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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Apr 28, 2009 3:23:00 GMT -5
"I would prefer that you did make friends with Gryffindors." Henry said with a smile. "All these petty differences between the houses only serve to perpetuate a pointless enmity. There's nothing wrong with a Slytherin being friends with a Gryffindor. In fact, I sometimes think that the world would be a better place if more Gryffindors and Slytherins got along."
Henry slipped the top book off of the pile he had set down upon the table and looked down at the Slytherin seal on it's front with a somewhat furrowed brow.
"I never really found that it was worth my time to avoid Slytherins just because they were Slytherins. I make my friends where I can, and I'll have plenty of time to worry about their histories when I'm dead. Go ahead and make Gryffindor friends all you want, you've already got a start on it, after all. Any Slytherin who would hold it against you probably isn't worth your time."
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Post by Fiona Faine on Apr 29, 2009 1:35:05 GMT -5
The apprehension Fiona felt was slowly dissipating, and Henry's smile seemed to convince her that he was being nice. A tiny smile followed and her eyes scanned the crests from the other houses. "Most people are nice I guess, I didn't understand the differences in the first place." She shrugged a little and turned the page. "I was only curious 'cause some other kids made it sound important. It sounded stupid though." She couldn't imagine why someone would be mean based on what a hat said, and now she felt that her opinion had some validity had someone like Henry to back it up. He seemed so smart and knew what he was talking about, and Fiona wondered if she could be a good witch like he was. "Do you get good grades?" she asked him. "Like better than the Ravenclaws?"
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on Apr 29, 2009 1:54:24 GMT -5
"Depends...which Ravenclaw?" Henry said with a short laugh. "I suppose I do alright. There's more to life than grades though. Proving you're better than everyone else has to take a back seat if you ever want to be happy in life. I've mastered the spells that I've meant to master and learned my potions backward and forward. I suppose it's all a matter of semantics, but as long as you can do what you say you can do than grades don't really matter, do they?"
Henry knew full well that he was an excellent wizard, and that he probably knew more than most students on the base level. For that reason, he put little store in grades and tests and the like; for him, those things were little more than a mode of getting where he wanted to go in life. He was proud enough of every high score he got, but the novelty of getting excited over every O, E, or A he got had worn off long ago and the challenge of testing his limits had taken it's place.
"How about you?" He asked. "Have the professors sprung the first pop quizzes on the first years yet or are they being merciful this year?"
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Post by Fiona Faine on May 3, 2009 0:09:54 GMT -5
Listening to the older boy took command of Fiona's attention, and she started flipping through the pages without reading any content. She figured she'd have time to look at it at another time after she'd borrowed it from the library and took it to the dungeons with her. Besides, Henry said that it really wasn't that important. It made her feel a bit better, though her curiosity was still in tact. She considered his first question, and shrugged a little. "I guess. I like learning magic, though. I want to know a lot some day.
She soon reached another chapter that focused entirely on the magical ceiling of the Great Hall. There was a small picture of four figures waving their wands above their head as their enchantments traveled upwards. She remembered the first time seeing it when she walked in with the rest of the first years, and still felt the sense of awe she had felt then.
A tiny fold appeared on her brow when she remembered the last class she had attended. "Yea we get quizzes sometimes. The written ones are easy if you read the textbook when you're supposed to," she told him. "But sometimes I can't get the spells to work like before when I was trying to levitate the book down." Thus far, her success rate was about 50/50, which was ok only until she started seeing other students doing better than her. "They don't always work."
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on May 3, 2009 10:08:17 GMT -5
"Levitation, huh?" Henry said thoughtfully. "I always hated the fact that they bothered the first years with that one. I get that their trying to get the first years in the mindset, but it always ruins their self-esteem when they don't get it right..."
Henry reached into an inner pocket of his cloak and drew out a silver fountain pen that was coated almost completely with a black enamel. He placed it down on the table between them and leaned forward on folded arms. It had always seemed to him a dirty trick that the professors played on the first years to have them trying to perform spells that required all three points of perfection, but, at the same time, they did need to learn...
"Right, let's see what you've got." He said, nodding toward the pen. "levitate it."
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Post by Fiona Faine on May 6, 2009 0:13:04 GMT -5
Fiona regarded his opinion, and decided that she was starting to like him better. It really was hard, and maybe the professors were so powerful that they don't realize how difficult some spell could be when you were so young. She was glad Henry seemed to understand that magic was hard sometimes, though she imaged he was very good at it if he read so much.
Suspicion crept up her spine when Henry reached into his cloak and retrieved a pen before placing it between them. She looked up at him with a slightly tortured expression when he prompted her to try it out in front of it. Well she couldn't even do it when she was by himself, how could she do it in front of someone who probably knew loads of spells? She wanted to protest, but felt a bit intimidated. She also had a feeling that Henry wouldn't make fun of her, so it couldn't be that bad. He had just told her that being muggleborn had no effect on magical ability.
Wand in hand again, she replayed the incantation in her mind before uttering a hesitant "Wingardium Leviosa" with the tip directed to the pen. The pronunciation was precise, but Fiona had been struck with a bit of performance anxiety. Her grip on the end of her wand was tight, and her swish was stronger than her flick. The pen itself spun a few times before stopping and ejecting ink across the table, landing in front of Henry. Fiona's tensed shoulders relaxed in defeat. "See?"
