Post by Shadow Clearwater on Nov 29, 2007 13:39:22 GMT -5
((okay, this thread happened before my arrest. Comprende? right...))
A sixth year Slytherin exited the common room, walking carefully across the stone clad floor. Excitement ran down his spine in the form of a shiver. These cold walls, the atmosphere, he loved it all - The dungeons were his home.
Tonight, Shadow had actually tried to make a difference to his appearance. Although his trademark mane hair, remained untamned and his blood coloured powder had been roughly screening his eyes.
The boy approached the potions classroom, hoping that Professor Birchheel was in. He regretted not appearing in her classes after signing up for them, then again he had failed to show up to most of them. He had only appeared at one Transfiguration lesson, and a couple of Astronomy. Yet, he was in Munro's class only by forced invite. It was not his choice to show.
Knocking softly on the dungeon door with a pale fist, he sighed and lent against the wall patiently. Unfortunatly he had no help for the dream he hoped to forfill, the books he had read - set alight into flame by an insane rodent. Not helpful. He waited in silence, twirling his wand between his fingers.
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2008 18:06:02 GMT -5 by Sparky Cobalt
Post by Melia Birchheel on Nov 29, 2007 14:26:29 GMT -5
Things were not slowing up for Firefox's potions mistress. That very title was far from descriptive of her talents, and these past few months since Julius Plutus and his so called interim government had arrived had caused her to be plagued with several - often conflicting - orders from within her powerful family. Today she had refused the temptation to go once more into the Triangle Tunnel to investigate further on the movements of Julian Forbes, the chief Auror, and instead was pouring over huge reams of paper, official looking documents littering her desk. Even families required bureaucracy, it seemed.
The faint rapping noise at her office door roused her from her work and, first pulling out a golden fob watch to glance at the time, she stood to open the door. Before she did so, however, she lifted her wand daintily from her desk where it had been lying perpendicular to the neat reams of notes she had been making and, without so much as a word or a flicker of emotion, she gave a wave and the papers were gone, banished to a shelf somewhere more private, away from prying eyes.
Sweeping open the door cleanly on its hinges, her dark frame filling the dark doorway, she stared impassively down at the young boy standing before her. She was clothed in dark robes once again - navy, this time, rather than the sable ones she appeared to prefer - and her sleek and shining mahogany hair was arranged neatly around her shoulders. The only things about her which showed any trace of brightness were of course her eyes, amber and piercing, and the necklace she always wore; fair silver and pale graying chalcedony. She was only of average height, roughly five foot six and slender as a willow branch, yet she had an aura which seemed to lend her the stature of someone far more impressive. No change of expression was visible on her prematurely lined features, but her deeply tanned Mediterranean skinned face did not look unkind.
"Ah, Mister Clearwater, isn't it?" she said softly, her tones laced with an unmistakable native accent, pleasant despite their lack of emotion. "I have been meaning to speak to you regarding - various - things, but what may I help you with?"
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Nov 29, 2007 15:34:09 GMT -5
Shadow turned to face the door, moving apart from his position of leaning on the wall. Standing up at his full height, he was maybe an inch taller than the Professor. Replacing his unusual concotion of a wand,(13 1/2 inches, willow and vampire heartstring core) in his pocket, he sighed and surveryed the woman threw his blue eyes.
Sighing slightly, he nodded at her words and thrust his hands into his pockets. He was slightly shocked at her accented-words, though, he understood that she might have some words concerning his attendance in class -zero- but anything else? Maybe she heard too...
"Actually Professor, I was wondering if you could help me with a certain fantasy I've had on my mind lately." The canadian-french Slytherin replied to her softly, not wishing to return to his angered, harsh tone and ruin his chances at an early stage. At that point he would have produced the book he had taken from the library, but, due to unseen circumstances, it had been reduced to a pile of ashes and cinders. He already understood that he would proberly have to replace the book, even though it was not he who caused the damaged. But really, who was going to believe him that a squirrel did it?
"I was wondering maybe, if you would mind helping me achieve the animagus dream?"
