." She nodded to herself. "Today's lesson is all about your telescope, and it just so happens I am the resident Telescope authority around here." She smiled, "Of course this is your first step to really understanding the stars." Pointing to the back of the room Isisa had 3 very large telescopes set up. "I have borrowed these from a very impressive group of Astronomers you may get to meet later on in your years but for now we shall just refer to them as the Institute. They are the foremost specialist’s on what is going on today in Astronomy. I know part of your supplies was a telescope so let’s teach you how to use it." Flicking her wrist her wand re-appeared in her hand. "Remember when I said no wand waving in this class? Ignore that for today! Now then wands out!" She called they all looked surprised. Isisa pulled out a tiny telescope that was pocket sized and could be pulled in and out. "Now this is my 9873-2ADG Galaxy Gazer. It is an old model however they have never made one quite as powerful in this size since." She smiled, "I am assuming yours will be much bigger." She laughed. "On with it then I am going to teach you an 'Auto Focus' Spell. No one really wants to be fusing about with their telescope when an event is taking place. So Wands up." She demonstrated in the air. "Please no pointing them at each other!" She eyed the boy in the back who had his wand pointed at a girl’s pigtail. His head snapped forward and his wand arm moved away. Nodding she continued happy to see most students had their own telescope ready and pulled out. "If you do not have one be sure to borrow your neighbours with permission of course!" Walking around Isisa adjusted some arms so they were straight. "Good form everyone. The incantation is 'Tulilatum' stress on Tuli and um. Repeated after me," Isisa said it over and over again till they all managed to pronounce it right. "There now we use a downward double tap on our Telescope like so." She held out her Star Gazer and tapped it speaking the incantation. "Make sure there is no sideways in your tap! I don't want you to blow up your telescopes. Begin." Isisa walked around the classroom as everyone did as they were told and most caught on. She helped a few and told others to practice out side of class if they hadn’t figured it out by the end of their time. "Now all Wizarding telescopes are spelled to see through walls." She heard a few gasps. "Oh don't worry they are also spelled so they can not looked through walls at the wrong things." She eyed the boys who had a sudden disappointed look. "Any tampering of that spell will result in a long stay in the hospital wing." She smiled at them remembering one boy who had tried to remove it when she was in school. They never saw him again. "So everyone line up 3 lines one behind each telescope. These are so advanced even in daytime you can see outer space. I have one pointing at Mars, one pointing at the moon, and one pointing at Jupiter." The students lined up each taking a turn at looking in to outer space. "Our homework is to practice using the auto focus spell and finding the moon in the sky. Tonight is a quarter moons I want everyone to try and find it and read Chapter 1 of your text book." Isisa glanced at the clock it was almost end of lesson. "Well look at the time! We have accomplished a lot haven’t we! Read Chapter 1. Class Dismissed! " ------------ Homework: Please Role-play in detail what you would see through those 2 telescopes and read the Chapter one HERE*. *Astronomy and our World Today By Isisa Avon Authors Note: Before we begin I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this and dedicate it to my students *past and present* at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I started writing this during my years after I graduated from Gryffindor House in Hogwarts. I rarely had time in my travels so given the opportunity to become a Professor I have here by finished it. Chapter 1: How to begin? Well that is a good question. To begin we have to know just what Astronomy is. My Motto to all new and old students is 'just look up' if you do this you are taking a step in the right direction. Astronomy is the 'first' science. Long before witches & wizards had math they were studying the heavens. It is the branch of science dedicated to everything in the universe that lies outside Earth itself. In this addition we will discover stars, planets, galaxies, solar systems and much much... much.... much........... much more! Once you know the definition lets move on to 'tools'. Using your eyes is all well and good but if you are serious it is time to pull out the simplest yet handiest of tools. The telescope! They come in all shapes, models and sizes. I prefer my good old model 9873-2ADG Galaxy Gazer. It folds up to be pocket size and can see through just about anything; Bricks, Tree's, Mountains, and Roof Tops to list a few. *Note* All telescopes that can see through things are spelled to 'wink out' if pointed in the wrong direction if you get my drift (and Yes I am speaking about the girls dorm boys!) so take that as a warning. If the charm is removed or even detects tampering you and your telescope will get to see outer space in a rather unconventional manner. (For those of you who are very dense and still do not get my meaning it will blow up!) Upon obtaining your telescope I encourage one and all to use a very simple spell to 'auto focus' your telescope. I know I know it can be fun on those lazy day's to play around with some of the interesting dials on your new contraption however during a pinch it is handy to just pick up and look through. QUOTE Name: Auto Focus Spell Incantation: 'Tulilatum' stress on Tuli and umWand Position/Movement: Downward double Tap on object *Note* this spell can also be used on camera's and omnoculars or even muggle bionocular contraptions. As well as anything else that requires focusing. Once you have your telescope auto focused point it at the largest object in our night sky... the moon! A simple target for your first test run. Examine the craters the colour... the moon has 2 sides noticed the line separating the dark and light halves. I suggest notes always good to mark down a first experience. Once you have mastered the moon try looking for the next closest star and so on. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 29th, 2006