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on May 7, 2009 19:26:30 GMT -5
Henry smiled at the attempt. She wasn't at all far off from getting it right, it seemed to him a simple matter of confidence.
"Well, your pronunciation was flawless," Henry said, flicking his wand at the ink that was now busy staining the table, causing it to instantly vanish, leaving no trace. "your wand-work was a little forced, though. This particular wand movement is about fluidity. You want to let the swish set up the later flick. Concentrate less on aiming perfectly, and go in stead for general direction rather than precision targeting. This frees up your mind to focus on the wand movement and the target focusing. Visualize the target in your mind's eye and..."
With a single fluid movement of his wand, he made the pen float gracefully up into the air and land precisely where it had been before she had cast her spell, the gold cap of the pen snapping itself back onto the device's body.
"Confidence is key. It is so much easier to accomplish something if you believe you already have. This spell is a dirty trick on most first years, but it effectively introduces you all to the points of precision. This is invaluable for a witch or wizard. As dirty a trick as it is, it is a necessary evil, if you'll pardon the term. Try again."
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Post by Fiona Faine on May 11, 2009 2:32:47 GMT -5
Watching with a bit of envy as the older boy easily cleaned up her mess, Fiona felt her little ego deflate. He made it sound so easy, like it was just a simple command in which she would train the pen and not herself. She tried not to feel embarrassed when she saw how easily he flicked his wand to compel the pen to do his bidding. Her wand hand lowered to rest on the table while he finished his recommendations. How was supposed to be confident about something that didn't work all the time. She was almost sure that she tried just as hard every time, it just didn't work every time she tried.
She remembered a few pages from her book when he mentioned the points of precision but was too embarrassed to admit that she had not bothered studying them very much. 'But...." she started to protest, before falling silent since she didn't have much of a defense. Instead she lifted her wand again, and concentrated on the position of her arm like he said. She mirrored his movements, reciting the words again, though she was a bit wary of the outcome. When she reached the end of her quick, yet more decisive flick, she witnessed the pen struggle a bit before it hopped about a foot off the table. Fiona gasped and lost her concentration completely. While she struggled to keep it in the air, it slowly descended to the table top like a feather.
"I guess... that worked better?" she saked, unsure if it was or not. "I've been trying for over a week, I've only really done it like twice."
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on May 11, 2009 23:18:14 GMT -5
"A significant improvement," Henry said with a smile. "I think you've almost got it. Your pronunciation and wand movement are perfect, though I noticed that you seemed a bit surprised when the pen reacted to your spell..."
He moved the pen back into the middle of the tabletop and straitened his spectacles so that he wouldn't miss anything. Unless he was much mistaken, this next attempt of hers was bound to be a complete success.
"You need to be absolutely confident that you can perform the spell. I know it's a bit difficult, but you need to have absolutely no doubt in your mind that you will succeed. The more challenging the spell, the more this mindset becomes essential. With enough practice, you begin to approach spells like this automatically. It's getting to that point that tends to present the challenge. This time, know what you must do to work the spell, concentrate on your target, and have confidence that you will succeed."
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Post by Fiona Faine on May 26, 2009 1:14:59 GMT -5
Fiona wasn't as convinced about her abilities as the older boy was expecting her to be. It was hard to concentrate on saying everything right, keeping her wand in check and watching for the right reaction, but her attempts seemed to be creating some reaction in him. He seemed to think that she was on the right track, and that she actually was making progress. Though she was afraid of admitting it before she actually accomplished the spell, she did feel good when the pen reacted to her magic.
She sighed heavily, feeling the work of her effort making her a bit weary, and lifted her arm. again. She looked at Henry, trying to understand the confidence she was being told about. She wasn't sure she had it, and wondered if it was how he felt like all the time. Maybe it was why he was so good at magic. She tried to imagine herself just muttering spells all the time, manipulating the world around her with skill and little effort, and concentrated on the pen once more. She uttered the enchantment once, felt the movement in her arm come naturally, and controlled her reaction when she saw the pen hop into the space between them again. Her jaw dropped a little, and it faltered for a second, almost dropping to the table again, but she regained her focus and was able to bring the pen towards herself, holding it over her head as she looked up at it. "Woah..." she mumbled. The verbal effort made the pen dip in the air a bit, almost landing on her head, but she found it easier to recover, and it was soon hovering well above them.
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Post by Henry Lordings Jr. on May 30, 2009 0:37:45 GMT -5
"Good," Henry said with a smile, clapping his hands together once with a laugh. "very good! You catch on quick."
Henry reached up and plucked the pen from midair, replacing it into the inside pocket of his jacket. It had taken him, and a good number of other students, a fair amount of practice to get that particular spell just right. That was, perhaps, the purpose, however, it didn't instill much confidence in one's own ability as a magician when one couldn't even complete a 'first year' spell. He was glad she managed to catch onto it so well and so quickly. One week for figuring this one out was quite good.
"Continue to practice it whenever you have a free moment." He said to the girl. "It's good training for you..."
It was here that Henry suddenly realized something: He didn't even know the girl's name...
"I just realized...I haven't even asked you your name yet..."
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