Post by Melia Birchheel on Nov 29, 2007 16:52:25 GMT -5
Melia watched without the slightest alteration in her facial expression as the Slytherin male drew himself up to his full height and then sighed, putting his hands in his pockets as he beheld her strangely. It was obvious that the boy was uncomfortable about something - many things, in fact, if Melia had heard correctly, but there was something else about his demeanor which she instinctively found suspicious. Still, there was no reason for her to let this show on her face, and so she didn't. Amber eyes surveyed the young boy for a moment, awaiting his reply.
It was a slightly bizarre one, too, initially. Had she been less controlled Melia would have snorted, or at the very least raised an eyebrow. The words I was wondering if you could help me with a certain fantasy I've had on my mind lately were not ones which Melia had ever expected to hear coming from the lips of one of her students - or, well, anyone really - but thankfully she possessed the restraint not to comment on it, at least until she found out what he really meant. Of course, she couldn't agree either. Not yet.
Ah, and there it was. He was not the first to have come to her with this very same request, but her certainly had a rather unusual way of expressing it. She looked him up and down with those eerie yellow eyes of hers, making it obvious that she was assessing him. If the rumors which had reached her ever-alert ears then it would be unwise for her to aid hi in any way, lest Plutus' government get wind of it, but withholding knowledge - providing it was not dark magic of any kind - was in direct conflict with her job description, even if that job was a far cry from her actual career.
"Very well, mister Clearwater," she said eventually, standing aside to allow him access to her office after a lengthy pause. "Please come in and take a seat and we will discuss the matter. I must be sure that your transfiguration skills are up to scratch first, after all."
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Nov 30, 2007 13:31:11 GMT -5
Shadow smiled gratefully as the Professor agreed. The pause had been awkward and he had not really enjoyed standing in it, however much he liked to sit in silence. "Thanks Professor." he nodded as he slid past her into the office.
He stood for a moment in the doorway, glancing around the dungeon room, having not been in before he was slightly drawn to the surroundings. Following from her word, he sat down at a seat with a few moments of hesitance. He had been to Syrus's lessons, well the first one anyway. He'd meant to arrive at more, but things had always... well, there had always been something to distract him.
Maybe he should apologise first for not attending. Or, just continue to sit in the silence.
Post by Melia Birchheel on Nov 30, 2007 13:54:33 GMT -5
OOC: shortness is not a problem
Allowing the Slytherin to walk past her through the dungeon doorway, Professor Birchheel paused a further moment, looking out into the corridor for no real apparent reason, before following the lad into the office. She waited for him to take a seat, noting without expression his slight shifting in his chair. Discomfort was something that most people appeared to feel when stepping over the threshold to her office, but it did not perturb her.
Placing her slender hands behind her back with slow, almost pre-conceived grace, the olive skinned woman took two small, equally measured steps, the light glinting off the large silver buckles on her broad-heeled shoes. It seemed, to all extents and purposes, that she was contemplating how to proceed, but in reality her silence was a test in itself. If this boy did not have the patience to endure her quietude, he was not worth teaching - and that applied to both potions and advanced transfiguration.
"Alright," she said at length, when the silence could not have possibly gone on any longer. "The first task for you, or rather, the first test of your skills - for let me assure you, a great deal of skill is required to achieve a consistent animagus form without mishap - will be a relatively simple one." Abruptly, shockingly so, considering her previous control, the potions mistress stepped lightly over to the opposite side of her office and picked up a fairly standard looking china teapot. Placing it on the long table next to where Shadow was seated, her amber eyes bored into his.
"This will require reflexes and control, as well as an excellent background in transfiguration," she told him softly. Her voice could have been deadly have it not been so pleasantly lilting, but there was nothing untoward in her tones aside from this. "Please, get out your wand, and as I say each item, each thing, I want you perform the correct transfiguration spell to create that item out of the last. Is this understood?"
Without waiting more than two seconds for his agreement, Melia began listing objects, animals and other such things, leaving a gap of only five to ten seconds between each one. How Shadow fared in this test would determine whether he was worthy of her time.
"Pocket watch... Giant snail... Feather, blue... Nail clippers..."
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Nov 30, 2007 14:21:22 GMT -5
Shadow smiled slightly at her pause, did everyone have to be wary around him?
