[June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Tags: June 2009 Tapendra Trishna Bethany Grieves June 16 2009 Read 634 times / 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? on September 28, 2011, 08:21:52 PM Maybe it was the Ravenclaw in him, or maybe he was just naturally drawn to the things. Either way, it was physically impossible for Tapendra to walk into a book store and not spend money, as much as he was trying to be frugal. He'd already forced himself to put back five books, having decided that maybe he wasn't that interested in The Adventurers of Dennora Dryfus (Vols. 1-5). Unfortunately, he'd already found 5 more books to replace those. Drat. And, as always, his actual goal was proving to be hard to locate. He stood against the reference desk at the far end of the shop, waiting for the clerk to return and flipping through the pages of one of the books he'd kept in the stack, eyebrows half-raised at its contents. Apparently Legal Nightmares: How to Handle Inheritance Laws and Lawyers When Criminal Investigation Is Involved was less dry - and more reliable - than its title suggested. He couldn't help but notice it assumed your parent was a Death Eater, of course. It wasn't far off, really, but still..."Professor?" He snapped the book shut harder than he'd meant to, having relaxed before the clerk reappeared, and winced; his back was still sore from the day before, the skin around the fresh tattoo still slightly inflamed. "This is all we've got," the clerk said, setting three books on the counter and stepping back a bit, brushing her hands off on her skirt. How to Brush Up Your Arabic, Never Be Rude to an Arab and Bilingual Bonus: How to Get Yourself Back Up To Speed in Your Second Language. Not much of a choice, really; he sighed and picked up the last one. He'd spoken Egyptian Arabic as a child and still spoke it now - just not as well as he'd hoped. If he was lucky, he'd be able to actually translate instead of having to spend 5 minutes to ask where the bathroom was."Thank you," he told her. "Oh," he added, as he put the book on top of the pile (and tried not to add their prices up in his head). "How are you lot handling next school year's textbooks? I need to arrange the ones I want." He glanced over her shoulder at the backroom. "And before you ask, no, I wasn't planning to use any of the old ones," he said, seeing her mouth opening out of the corner of his eye. He smiled politely. "They're rather distressingly outdated in some regards...""Of course, Professor," she said. "I'll go get you the forms, if you'll wait here a few moments..." Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #1 on September 28, 2011, 08:59:24 PM Bethany GrievesOOC: Bethany has math equations invented for her. Also, totally fake book title is totally fake.There's a simple math equation one can use to solve the mystery of Bethany's whereabouts when she's disappeared in Diagon Alley. Her Foster Parents figured it out a long time ago and use it almost daily, whenever their travels to London lead to Diagon Alley.The equation is quite simple, really; Bethany, plus Woo, equals Magical Menagerie. However, Bethany, Minus Woo, Plus Pocket Change, equals either Flourish and Blotts or one of the candy shops; depending on wether her not her candy stash is running low. Back home, her stash was just fine, having been replenished not a day ago. She'd left Woo at home today. So of course, this meant she was on her way to Flourish and Blotts to find another book to buy.She skirted through the busy Diagon streets and ducked into the bookshop quickly and almost without a sound. The shop wasn't overly busy, which meant she'd probably be there a while this time. Excellent.Her immediate course was set for the Fine Arts section, though on her way there, she veered off towards the Magical Animals and Plants books, having noticed a particularly shiny book newly added to the shelves. She stopped in front of it and brushed her hands across the spine of it, making a face that could only be described as, 'oooh, shiny'."Herbology and You - Volume Twenty-Six"She gently slipped the book out of its place on the shelf and opened it to a random page. The section she flipped to showed an odd, stringy-leafed plant with tiny yellow fuzz spots all over its stem. Softly, she started readying out loud.[1] "Commonly found in Europe and Asia, the Salix alba, commonly known as the White Willow tree, is famous for its use in ancient Muggle medicine. The bark can be harvested for a powdery substance, which can ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. It was used as a pain reliever dating back to the Fifth century BC and was described as tasting bitter and slightly acidic. This could be due to the Salicin in which was the main makeup of the powdery extract used."Bethany paused, only to smile happily at this little tidbit of information. The book was riddled with citations and references on the bottom of every page, which she found absolutely fantastic; more books to find and read!She'd yet to notice that there were actually other people in the shop, particularly a certain head of Ravenclaw standing just a few feet away. Had she known who he was and what he did for a living, the girl would've already forgotten about her mind numbing read in favor of a much more interesting, live specimen. 1. The information of the White Willow tree is based on the Wikipedia article on it, found here. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #2 on September 28, 2011, 09:56:02 PM Tapendra stood with his elbows on the counter, the Bilingual book open in front of him as he flipped through the pages. It was more or less what he needed; tips for memory and recall, exercises to cope with your accent, that sort of thing. It also recommended Memory Potions, which he'd have to go pick up. It wasn't exactly engrossing reading, though, and as he sat there he became more and more aware of the sounds of the shop - the conversations just out of comprehension range, the distant slam of doors and the sound of the employees walking around in the back room. It was a nice kind of noise, though, occasionally punctuated by a quiet fwip as he turned a page. Maybe it was a bookstore thing, but everything felt muted and quiet inside, as if the books sucked all urgency and sharpness from the air. It was easy to drift. Of course, nearby sounds were extremely distracting, especially when they were young girls reading aloud with emphasis. He looked at his own book for a moment, then gave in and leaned over a bit to see what book she was reading from, an eyebrow quirked. "Studying for next year?" He asked, jokingly, his smile kind and open. "Blair's not exactly the sort to be forgiving, you know. Getting started now'll help." He didn't recognize the girl, but she looked around the Hogwarts age. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #3 on September 28, 2011, 10:29:23 PM Bethany GrievesOOC: Miss bipolar, much?Bethany jerked out of her book noticably when she realized someone was talking to her. She looked over, then up, at the darker-skinned man standing beside her. He was tall, or rather, he looked tall. Then again, everyone did when you were only five or so feet tall. "Uh..." She mouthed stupidly caught completely off guard by the sudden attention."...no, actually. I just like herbology." She murmured, looking down at the book in her hands and trying to find her wits again. Suddenly, she looked up with a mild panic, clutching the book to her chest and turning to face him completely. "Why, do you think I'll have it for one of my classes!?" She squeaked, obviously worried she'd be tested or something.Then it occured to her; how had he known she was going to school come September? What's more, he'd mentioned a "Blair", a name Beth didn't recognise. "Wait a minute, who's Blair and what would she be unforgiving about? And how come you're talkin' about school?" Seriously, it wasn't for another three months. Couldn't the topic of 'studying' wait until August, at least? Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #4 on September 28, 2011, 11:15:40 PM There were a few moments of confused silence as Tapendra tried to figure out what to say. That was always the issue with talking to strangers; you never knew what buttons they had, let alone which ones you could be pushing. Children were usually better about it.Of course, it seemed he'd alarmed her already. He raised his hands in a disarming gesture, smiling and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I'm just teasing you," he said. "I didn't recognize you, and you look about the age of my first year class, so I assumed..." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "Mrs. Blair is the Herbology professor," he said, by way of explanation. "If you like Herbology, I think you'd like her classes. She's a step up from the previous one." Mind you, a sack of dragon dung was a step up from Graham Bombay, but she didn't need to hear that, now did she?"Sorry for assuming," he said, leaning on the counter again, weight on his left arm and his right hand clasped gently on his left. "Are you going to Hogwarts this fall?" Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #5 on October 02, 2011, 10:03:31 PM The man quickly disarmed himself, talking his way out of her suspicions quickly and expertly turning the tables back to her. She blinked, the relaxed her shoulders. Fair enough.He explained who 'Blair' was, the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts, encouraging tone used which perked Beth's interest. She did like Herbology.. good to know who'd be teaching it, at least.He apologized again, then leaned on the counter, tossing out another question, this one one she didn't mind in the least."Yes." She answered, almost excitedly. "It'll be my first year." She paused, then tilted her head. "Are you one of the professors? What do you do at Hogwarts?" She hoped he'd be something cool, like one the the house heads or something. He looked cool, at least, with well groomed features and contrasting blue eyes compared to his darker skin and rust-tinted hair.She approved of him already. With any luck and the right cards, maybe she'd have a new friend on the inside come September. It was always good to have those, especially the professors; it made leeching good grades so much easier. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #6 on October 03, 2011, 12:08:10 PM His smile spread, genuine. "Lovely," he said. "You'll like it. Though with the Tournament next year you certainly either lucked out...or you didn't," he finished, lamely. It was going to be head achingly chaotic, he felt. Though ideally...not as much as the previous one. "Hm?" He pulled himself out of his quietly building stress. "Yes, I'm a professor," he said, looking down at the stack of eclectic books next to his shoulder - Merlin knew what that made her think he taught. Language manuals next to cheesy holidaying novels. And one book on law. Hrm. "I teach Astronomy," he said, his smile slightly wry. "It'll be boring your socks off in no time, I guarantee it," he said, with a laugh. "Unless you're into Astronomy?" he asked, hopefully. "I also Head Ravenclaw house," he added, as an afterthought. "Most well-behaved house in the school. I don't envy the others." And yet the second year Ravenclaws seemed to make up for not fighting by waging academic war. Thankfully, no one had thrown anyone down the stairs. Yet. "Got your heart set on a house, yet?" He asked, then paused, as it a thought had just popped into his mind. He flushed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you my name. It's been a long school year," he said, as if that was an excuse for social ineptitude. "Tapendra Trishna," he said, holding his hand out to her. "And you?" Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #7 on October 03, 2011, 08:11:47 PM His genuine smile was contagious. Beth found herself fighting back a grin as he spoke, mentioning a tournament she'd heard only vague things about. The wizard cup or something, wasn't it? Whatever. It didn't interest her.Moving on, he confirmed his spot as a professor at Hogwarts, one that taught Astronomy (which was way cooler than being a librarian or something) and doubled as "The head of Ravenclaw!?" She squeaked, instantly going red in the face in embarrasment at her outburst.She wiggled in her spot and hugged her book to her chest, listening intently when he offered a handshake and his name; Tapendra Trishna. She took his hand and shook timidly, smiling the entire time with a flush still across her cheeks. "Bethany Grieves. It's an honor to meet you, Professor." She said clearly, despite her nerves."I want to be in Ravenclaw, actually." She stepped back and went back to clutching her book. "Always have." She ducked her head down, seeming to forget all of his other questions and inquiries in favor of this new discovery; she was talking to the head of Ravenclaw himself! Never had she expected THAT out of this charming man! Never! Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #8 on October 04, 2011, 12:24:11 AM He beamed at her, chest puffing out a little bit with pride. As much as he might try to tell his students to be color blind...well, Tapendra was always proud of his blue Ravens. There was something about the house you were in in school - you couldn't not love it, even if it hadn't always treated you well. And even if he'd love to have half the Hufflepuffs transfer houses..."Good to hear!" He said. "Nice to meet you, Bethany. You'll like Ravenclaw, I promise. There's not a bad soul in the place." Or if there was, they'd been sensible enough to hide it. He shifted against the counter, cocking his head as he watched her clutch her book protectively. "It's a lot of hard work, though, Ravenclaw," he said, and he was gently teasing her again; his tone goading in a well meaning kind of way. "We've got high standards. Won the house cup this year, and I hope to do it next year..." And if his pride was to be fulfilled, it'd be a Ravenclaw champion hoisting the cup at the end of the Tournament as well as the house cup. Of course, the competition was going to be fair, as it should be; but that didn't stop Tapendra from hoping. "Think you're ready for it?" Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #9 on October 04, 2011, 08:30:34 AM Blah, blah, blah. Bethany grinned almost... daringly, as if accepting his 'challenge'. "I think I can handle it." She mused, straightening her posture and appearing all too cute doing so. High standards she could handle. She'd been doing it a long time already, impressing her foster parents with her quick wits and easy study patterns."I want to take Astrology at least. That's the study of stars and planets, right? Space?" That grin grew a bit wider. "I think I'd like that class a lot. Do first years get Astrology, usually? It sounds like a class for older kids." Beth's grin faded at this thought, wanting very much to be in his class.One could even say that she might've had a crush on the teacher and school hadn't even started yet. Who could blame her, though? He was a friendly, tall, handsome man who doubled as an inspiration and a genius, as far as she could tell. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #10 on October 04, 2011, 11:54:25 AM Tapendra grinned, liking her already. "You'll have no trouble getting sorted in, then," he said with a soft laugh. Her question made his smile fade, however. He frowned for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond. Of course this cute and eager learner might be one of those; the kids who didn't want to hear about the interesting stuff like planets, but just wanted to know how they'd effect their love lives in some incredibly inaccurate and outdated way. Maybe he needed a really big sign in his classroom to spell it out..."No," he said finally. "You can't take Astrology until 3rd year, and that's only if our Divination professor decides to deal with it. Astrology is not Astronomy." His tone was not unkind, but made it very clear he had nothing kind to say about Astrology. "Astronomy, which you can take in your first year, is the serious scientific study of the universe - and, given how Hogwarts teaches these things, a lot of other mixed sciences. It's not Astrology." Which, in Tapendra's opinion, was the weak-minded flailing of people attempting to control human forces by claiming balls of flaming gases had anything to do with their personalities. He smiled again, though it was clearly a bit tempered. "Astronomy is the study of space though, yes. I tend to touch on other fields, though, since wizards don't seem to be taught these things anywhere else." He laughed again. "Half of the class last year had no idea how old the Universe is, or that dinosaurs had ever existed..." Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #11 on October 04, 2011, 12:24:29 PM Beth's smile vanish and she went red in the cheeks, shrinking back a bit shyly at his correction and her own mistake. When he finished, she nodded. "Oh. My mistake. Astronomy." She sounded confident but understanding, empathic in a way. "Well that's what I meant anyway. I want to learn about stuff like space and n-neh..." She paused to mouth it out, then tried again. "Nebulae... that's it, right?"No need for an answer apparently, as she went right on with her part of the conversation. "I'm... not entirely sure how old the universe is either, but I do know that the dinosaurs existed. Even muggles know that." Like, duh! "I learned that when I was a kid. I always liked reading about them in books."As an afterthought, she added in quickly, "My favorite was the Utahraptor. Quick and dangerous." She grinned cutely again, hugging that dang book and tilting slightly with a bounce. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #12 on October 04, 2011, 12:47:38 PM "Nebulae," he clarified. "We do talk about those, though not in as much detail as the higher years do. First year is basically overview, you see." And trying, desperately, to get them all more or less onto the same playing field, knowledge wise. Astronomy was one of those classes Muggleborns had a massive advantage in these days. "Between 12 and 14 billion years old," he told her, matter-of-factly, his smile turning odd for a moment."One thing you'll find very quickly in my class," he said, "Is that muggles know far more about the universe than wizards do. If you truly want to learn how the world works, one can't discount their knowledge. Many wizards feel that magic makes them - us," he corrected, after a moment, "Smarter or superior. It doesn't. In many ways it makes us less intelligent." He trailed off, and then shook his head. "Sorry, I'm making speeches. You'll find I'm not considered very orthodox. Or respectable...by just about everyone." The letters from parents had hurt when he'd first started getting them; now, they were just normal, and he could brush them off. So many of them insisted their children shouldn't learn things wizards didn't know, just because muggles had found them first. It was downright idiotic; who cared if a person could do magic? Relying on magic for everything was just...it made him grind his teeth. It shouldn't matter who discovered what. It wasn't like wizards had the population to actually keep up with the rate muggle sciences moved, so why try to ignore it?"I always liked Velociraptor," he said, feeling a bit uncreative. "Feathered dinosaurs are the best - though their patterns are a bit...difficult to imagine. That, or any of the Ankylosaurs..." He waved a hand. "A lot of extinct animals are interesting, though - like Helicoprion." Realizing he should probably explain that, he continued, "It's an extinct shark from before the dinosaurs. Had this bizarre set of teeth..." He tried, and somewhat failed, to indicate a set of lower teeth set into the front of his chin in the shape of a circular saw. "Had the weirdest tooth setup of...anything, really." Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #13 on October 04, 2011, 05:07:45 PM Bethany hung on every word, even when he started to 'make his speech'. She almost deflated when he stopped himself. "I used to live in Machester. That's a muggle place, so I learned the usual things they did. I didn't go to primary though." She trailed off cleanly, as if finished with what she'd been saying, even though that wasn't the case; she'd almost let slip about her mother homeschooling her and though it wasn't a secret, she didn't want to talk about that right now.Instead, she let him continue speaking, ears tuned into every word that left his mouth; even the bit on the dinosaurs he liked and then the funny looking shark he tried to imitate. She giggled at that, hiding her mouth and nose with her book as she did. "Sounds like they could've used a dentist." She joked childishly, poking her tongue out and showing off that loose tooth in the front (the last one to go until her adult teeth were all accounted for!)."I think I'll like learning Astronomy." Beth made a point to pronounce 'astronomy' right, instead of saying astrology. "My foster mum, Angela, likes science and stuff. I don't think she'll have any problems with your lessons, Professor." Some reassurance, in case he were worried. "She's been showing me all the constellations, too! I know how to find Aries and the Big Dipper!" She grinned proudly at this, though it probably had little to do with what he'd be teaching her later on. Skip to next post Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #14 on October 05, 2011, 12:28:42 PM "Manchester?" He considered for a moment; if she hadn't gone to primary school, she was likely tutored at home. That was a mixed blessing - while her education could be better than those taught in a primary school, she might also be worse off if her tutors had been too wizard-focused. Hopefully, she'd been taught math. And how to write. After reading MacFusty and Fearghail's essays...Tapendra was tempted to include an essay question on the very first pop quiz. "How is it there?" He asked. "I've only really been 'round London and Cambridge." A slight lie, but a harmless one.He snorted, laughing. "I'm pretty sure any dentist would have shied away. It's one thing to take care of a screaming child, quite another to deal with a shark..." He considered this. "Put like that, though, maybe the shark wouldn't be too bad."Tapendra grinned at her again, though, when she brought Astronomy back up. "Ah," he said, with obviously played-up teacherly...ness, "But can you tell me the constellation the Big Dipper is part of?" He winked. "And for bonus points, which planet is closest to Aries in the night sky?" He decided to make no question of h er mention of 'foster'; there were somethings you didn't poke! Skip to next post
