OOC: For those unfamiliar with my lessons, please post as if you have been present from the beginning, unless you have a valid, and pre-discussed plot reason for announcing a late arrival.

PMing me is encouraged if you'd like me to be aware of something character significant for the lesson, ta. I don't deduct housepoints for non attendance, I do add them for participation, interesting, plot furthering or amusing IC reactions, and especially for balanced character abilities. If you can't join us, may be to your advantage to drop me a quick note.

First lesson after lunch

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The First Years filed into the classroom with their usual chatter which was altogether a low murmur but occasionally rose into excited crescendos. Professor Storm was stood by the blackboard, with a half completed list of questions on the board such as discuss the difference between dark creature and dangerous beast, and Explain the exact differences between the Impediment Curse and the Freezing Charm.

As such, the first years gave a little groan and rustled out their quills and parchment, anticipating a lesson of note taking and questions. Such lessons had been equally balanced with practical for them in the past term, while the weather had slowly improved outside.

Pausing every now and then to reconsider the list of questions he'd penned the previous evening, Professor Storm was almost entirely ignoring the first years, the chalk pausing with him, before continuing at his bidding.

"Good afternoon first years, take down your homework, its due tomorrow morning." There was a spat of grumbles from some of them. Their Professor did not ordinarily set their homework for the following morning, normally the following lesson, or the Friday.

"This week is particularly busy, given the theme of careers, and I think each of you are capable of completing the questions given your regular revision throughout the year. What, no revision? Oh dear, it will be a long night for some of you." He placed the tip of his wand between his fingertips and smirked, enjoying their expressions.

"A minute more to copy down, or you will have to remain after to finish the list, then quills and parchment away, you'll be pleased to hear."

Once the first years had scribbled things down the students quickly as they could put the parchment back in their bags and gathered, before Professor Storm split the group in two, sending friends on opposing sides of the room as the desks trotted out of the way of the students to make space.

Counting down each line of students he gave them a number, which matched a student on the other side of the room - purposely if possible one they hated or would challenge the other. In the centre of the room on the floor he placed a quaffle, very much inert.

"You will remain with your backs to the wall and wands down until your number is called, when upon that moment you spring forth, attempt to seize the quaffle before your opponent, and carry it to the end of the room to your left." He indicated for each team. "Where you will hold it to the wall by hand to score." A murmur broke out.

"You must carry the quaffle in one hand, your wand in the other - and attempt to steal back the quaffle from your opponent. Finally, the summoning spell is off limits, let's not make things too easy." Retreating back from the quaffle, Professor Storm raised both eyebrows and called out "Four!"

Anyone can be paired up, just jump in, Storm's paired everyone randomly - the following spells are undoubtedly suitable and have been taught to the first years, but not the only ones.

supplanto - trip hex
Carpe Retractum - Seize and pull charm (for the more accomplished)
Flipendo - push or topple
Immobulus - Freezing charm
Rictusempra - Tickling Charm

Heliotrope had scribbled down the homework questions in her nearly illegible scratching and stuffed them into her bag before the class stood. She followed and was cordoned off on the left. She stood staring at Professor Ignan as he explained the rules and tried to remember her number. 4...4...4...

Her back was to the wall, along with the palms of her hands. She stood slightly on tip toe. She could feel her wand against her spine. She usually kept it under the snug fabric of her swimsuit, always under her uniform, the tip sticking out behind her hair. Just as Heliotrope was running her fingers along the coarse stone wall...


Heliotrope pounced, as if the Defense classroom was underwater and she was kicking off the wall. She rose a bit then arced, her hands outstretched as she prepared to land on the Quaffle...

Mairead's grumble was, quite likely, amongst the loudest when the disturbingly long list of questions was scrawled across the board.  Her head propped up by the palm of her hand, the first year Gryffindor scratched the questions out on her parchment.  She would, very likely, be amongst the few students that would have to stay afterwards to finish copying them.  But, she dutifully tucked her parchment away when instructed and got to her feet, joining one of the clusters of students on the far side of the room. 

But, a grin spread across the girl's face as the professor explained the exercise.  Or, rather, competition.  Brilliant!  It didn't take much to trigger her competitive side.  This was going to be fun. 

As the students counted off, Mairead turned her attention to her own team until the numbers got to her: seven.  Mairead glanced across the room at her fellow lucky number seven, trying to size up her competition.  They better not be hoping she was going to go easy on them.  Professor Storm called out the first pair and Mairead turned her attention towards the first rivalry. 