As she spoke, he listened intently to her words - shifting onto the edge of his seat. He way yet so, takenaback by the way she quickly strode to the opposite side. Picking up an average teapot and placing it before him, the Slytherin eyed it in curiousity.
Taking in a sharp intake of the cold air, he bit down on his lower lip. God, he regretted not attending. He was little more than average at Transfiguration, if above it at all. But for now, all he could do was do his best. If she gave up on him, he suposed he would have to find another way of achieveing his goal... or give up. Due to the depth of his thoughts he only caught the last few sentences of her speech, he yelped inwardly, half muttering his answer as she began listing.
His mind whirred as he grabbed for his wand. Okay, it's an object I need to transform. At least he understood what to do. In his few seconds of time, he attempted furiously to clear his mind and begin to picture the pocket watch he hoped to achieve. "Res Rei Verto." Fortunatly the teapot formed the shape he had hoped.
Using similar spells for the next items, he slipped up on about a quarter of them. He wasn't happy with his result so far, but he continued to try - his hasty patience dripping slowly away as he became, little by little, more infuriated with his spellcasting.
Post by Melia Birchheel on Dec 2, 2007 12:23:20 GMT -5
Well, pressure affected him, certainly, but then not everyone could be as cold and detached as the potions mistress. Thankfully, however, at least from Shadow's point of view, Professor Birchheel was fully aware of this fact, and while she noted it for later use she would not judge him by it today. He was performing reasonably well, correctly casting around three-quarters of the spells required to complete the arduous and unexpected task. Still, it was clear that he was no great lover of the subject of transfiguration, and would be far from Korodin's favorite student. Melia named a few more objects, getting rather more complex in her requests (jobberknoll... ivory broach... terrier...) and then finished with an unexpected but no doubt very welcome "Enough. El terminado, it is done."
She paused for another moment, unmoving, holding an inner debate as to whether she should continue or not. If he put enough effort into this task, there was nothing to stop him achieving his goal but Melia would have preferred a student with more natural ability in the discipline. She could refer him to the transfiguration teacher, of course, but she quite understandably bucked at the thought of sending an impressionable pupil into the guidance of a dark wizard such as Korodin. Her hawkish eyes raised to meet his gaze, and she nodded to herself as she had done before. He was a Slytherin. If she refused him, he would simply find another - less appropriate - way to do this. She had to accept.
"Very well, Mister Clearwater," she said in her soft, Hispanic voice. "You seem to have an adequate level of skill for us to continue. Now, may I inquire as to the animal form you have selected, if you have done so?"
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Dec 2, 2007 13:38:20 GMT -5
Spells to his ability whispered from Shadow's lips as the professor continued to direct her desired results at him. Each listed, forced his depression with his own lack of experiance slightly deeper into him. Not a good place to be in.
The slytherin teen was slightly taken aback by her sudden end to the session, but none-the-less, lowered his wand. Grinning softly as the Professor's hawk-like eyes met his own, he turned his own gaze back to the stone-clad floor. Shadow was disappointed with his own strength in Transfiguration, but he wasn't weak enough to let that effect his own dreams.
"Actually, I thought maybe something like a raccoon? But maybe I made the wrong choice, I don't know." He sighed quietly, thinking about how the insane squirrel had practically attacked him when he had spoken about choosing that precise form. "I'm sorry, I wasn't any better at the trial. Professor."
(ooc-I plan on him actually turning out as a red panda;) )
Post by Melia Birchheel on Dec 2, 2007 18:11:14 GMT -5
The Spanish witch nodded in her efficient manner as he described the vague kind of animal into which he wish to transform. She didn't know why she had asked in the first place, really; every last student in the school wished to be an animagus, but that wasn't to say that they had the focus necessary to select a single form and stick to it. Usually their desires were torn between flying one minute, to having fantastic fur or sharp teeth the next. At least he hadn't chosen something on the grounds that it would be pretty. Nothing irritated Melia more than students coming to her expressing their wish to be a tiger or a wolf or a pony. Still, a raccoon was at least an interesting idea, useful too, in many circumstances. That, Melia could accept. It was the hazy manner in which he expressed the idea which disappointed her.