8:14 pm	Quidditch Application [font=Arial][b]About You[/b] 1. Exact VH Login: Liya von Perle 2. Name: (of your character) Liya von Perle 3. Year: 1st Year 4. Have you played Quidditch before? (alters count, and please tell me for which team(s). The World Cup also counts.): No 5. Do you have an alter (another character you RP) who is currently on another team, or intends to be?: No 6. What position(s) do you think you would like the play?: Seeker, Keeper, Beater a. Not like to play?: Chaser 7. Do/Will you attend all of your classes? Yes. [b]Availability and "Contactability"[/b] 8. Your Timezone: CST 9. How often can you be online? (Try to be specific) a. On weekdays?:. 9PM to 11PM b. On weekends?: Fridays - 8PM to 1AM c. Can you be on at odd hours of the day and night?: Yes 10 What would stop you from getting online? (RL job, exams, getting grounded from the computer, etc.): RL school. I can be online from 10:45AM to 11:15AM during school hours. I am also active in the drama department and have long rehearsals that usually last until 7/8PM-ish. 11. What is your MSN screenname? (If you don't have MSN, can you get it?): liniwoobles@hotmail.com [b]Quidditch Specific[/b] 12. How good are you with "sensitive information"? Can you keep Quidditch plans and information to yourself? As in, keep a secret from all other people? Even if it's the coolest thing that's ever happened to you and the highlight of your miserable existence? Heck yeah. 13. How good are you with stress? 15 months, 6 days, and 20 hours since last breakdown... J/k. I handle stress very well. a. And missed sleep? What's sleep? 14. Have you read the Quidditch rules? Yes. If yes: a. Did you understand them (at least a little bit)?: I understand everything save for "nurfle turns" b. What rule or concept makes the least sense to you? The nurfle turns. *will re-read* 15. Additional Comments: Mmm... none. 16. Aaand who's going to take back that Quidditch Cup this year?: Slytherin. Duh.[/font] (Comment on this)
2:42 am	Liya's Sorting "Your mother sends her love." Her nanny of three years shrugged as Liya casted a don't-patronize-me look her way. They continued their journey along the crowded platform of King's Cross; Nanny carting the rickety trolley and trying to keep pace with Liya who purposely weaved in and out of people. Nanny would have hooked that girl on a leash if she could keep her still for more than a second. Liya walked past platform nine and ten, stopped short, and back-tracked with a frown. Nanny leaned on the trolley, hand on hip and watched Liya glance between the two platforms and walk around in circles before admitting defeat. "And with five minutes left on the clock, Miss von Perle gives up and asks for direction!" Liya folded her arms across her chest and kept silent. Nanny pointed to the barrier and Liya looked over to see someone walk through as if it muggles didn't exist. She rolled her eyes in disdain. "How was I supposed to know that?" She said and took over her trolley. "Aren't you coming?" The middle-aged woman shook her blonde head and tapped her watch. Liya shrugged, letting her know that she was independent and was not at all suggesting she come with. "Fine by me. Nice having you around." Liya, uncomfortable with being beneath an affectionate gaze, shifted her weight from foot to foot and walked through the barrier before Nanny could do anything unwelcome. The sky was pale and sported inky clouds; the wind played with the hems of robes and feathers of owls. Liya shoved a path to the great train via her trolley. She was cutting it close, the time, so by the time a compartment was available, the train was pulling away from the platform. Liya settled in and propped her feet on the bench across. Mothers blew kisses, shouted their last good byes and the eleven year old closed her eyes and went to sleep. Hours later, she was shivering in a boat, crossing an ever-stretching lake. How did the other students get to the school? The darkness was suffocating, but went unnoticed as Hogwarts came into view. Arrogantly balancing upon the hill, Hogwarts was terrifyingly beautiful and omnipotent. The hundreds of windows glittered, luring the new students. It seemed to be just the place Liya had been waiting for. To her disappointment, the first years were led away from the Great Hall. Liya was by this time sure she would die if she didn't eat something soon and reluctantly stood around for what seemed to be forever and a day. "C'mon 'V'..." Let's go V, let's go! "von Perle, Liya!" About bloody time! Liya very nearly let out a cheer before sauntering onto the stage and sitting on the stool. Her light pupils flickered over the sea of watching faces before the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. Ew. She pleaded it to hurry up and get off her head ASAP. This thing was centuries old, right? Did they clean this thing? Liya felt horrified at the thought of a ring of dirt being imprinted on her forehead after it was taken off. She had to resist the urge to snatch it off her head and folded her hands in her lap, pursed her lips and waited for commentary. Liya von Perle eh? Reminds me of another brat, err…student I sorted, he was a VonHaus not a von Perle. Doesn’t matter, he’ll soon be your housemate…SLYTHERIN! (Comment on this)