[June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? on September 28, 2011, 08:21:52 PM Maybe it was the Ravenclaw in him, or maybe he was just naturally drawn to the things. Either way, it was physically impossible for Tapendra to walk into a book store and not spend money, as much as he was trying to be frugal. He'd already forced himself to put back five books, having decided that maybe he wasn't that interested in The Adventurers of Dennora Dryfus (Vols. 1-5). Unfortunately, he'd already found 5 more books to replace those. Drat. And, as always, his actual goal was proving to be hard to locate. He stood against the reference desk at the far end of the shop, waiting for the clerk to return and flipping through the pages of one of the books he'd kept in the stack, eyebrows half-raised at its contents. Apparently Legal Nightmares: How to Handle Inheritance Laws and Lawyers When Criminal Investigation Is Involved was less dry - and more reliable - than its title suggested. He couldn't help but notice it assumed your parent was a Death Eater, of course. It wasn't far off, really, but still..."Professor?" He snapped the book shut harder than he'd meant to, having relaxed before the clerk reappeared, and winced; his back was still sore from the day before, the skin around the fresh tattoo still slightly inflamed. "This is all we've got," the clerk said, setting three books on the counter and stepping back a bit, brushing her hands off on her skirt. How to Brush Up Your Arabic, Never Be Rude to an Arab and Bilingual Bonus: How to Get Yourself Back Up To Speed in Your Second Language. Not much of a choice, really; he sighed and picked up the last one. He'd spoken Egyptian Arabic as a child and still spoke it now - just not as well as he'd hoped. If he was lucky, he'd be able to actually translate instead of having to spend 5 minutes to ask where the bathroom was."Thank you," he told her. "Oh," he added, as he put the book on top of the pile (and tried not to add their prices up in his head). "How are you lot handling next school year's textbooks? I need to arrange the ones I want." He glanced over her shoulder at the backroom. "And before you ask, no, I wasn't planning to use any of the old ones," he said, seeing her mouth opening out of the corner of his eye. He smiled politely. "They're rather distressingly outdated in some regards...""Of course, Professor," she said. "I'll go get you the forms, if you'll wait here a few moments..." Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #1 on September 28, 2011, 08:59:24 PM Bethany GrievesOOC: Bethany has math equations invented for her. Also, totally fake book title is totally fake.There's a simple math equation one can use to solve the mystery of Bethany's whereabouts when she's disappeared in Diagon Alley. Her Foster Parents figured it out a long time ago and use it almost daily, whenever their travels to London lead to Diagon Alley.The equation is quite simple, really; Bethany, plus Woo, equals Magical Menagerie. However, Bethany, Minus Woo, Plus Pocket Change, equals either Flourish and Blotts or one of the candy shops; depending on wether her not her candy stash is running low. Back home, her stash was just fine, having been replenished not a day ago. She'd left Woo at home today. So of course, this meant she was on her way to Flourish and Blotts to find another book to buy.She skirted through the busy Diagon streets and ducked into the bookshop quickly and almost without a sound. The shop wasn't overly busy, which meant she'd probably be there a while this time. Excellent.Her immediate course was set for the Fine Arts section, though on her way there, she veered off towards the Magical Animals and Plants books, having noticed a particularly shiny book newly added to the shelves. She stopped in front of it and brushed her hands across the spine of it, making a face that could only be described as, 'oooh, shiny'."Herbology and You - Volume Twenty-Six"She gently slipped the book out of its place on the shelf and opened it to a random page. The section she flipped to showed an odd, stringy-leafed plant with tiny yellow fuzz spots all over its stem. Softly, she started readying out loud.[1] "Commonly found in Europe and Asia, the Salix alba, commonly known as the White Willow tree, is famous for its use in ancient Muggle medicine. The bark can be harvested for a powdery substance, which can ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. It was used as a pain reliever dating back to the Fifth century BC and was described as tasting bitter and slightly acidic. This could be due to the Salicin in which was the main makeup of the powdery extract used."Bethany paused, only to smile happily at this little tidbit of information. The book was riddled with citations and references on the bottom of every page, which she found absolutely fantastic; more books to find and read!She'd yet to notice that there were actually other people in the shop, particularly a certain head of Ravenclaw standing just a few feet away. Had she known who he was and what he did for a living, the girl would've already forgotten about her mind numbing read in favor of a much more interesting, live specimen. 1. The information of the White Willow tree is based on the Wikipedia article on it, found here. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #2 on September 28, 2011, 09:56:02 PM Tapendra stood with his elbows on the counter, the Bilingual book open in front of him as he flipped through the pages. It was more or less what he needed; tips for memory and recall, exercises to cope with your accent, that sort of thing. It also recommended Memory Potions, which he'd have to go pick up. It wasn't exactly engrossing reading, though, and as he sat there he became more and more aware of the sounds of the shop - the conversations just out of comprehension range, the distant slam of doors and the sound of the employees walking around in the back room. It was a nice kind of noise, though, occasionally punctuated by a quiet fwip as he turned a page. Maybe it was a bookstore thing, but everything felt muted and quiet inside, as if the books sucked all urgency and sharpness from the air. It was easy to drift. Of course, nearby sounds were extremely distracting, especially when they were young girls reading aloud with emphasis. He looked at his own book for a moment, then gave in and leaned over a bit to see what book she was reading from, an eyebrow quirked. "Studying for next year?" He asked, jokingly, his smile kind and open. "Blair's not exactly the sort to be forgiving, you know. Getting started now'll help." He didn't recognize the girl, but she looked around the Hogwarts age. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #3 on September 28, 2011, 10:29:23 PM Bethany GrievesOOC: Miss bipolar, much?Bethany jerked out of her book noticably when she realized someone was talking to her. She looked over, then up, at the darker-skinned man standing beside her. He was tall, or rather, he looked tall. Then again, everyone did when you were only five or so feet tall. "Uh..." She mouthed stupidly caught completely off guard by the sudden attention."...no, actually. I just like herbology." She murmured, looking down at the book in her hands and trying to find her wits again. Suddenly, she looked up with a mild panic, clutching the book to her chest and turning to face him completely. "Why, do you think I'll have it for one of my classes!?" She squeaked, obviously worried she'd be tested or something.Then it occured to her; how had he known she was going to school come September? What's more, he'd mentioned a "Blair", a name Beth didn't recognise. "Wait a minute, who's Blair and what would she be unforgiving about? And how come you're talkin' about school?" Seriously, it wasn't for another three months. Couldn't the topic of 'studying' wait until August, at least? Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #4 on September 28, 2011, 11:15:40 PM There were a few moments of confused silence as Tapendra tried to figure out what to say. That was always the issue with talking to strangers; you never knew what buttons they had, let alone which ones you could be pushing. Children were usually better about it.Of course, it seemed he'd alarmed her already. He raised his hands in a disarming gesture, smiling and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I'm just teasing you," he said. "I didn't recognize you, and you look about the age of my first year class, so I assumed..." He shrugged, nonchalantly. "Mrs. Blair is the Herbology professor," he said, by way of explanation. "If you like Herbology, I think you'd like her classes. She's a step up from the previous one." Mind you, a sack of dragon dung was a step up from Graham Bombay, but she didn't need to hear that, now did she?"Sorry for assuming," he said, leaning on the counter again, weight on his left arm and his right hand clasped gently on his left. "Are you going to Hogwarts this fall?" Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #5 on October 02, 2011, 10:03:31 PM The man quickly disarmed himself, talking his way out of her suspicions quickly and expertly turning the tables back to her. She blinked, the relaxed her shoulders. Fair enough.He explained who 'Blair' was, the Herbology Professor at Hogwarts, encouraging tone used which perked Beth's interest. She did like Herbology.. good to know who'd be teaching it, at least.He apologized again, then leaned on the counter, tossing out another question, this one one she didn't mind in the least."Yes." She answered, almost excitedly. "It'll be my first year." She paused, then tilted her head. "Are you one of the professors? What do you do at Hogwarts?" She hoped he'd be something cool, like one the the house heads or something. He looked cool, at least, with well groomed features and contrasting blue eyes compared to his darker skin and rust-tinted hair.She approved of him already. With any luck and the right cards, maybe she'd have a new friend on the inside come September. It was always good to have those, especially the professors; it made leeching good grades so much easier. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #6 on October 03, 2011, 12:08:10 PM His smile spread, genuine. "Lovely," he said. "You'll like it. Though with the Tournament next year you certainly either lucked out...or you didn't," he finished, lamely. It was going to be head achingly chaotic, he felt. Though ideally...not as much as the previous one. "Hm?" He pulled himself out of his quietly building stress. "Yes, I'm a professor," he said, looking down at the stack of eclectic books next to his shoulder - Merlin knew what that made her think he taught. Language manuals next to cheesy holidaying novels. And one book on law. Hrm. "I teach Astronomy," he said, his smile slightly wry. "It'll be boring your socks off in no time, I guarantee it," he said, with a laugh. "Unless you're into Astronomy?" he asked, hopefully. "I also Head Ravenclaw house," he added, as an afterthought. "Most well-behaved house in the school. I don't envy the others." And yet the second year Ravenclaws seemed to make up for not fighting by waging academic war. Thankfully, no one had thrown anyone down the stairs. Yet. "Got your heart set on a house, yet?" He asked, then paused, as it a thought had just popped into his mind. He flushed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you my name. It's been a long school year," he said, as if that was an excuse for social ineptitude. "Tapendra Trishna," he said, holding his hand out to her. "And you?" Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #7 on October 03, 2011, 08:11:47 PM His genuine smile was contagious. Beth found herself fighting back a grin as he spoke, mentioning a tournament she'd heard only vague things about. The wizard cup or something, wasn't it? Whatever. It didn't interest her.Moving on, he confirmed his spot as a professor at Hogwarts, one that taught Astronomy (which was way cooler than being a librarian or something) and doubled as "The head of Ravenclaw!?" She squeaked, instantly going red in the face in embarrasment at her outburst.She wiggled in her spot and hugged her book to her chest, listening intently when he offered a handshake and his name; Tapendra Trishna. She took his hand and shook timidly, smiling the entire time with a flush still across her cheeks. "Bethany Grieves. It's an honor to meet you, Professor." She said clearly, despite her nerves."I want to be in Ravenclaw, actually." She stepped back and went back to clutching her book. "Always have." She ducked her head down, seeming to forget all of his other questions and inquiries in favor of this new discovery; she was talking to the head of Ravenclaw himself! Never had she expected THAT out of this charming man! Never! Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #8 on October 04, 2011, 12:24:11 AM He beamed at her, chest puffing out a little bit with pride. As much as he might try to tell his students to be color blind...well, Tapendra was always proud of his blue Ravens. There was something about the house you were in in school - you couldn't not love it, even if it hadn't always treated you well. And even if he'd love to have half the Hufflepuffs transfer houses..."Good to hear!" He said. "Nice to meet you, Bethany. You'll like Ravenclaw, I promise. There's not a bad soul in the place." Or if there was, they'd been sensible enough to hide it. He shifted against the counter, cocking his head as he watched her clutch her book protectively. "It's a lot of hard work, though, Ravenclaw," he said, and he was gently teasing her again; his tone goading in a well meaning kind of way. "We've got high standards. Won the house cup this year, and I hope to do it next year..." And if his pride was to be fulfilled, it'd be a Ravenclaw champion hoisting the cup at the end of the Tournament as well as the house cup. Of course, the competition was going to be fair, as it should be; but that didn't stop Tapendra from hoping. "Think you're ready for it?" Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #9 on October 04, 2011, 08:30:34 AM Blah, blah, blah. Bethany grinned almost... daringly, as if accepting his 'challenge'. "I think I can handle it." She mused, straightening her posture and appearing all too cute doing so. High standards she could handle. She'd been doing it a long time already, impressing her foster parents with her quick wits and easy study patterns."I want to take Astrology at least. That's the study of stars and planets, right? Space?" That grin grew a bit wider. "I think I'd like that class a lot. Do first years get Astrology, usually? It sounds like a class for older kids." Beth's grin faded at this thought, wanting very much to be in his class.One could even say that she might've had a crush on the teacher and school hadn't even started yet. Who could blame her, though? He was a friendly, tall, handsome man who doubled as an inspiration and a genius, as far as she could tell. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #10 on October 04, 2011, 11:54:25 AM Tapendra grinned, liking her already. "You'll have no trouble getting sorted in, then," he said with a soft laugh. Her question made his smile fade, however. He frowned for a moment, trying to figure out how to respond. Of course this cute and eager learner might be one of those; the kids who didn't want to hear about the interesting stuff like planets, but just wanted to know how they'd effect their love lives in some incredibly inaccurate and outdated way. Maybe he needed a really big sign in his classroom to spell it out..."No," he said finally. "You can't take Astrology until 3rd year, and that's only if our Divination professor decides to deal with it. Astrology is not Astronomy." His tone was not unkind, but made it very clear he had nothing kind to say about Astrology. "Astronomy, which you can take in your first year, is the serious scientific study of the universe - and, given how Hogwarts teaches these things, a lot of other mixed sciences. It's not Astrology." Which, in Tapendra's opinion, was the weak-minded flailing of people attempting to control human forces by claiming balls of flaming gases had anything to do with their personalities. He smiled again, though it was clearly a bit tempered. "Astronomy is the study of space though, yes. I tend to touch on other fields, though, since wizards don't seem to be taught these things anywhere else." He laughed again. "Half of the class last year had no idea how old the Universe is, or that dinosaurs had ever existed..." Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #11 on October 04, 2011, 12:24:29 PM Beth's smile vanish and she went red in the cheeks, shrinking back a bit shyly at his correction and her own mistake. When he finished, she nodded. "Oh. My mistake. Astronomy." She sounded confident but understanding, empathic in a way. "Well that's what I meant anyway. I want to learn about stuff like space and n-neh..." She paused to mouth it out, then tried again. "Nebulae... that's it, right?"No need for an answer apparently, as she went right on with her part of the conversation. "I'm... not entirely sure how old the universe is either, but I do know that the dinosaurs existed. Even muggles know that." Like, duh! "I learned that when I was a kid. I always liked reading about them in books."As an afterthought, she added in quickly, "My favorite was the Utahraptor. Quick and dangerous." She grinned cutely again, hugging that dang book and tilting slightly with a bounce. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #12 on October 04, 2011, 12:47:38 PM "Nebulae," he clarified. "We do talk about those, though not in as much detail as the higher years do. First year is basically overview, you see." And trying, desperately, to get them all more or less onto the same playing field, knowledge wise. Astronomy was one of those classes Muggleborns had a massive advantage in these days. "Between 12 and 14 billion years old," he told her, matter-of-factly, his smile turning odd for a moment."One thing you'll find very quickly in my class," he said, "Is that muggles know far more about the universe than wizards do. If you truly want to learn how the world works, one can't discount their knowledge. Many wizards feel that magic makes them - us," he corrected, after a moment, "Smarter or superior. It doesn't. In many ways it makes us less intelligent." He trailed off, and then shook his head. "Sorry, I'm making speeches. You'll find I'm not considered very orthodox. Or respectable...by just about everyone." The letters from parents had hurt when he'd first started getting them; now, they were just normal, and he could brush them off. So many of them insisted their children shouldn't learn things wizards didn't know, just because muggles had found them first. It was downright idiotic; who cared if a person could do magic? Relying on magic for everything was just...it made him grind his teeth. It shouldn't matter who discovered what. It wasn't like wizards had the population to actually keep up with the rate muggle sciences moved, so why try to ignore it?"I always liked Velociraptor," he said, feeling a bit uncreative. "Feathered dinosaurs are the best - though their patterns are a bit...difficult to imagine. That, or any of the Ankylosaurs..." He waved a hand. "A lot of extinct animals are interesting, though - like Helicoprion." Realizing he should probably explain that, he continued, "It's an extinct shark from before the dinosaurs. Had this bizarre set of teeth..." He tried, and somewhat failed, to indicate a set of lower teeth set into the front of his chin in the shape of a circular saw. "Had the weirdest tooth setup of...anything, really." Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #13 on October 04, 2011, 05:07:45 PM Bethany hung on every word, even when he started to 'make his speech'. She almost deflated when he stopped himself. "I used to live in Machester. That's a muggle place, so I learned the usual things they did. I didn't go to primary though." She trailed off cleanly, as if finished with what she'd been saying, even though that wasn't the case; she'd almost let slip about her mother homeschooling her and though it wasn't a secret, she didn't want to talk about that right now.Instead, she let him continue speaking, ears tuned into every word that left his mouth; even the bit on the dinosaurs he liked and then the funny looking shark he tried to imitate. She giggled at that, hiding her mouth and nose with her book as she did. "Sounds like they could've used a dentist." She joked childishly, poking her tongue out and showing off that loose tooth in the front (the last one to go until her adult teeth were all accounted for!)."I think I'll like learning Astronomy." Beth made a point to pronounce 'astronomy' right, instead of saying astrology. "My foster mum, Angela, likes science and stuff. I don't think she'll have any problems with your lessons, Professor." Some reassurance, in case he were worried. "She's been showing me all the constellations, too! I know how to find Aries and the Big Dipper!" She grinned proudly at this, though it probably had little to do with what he'd be teaching her later on. Skip to next post
Re: [June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag? Reply #14 on October 05, 2011, 12:28:42 PM "Manchester?" He considered for a moment; if she hadn't gone to primary school, she was likely tutored at home. That was a mixed blessing - while her education could be better than those taught in a primary school, she might also be worse off if her tutors had been too wizard-focused. Hopefully, she'd been taught math. And how to write. After reading MacFusty and Fearghail's essays...Tapendra was tempted to include an essay question on the very first pop quiz. "How is it there?" He asked. "I've only really been 'round London and Cambridge." A slight lie, but a harmless one.He snorted, laughing. "I'm pretty sure any dentist would have shied away. It's one thing to take care of a screaming child, quite another to deal with a shark..." He considered this. "Put like that, though, maybe the shark wouldn't be too bad."Tapendra grinned at her again, though, when she brought Astronomy back up. "Ah," he said, with obviously played-up teacherly...ness, "But can you tell me the constellation the Big Dipper is part of?" He winked. "And for bonus points, which planet is closest to Aries in the night sky?" He decided to make no question of h er mention of 'foster'; there were somethings you didn't poke! Skip to next post
[June 16] Brush Up Your...Farag?