Hex The Sneezing Hex, First Year

mentioning @Zahid al-Benghazi ibn Masoud

Cade was quite pleased that they would be learning the sneezing spell in class today. He had read about it in the class syllabus and was eager to learn. When Professor Zahid demonstrated on a student Cade was surprised how long-lasting the effect was. He assumed with more intent the target would be sneezing for a longer period of time. Soon after that, Professor Zahid had them pair off into groups of two to practice.

Cade had no trouble finding a partner as he locked eyes with a Slytherin boy that was sitting beside him. They stood and found a good space in the room to practice. Cade pulled out his walnut wood wand and put on a confident smirk. He was very quick at learning spells being fascinated by wand lore and spell casting aided him in that.

"Go on, you hit me first." Cade nodded at the Slytherin boy. He first wanted to feel what it was like to get hit with the spell. Cade watched as the boy readied himself and uttered the incantation as he did the wand movement. Green sparks emanated from his wand and landed on Cade. Instantly his nose seemed to tighten up and he let it out with a loud, "Achoo!" Cade sniffed and smiled at the boy. "Good one, that. Right, my turn."

Cade pointed his wand at the boy. He remembered the wand movement, first slashing down then outwards. "STE-Lee-us" Cade muttered. Immediately his wand gave a shudder of approval as green sparks emitted from the tip. The Slytherin boy gave a great sneeze and seconds later a smaller one. Not bad for his first try.

Professor Edit: Stopping at the Ravenclaw-Slytherin duo, Zahid was once again surprised how many students seemed to succeed on their first try at casting the spell. ”Well done you two.”, he noted to Mister Darkbound's group.

Steleus learned

Backdated to Opeila's first year.

Professor Edit: Honing in to yet another loud sneeze – the room was full of them – Zahid observed how a Ravenclaw was overtaken by sneezes. “Well done, Miss Seilun.” He commented before moving on to correct someone else's incantation.

Steleus learned

Backdated to First Year
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Hmm. It was rare to see any class laid out like this, but Mars was especially surprised that this was the History of Magic classroom. The chairs and desk had been moved to the side, leaving a large open space in the middle of the room. They could guess what that meant, and it instantly brought a smile to their face.

They were quite surprise to see Professor Zahid enter last, but they went with the crowd, placing their things to the side with the desk. Mars kept their wand tuck in their pocket though—they had a nagging suspicion that they'd need it.

Ah, they were right. A Sneezing Hex, hmm? Mars crossed their arms over their chest, a smirk starting to edge onto their face. Oh, this class was about to go down in chaos, wasn't it. Sneezing really seemed like an awful way to go.

They were kind of sorry for the boy who got pulled out, but it didn't last long. Mars wondered if the spell length could be altered... maybe it had to do with the strength of the wand movement? The will of the caster? That was something they wanted to test.

For once, it seemed that this spell had a movement. Mars practiced it as Professor Zahid spoke, eyes trained on him as they mimicked his movements. It was kind of like swinging a hammer, they thought, a fast downward motion and out to the target. So long as they stopped on time, they figured they could pull it off without a hitch.

The incantation didn't seem to complicated either. STÉ-lee-us. They could manage that much. Whispering it under their breath a few times, Mars practiced the wand movement with their actual wand, alternating between motion and incantation. This was a spell they really didn't want to screw up.

When the time came, they pulled over one of their classmates. The idea from earlier still lingered in their mind, and they figured it would only be courteous to let him go first before asking if they could hex him twice. His first spell came up short, and they let out half of a relieved sigh, smiling at him.

"No worries, you'll get it next time!" they encouraged, hand going to their own wand. Okay, now to test this theory. With his permission, Mars readied their stance, wand coming up as they stared at him lightly. Then, they moved, pulling it down fast and out towards him, incantation on their lips, "STÉ-lee-us." It hit, arcing towards the boy in a dead-on fashion, and he sneezed, elbow coming up to cover his nose. Once, twice, three sneezes total. Okay, that was a good base to go off of.

They relaxed a bit, allowing the boy to have his second turn. This time, he hit them properly and they sneezed once, laughing a bit after it was over. Ugh, that was a weird feeling.

"You ready?" they called again. The boy nodded his consent so they pulled out their wand again, the motion a little faster this time, the incantation a little snapper, ""STÉ-lee-us!" The boy let out the loudest sneeze Mars had heard, not stopping for four, five, six. They were beginning to get a little concerned, running over for the tissues. Pushing it in front of him, they gave the sneezing boy a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, sorry, I should've gone a little lighter. But hey! We were right at least." It seemed the length of the spell really was dictated by power. The boy took a tissue, blew his nose, and Mars couldn't help but laugh.