With quill in hand Dahlia dutifully copied down the questions from the blackboard for the assignment to be finished that night. She made sure she left ample space between each question so that she would have a place to respond, her quick mind already rumbling around with the answers to each as she wrote them down. When instructed her parchment was rolled up and tucked away, each question having been copied in her tidy neat scrawl. She tucked her book bag under her chair and joined the rest of the class before being split off from one half of the group.

Dahlia made note that she had been placed on the opposite side of most of her friends - Erik, Tynan, she couldn't see where Keenan had ended up and she was standing directly across from Mairead. She took a deep breath as she was given the same number as the bold little firestarter.

Dahlia chewed on her lower lip watching the fours pit off against each other. As a seven she wondered if Storm would call them in order or haphazardly. Given the fact that he had started with four it was likely he wasn't calling in order and she would have to be ready to jump at any time. Being set off against Mairead Dahlia had a feeling she was going to be ending Defense today with a black eye.

Eirene was probably the only student who struggled to hide her disappointment when the professor told them to put their quills and parchment away. She dutifully followed instructions, worry building when the professor's game sounded an awful lot like sports. Eirene was busy running through a list of spells in her head as the professor called out Four!

This was, perhaps, the only time she would rather not be first for something.

Eirene whirled around, wand pointed at the quaffle as she adjusted her stance for dueling. Heliotrope, the freaky fish girl, made a dive for the quaffle, and Eirene let out a gasp and rushed forward to try to take it before her.

Too slow!

"Eugh!" Eirene cried as she instinctively drew back from a whip of stringy hair and outstretched, webbed hands.

She threw a frustrated look at the professor, and then shot off a sticking charm at the girl's feet, hoping the quaffle would fly out of Heliotrope's hands so Eirene wouldn't have to go near her.

Heliotrope caught the quaffle and rolled, oblivious to nearly crashing into Eirene.


She rose to her feet, ready to run off to the target wall for a point. But she faltered, one of her legs refusing to lift. To keep from landing face first she had to let go of the quaffle. It bounced away as her hands braced the ground, on all fours. Heliotrope reached back behind her hair for her wand, firing off a spell.

"Flipendo," she incanted, aiming for the lost quaffle. Heliotrope would keep knocking it away from Eirene's grip until she could free her foot or catch it on the rebound.

Cyhirae shoved her partchment into her bag and lined up quietly with the rest of her classmates along the wall. As the students counted off Cyhirae found herself with the number two against... well Cy didn't accually know, she stopped paying attention after she was assigned her number. It still wouldn't really matter who she got.

Professor Storm called out the number four and Heliotrope was off like a shot with her partner, Eirene, lagging behind. Cy watched as Heliotrope snatched the quaffle away from Eirene, who responded with a spell. She was kind jelous that she woun't be able shove Eirene's smug face into the floor. But it seems it was not to be as she was a two and Eirene was a four and she was stuck with whomever her fellow two was.

She wondered idely who was her partner was and she hoped it wouldn't be any of the Gryffindors. Actually now that she thought about it, she hoped that Erik was her partner. Being able to smush his face into the floor would be a nice consolation prize for not being able to do the same to Eirene.

A fleeting grin spread across Eirene's face as Heliotrope got stuck and lost the quaffle. Eirene made a grab for it, her fingers brushing against the ball, then nearly falling over herself when Flipendo sounded and the quaffle bounced out of her reach.

For the next few moments, Eirene ran after it, squealed when it bounced away from her, and got increasingly upset until the quaffle landed between a student's shoe and the wall. The nerve! They were in her way!

"Move!" She ordered the offender shrilly, attempting to elbow around the student and point her wand at the quaffle.

"Use some variety in your repertoire, LeJean!" Professor Storm warned, his own wand in his hand, ready to intervene or interfere.

"Antonopoulos, use your head, don't run blindly after it, you have another half a minute!" He instructed, consulting the egg timer on the desk beside him.

Eirene looked crushed when the professor told her to use her head, but the criticism worked, and she casted Immobulus on the quaffle, freezing it in the air for a few seconds. She rushed forward and grabbed it with one hand, then ran for the end of the room with a triumphant expression.

"No!" Eirene shrieked as the ball, yet again, flew out of her grasp and towards her opponent!

Heliotrope managed to free her leg from the ground with a squelch as Eirene dodged through the crowd. Professor Ignan called at her. "Use some variety in your repertoire, LeJean!""

No additional spells went through the blank mind of the little par merperson girl. If only she had her kelp whip, recently finished, with her but it was placed back in her room in a pitcher of water. If she had it she could fish up the quaffle easily...

Fishing...

There was another spell she'd quickly gotten adapt at. It had nearly the same motions that she used when swinging her length of knotted lake weeds.