"Do not apologise for the trial," she said briskly, her tone of voice making it clear that such actions were to be considered improper. "There is no reason to ever apologise for doing less well than you hoped for in a test, unless you did not give it your all, in which case the only person you should be a disappointment to is yourself. Furthermore this should only serve as motivation to do better next time, which I should hope you will - for you will need to do so to become an animagus." She looked - almost glared - at him as she said this, punctuating her point.
"Similarly you will require much focus on your form. First of all you must realise that your animal form depends more on what you are capable of than what you wish to be - your nature determines most things in your life, and this is no different. You must not be unsure as you change, as this will most likely result in a most... uncomfortable accident. You must concentrate, and concentrate more to achieve your goal. In time it will become easier, but at first it will be the most difficult thing you will ever do." The tutor paused a moment, hoping beyond hope that some of this speech had sunk in, and when she next spoke, it was far more casual, a by-the-by, as it were, though her intent may have laid elsewhere.
"Oh, and if you succeed Mister Clearwater, you will be required to register yourself with the Iberian Ministry in accordance with their laws." Their laws. Not hers. Not Spain's. Theirs. Shadow could pick up on this or not. Either would be most telling.
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Dec 3, 2007 13:21:39 GMT -5
Shadow nodded at the Professor's words, Gwen told him many a time to stop saying sorry for things. He at least thought that he had tried to the best of his ability on the trial. He muttered his reply, even though he was speaking the truth, with his gaze turned downwards as she had practically glared at him. "I will professor..."
The teacher's next words stung the Slytherin slightly. He, in no way or form, wanted to end up in a difficult situation or indeed, harmed. "So i must, um, see the raccoon and be the raccoon?" Shadow understood most of it, but he was doing his best to take it all in. Too much so to actually be able to put it into words.
Biting his lip as she spoke of the Ministry's laws. He half smirked before relaxing into the chair he sat upon. Still, he nodded. Sure, well, if Plutus lets me anyway. It might not fit in with his plans, but he was smart enough to know how to stay out of their suspect books.
Post by Melia Birchheel on Dec 9, 2007 8:41:01 GMT -5
Melia nodded for what seemed like the hundredth time since Shadow had entered her office. He was making it ever clearer than transfiguration was not his subject of choice, and she doubted his ability to achieve the strenuous task of enduring her instruction. Still, she had to try, didn't she?
"See the raccoon and be the raccoon indeed," she replied solemnly. "Now, before we go too far down the path of animagi training, it would be wise for you to go and do some practice - in your own time. I want you to begin by transfiguring yourself - more specifically, your facial features. Self-transfiguration is an extremely complicated branch of spell work, and I want you to perform it silently. Please practice growing fur on your face - if you can do it there you can do it anywhere. Ideally," - was that a twitch of a smile? - "You could also change the colour of this fur to match that of a raccoon - if you wanted extra credit, of course."
"Now," she went on, placing her hands behind her back once again. "This will require several attempts on your part, and I am afraid that I do not have the time now to observe them all. You may return next week - Tuesday after school has finished would be the best time - and you will show me your progress. Is this acceptable to you?"
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Dec 9, 2007 10:49:22 GMT -5
Shadow stared at the ground for a moment, thinking and trying to take in everything she had told him. He supressed a small smirk at the thought of him trying to practice growing fur. Supose he did it wrong, of indeed, could not remove it? Was he to roam around with a bag over his head for days, or let everyone laugh? Such fun that would be....
The slytherin teen grinned and stood up. "Yes Professor. I'll practice whenever I get a free moment... Thankyou Madame Birchheel, for your time and patience." He ran a pale hand through his hair, and glanced towards the door. He should proberly be going, allow the potions professor time on her own.
However, hadn't she spoken that she meant to speak to him for various reasons? If that was to do with anything other than his attendance, he had two choices. One; leave before she remembered. Two; stay and take it all in. Hesitating slightly, he moved a few paces towards the door. "I'm sorry for not attending your classes - after I signed up... I had a few things on my mind."