"Carpe Retractum," she incanted, wrist flicking in a familiar movement. A purple cord of energy went from the tip of her wand to the quaffle in the grip of Eirene dashing away, the Ravenclaw's Immobulus successful. The spell wasn't green like her whip but green sparks cascaded from the quaffle when it connected. Heliotrope yanked the quaffle back into her hands. She sprinted past the stunned Eirene, looking rather frustrated, and touched the quaffle against the wall for a point.

"No!" came the cry from her competitor.

"Very good!" Professor Storm praised, impressed by the determination from both girls, and clapped briefly, flicking his wand twice to retrieve the ball and settle it back into the middle of the room's floor.

"Point to Ravenclaw, and two for Hufflepuff, and if we're keeping scores between teams..." He turned and looked to the board where the chalk lazily lifted itself and drew a downwards line on the side nearest the team LeJean was part of.

He barked the next number, once both the students had retreated to either side.

(OOC: First come, first serve!)
Two: Cyhirae & Philo
Four: Heliotrope & Eirene
Seven: Mairead & Dahlia
Nine: Tynan & Noriko

Tynan laughed as Eirene lost; admittedly, in that pairing, he had half expected LeJean to rip Eirene's eyes out, or attack her neck or something, rather than use her wand. He was a bit surprised when Eirene barely used her wand, though, and was reprimanded for it. He began to be a bit nervous, given his own tendencies. It was a sodding ball; he was supposed to use his hands, wasn't he? Just not for, say, punching. Or kicking, or rude gestures.

He looked down at his own number - 9. Or was it 6? He decided it was probably a 9. He'd put money on it. Just not very much money. But money, nonetheless.

He looked up as Storm bellowed for the nines, and Tynan stepped forward, wand drawn after a moment's hesitation. His eyes locked on the ball and he waited just a moment to try and see his opponent. When no one stepped forward after 2 seconds (long enough, in his opinion) he lept forward, grabbing the ball.

Philo was amazed at the severity of the squabble for the quaffle. He knew when "2" was called he would need to act quick. Not like Heliotrope, whom Philo had noticed jumped into anything pellmell when told to. Her physicality was an odd pairing against Eirene, who was more of a thinker. But Eirene, normally adapt at spell use, had gotten frustrated whenever Heliotrope countered, whereas the part-mer seemed to have no emotions to speak of so stayed consistent. And Eirene had pushed them about hard when the quaffle got tangled up under the feet of the students on this side.

He sighed. Not that he was saddened by Ravenclaw's loss but he was determined not flail about as Eirene had. He thought through several strategies. Heliotrope's Carpe Retractum was useful for getting the ball from one spot. Immobulus could hit the ball or the other competitor. Rictusempra would tickle the competitor, possibly making them drop the ball. Even with so few spells there were many possibilities.

Then Tynan went for a strong opening. Philo thought of how he would open. A spell to inhibit the competitor would be best, rather than becoming a target by getting the quaffle first.

Nine.  She was nine!  Noriko stood in an anxious near-panic as she faced the wall.  Nine was a very high number.  With any luck, that meant that they'd run out of time before her turn was called.  In her almost-year at Hogwarts, the young Slytherin had mastered the art of lurking near the back of any group, hedging and staying out of sight until the class period ended.  Unfortunately, Professor Storm had an uncanny knack of seeing through their ruse -- even before she'd ripped his hand off and he'd forgiven her when she'd drawn him a picture, he had somehow always managed to call her name well before time expired.

But this time, she was nine.  Which meant that if Professor Storm went in numerical order, she'd be near the end.  Which meant she might not have to steal the quaffle after all!  Noriko was so focused on what would happen if her number wasn't called that she almost missed it when it was.  The digit registered a beat late; she let out a startled gasp, shooting a look over her shoulder just to make certain that none of her teammates were darting for the quaffle in her stead.  Oh, why couldn't Eirene have gone twice!

No one on her side of the room was moving, aside from impatient twitches as the other first years tried to keep track of what was happening over their shoulders.  But Tynan had already darted forward from the opposite side of the room!  Noriko let out a gasp, gripping her wand tightly in her hand.  After their work on the Astronomy project together, she knew that Tynan wasn't a Muggleborn (and thus, probably wasn't interested in eating her), but he was still one of the Gryffindors, which made him scary in his own right.

But she was in class, and they were probably going to get a grade for this, and besides, Professor Storm was watching.  Tynan was already scooping up the ball -- if she didn't hurry, it would be too late!

Noriko gulped down a breath, steadied her wand, pointed it at him, and thought a silent, anxious prayer as she fired off the only spell she'd ever gotten any traction with.

"Expelliaramus!" she shouted.