Post by Melia Birchheel on Dec 11, 2007 16:37:25 GMT -5
Had she not made it clear that this session was over? Ah well, to restate the matter would have been rude, and it was not in the potions teacher's habit to be impolite, even to a lowly student. He had come to her for help, and passed the initial test - she had to give him some sliver of respect for that.
"It is SeƱora, not Madame," she said at first in a monotone, each syllable carefully measured, cold. Then; "I was not aware that you were meant to be taking my class, Mister Clearwater," she answered him, her yellow eyes holding his easily. "I assumed that while you were on my list at the start of term you switched to a different subject at the last minute - my students do tend to attend my lessons; I am most unforgiving about tardiness, let alone people who go AWOL. Now I see that this is not the case..." She trailed off deliberately, letting her words hang around his ears.
She could punish him, of course, but somehow she didn't think that this would be the best tactic. Besides, Melia couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she took this young boy under her wing, so to speak. She had never taught anyone transfiguration before; indeed, before she had arrived at Firefox on the trail of the Shadows she had never taught anyone anything before. She was not, after all, a teacher by profession. This was a job she had fallen into; it was a worthy task, tutoring children, but there was never anything permanent about the position in her mind. So to see how someone turned out with her guidance would be interesting - an experiment, perhaps. She switched tack.
"But no, if you do not wish to take potions, do not feel obligated to do so," she went on after a brief silence, her amber eyes glinting slightly. "I have, however, heard rumor of a number of students gathering together, possibly to discuss their dislike for the Interim Ministry of Iberia. Now, any resistance to the government formed within the walls of this school would be exceedingly... foolish." The pause was entirely deliberate, emphasising her choice of words. She looked at Shadow keenly, her hawkish eyes unnerving for a moment before asking her question.
"You will let me know if you hear anything about this, won't you, Mister Clearwater?"
Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink... But if you must... Lie in the arms of your love, Steal away from bad company, Cheat only death, And drink to the moments that take your breath away
Post by Shadow Clearwater on Dec 15, 2007 13:33:47 GMT -5
Shadow would of smiled, but he was shocked at her cold tone of words. He shrugged, "Sorry, I should get out of the habit..." He was used to 'Madame' and 'Monsieur', he wasn't in the knowledge to say otherwise. He muttered a half hearted apology, feeling the guilt begin to settle in as she spoke.
After the dragging silence, he responded with his eyes turned to the ground. "I apologise professor, again. I did intend to appear at your lessons, I would have done...yet, Professor Munro spoke that it was imperative, that I attended Astronomy.... If not for that, I would have come to your lessons." The Slytherin teen wasn't lying, much. true, Munro had forced him to attend teachings in the Ravenwood tower - even if he had not wanted to. Shadow was simply not telling the whole reason.
He began to leave, striding towards the dungeon door. The Slytherin froze suddenly, her next words hitting him hard. Turning slowly, his cold eyes flickered up from the stone cobbled ground, to meet her hawkish gaze. After a moment of hesitation, he grinned, speaking softly. "Rumor's are exactly that. Not always truth, more often than not, a phrase of misunderstanding.... Besides, that would be, exceedingly foolish."
Turning away from her, he grasped the handle with a firm hand. Bowing his head as he spoke, he smirked gently, "I will, professor. I'll keep my eyes open." He closed the door and headed back towards the common room - intending, if everyone else was sleeping to practice before the morning. He would tell her next time they met, he simply needed to know he could open up without her distrust. If, that would ever be a day.
Teagan Offline: This board is full of nostalgia.
Aug 22, 2020 8:39:09 GMT -5
Missing the old MH: gotta say missing when MH and all that was around.
Nov 6, 2019 0:02:30 GMT -5
Willow_lazy: why tf are there 400 posts about adidas
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Azrael: I'm not hard to find, since I'm the only one there who goes by "Azzy", I'm pretty sure. XD
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Azrael: Dunno if anyone still pops by here from time to time, but if any of you mofos do and still feel like gettin' yo nerd on, I've been hanging around this here place a bunch recently: www.roleplayerguild.com/
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Azrael: hold onto your pantaloons
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