Professor Edit: The next pair seemed well on their way at learning the spell. The boy needed some more practice but they had both succeeded at casting. Zahid corrected his wand movement as he had been aiming a bit to the side instead of straight at his target before nodding to the Ravenclaw. “Well done, Mars T'ien, though the spell does not need quite as much force to succeed.”

Steleus learned

Sneezing Hex
Causes your target to sneeze for a few seconds
STÉ-lee-us

Professor Edit: Jerking his head toward the voice calling his name, Zahid half-expected to see a catastrophe but it seemed he hadn't been called over in a panic but rather out of exuberance. Giving the eager Slytherin a nod, Zahid observed her partner's sneezes. “Well done, Miss Palsorette.”

Steleus learned

There was always some hesitation within the young hufflepuff as she opened classroom doors, unsure if she'd actually get the right one. Her understanding of directions within this castle were getting better, though, her face relaxing a bit as she found the right room on her first try. Instructions were easy enough to follow, dropping her bag besides the leg of a desk, before glancing around to figure out where she was supposed to be. Here would work, she decided, as the professor continued speaking.

It didn't seem all that complicated when spoken about. It didn't sound complicated, and two lines in the air also didn't seem complicated. Then again, intention seemed to be the main factor- as she had learned relatively quickly. If Lea didn't believe in the end result, it wasn't likely to happen. Her finger traced the movement into the air in front of her, an invisible L of sorts.

Actually pronouncing the spell correctly was a little more challenging. A quick check made sure that her wand was not in her hands, but safely tucked into a pocket where she wouldn't accidentally cast the spell. "Not steh-lee-us. STEE-lee-us? STÉ-lee-us. STÉ. Lee. Us." The words were whispered to herself, trying to remember how the professor had said it before. She'd mutter it a few more times, nodding slightly when it sounded correct.

Pairing up was trickier. The sinking feeling came back as others found their partners, itching to move into one of the corners away from it all. But her feet remained firmly planted where she was, waiting for someone else to offer to be partners. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for long. A quick nod would answer their question, shuffling over to a less crowded place.

"You go first."

She nodded, both terrified and thankful to be going first. Strange how often her emotions seemed to be heightened when around others. A quick movement and her wand was in her hand, pointed hesitantly towards her partner. A downwards motion, before going outwards towards her partner. "Steleus." The young girl would blink, glancing towards her wand as nothing happened. Brown eyes glanced at her partner, making sure it was okay to try again. They nodded, and so Lea would try again, bringing her wand down and then towards her partner, focusing on the spell and the sneezing that would occur. "Steleus."

Professor Edit: Making his way over to the Hufflepuff's pair, Zahid noted that her first attempt had seemingly no effect, despite the incantation and the wand movement both being correct, from what he could see at this angle. Then again, spell casting kind of consisted of more than just those two parts...

Her second attempt, however, left her partner in sneezes. “Well done, Miss Hirsch.”

Steleus learned

Sarah loved casting, her spellwork often at the forefront of her mind when she was in lessons. Yes, brewing potions was important, and understanding the properties of certain plants could prove useful information to know, but learning new spells was always something the young Slytherin was excited to do. She was planning to go out for the duelling team next year – loving the idea of practising and perfecting her craft in an environment where everyone was there for the same reason – and knew that any spell which had the potential to be useful in a duel was one she needed to know.

The moment the professor had mention the Sneezing Hex, she knew it would be a perfect addition to her repertoire. It certainly wasn’t malicious enough to cause anyone any real harm, which, though she wasn’t entirely opposed to, wasn’t at the top of her priorities right now. But it was immobilising enough that it could prove useful in a duel. Simply, she was sold.

She watched eagle-eyed as Professor Zahid demonstrated the spell, eyes widening slightly as the full effect of the hex become apparent. She found herself biting her lip to avoid laughing aloud, glancing around to see that she wasn’t the only one. With a few more words of advice for how to accurately cast the spell, they were sent off to practise, Sarah immediately walking over to one of the other Slytherin girls who shared her dorm. They were friendly, able to partake in casual conversation when the time suited them, but not close enough to be considered friends. Still, the girls often paired up in classes, if only for the fact that they were both somewhat proficient in casting.

“Alright Lightwood, you got this,” Sarah whispered to herself as her partner readied herself. They took turns in casting first, and as Sarah had been struck with a particularly rough slug-vomiting spell first last time, it was her turn to start. “STÉ-lee-us,” She practised, rolling the word around with her tongue and repeating it a few times until it felt more natural. The incantations of spells and their etymology was of particular interest to the girl and she found herself considering whether the word had Latin origins. “STÉ-lee-us,” She repeated once more, before letting her eyes meet the ones in front of her. “Ready?” She asked, a simple nod being her only response as Sarah took a steadying breath.

“Steleus,” Sarah said, pronouncing the word STÉ-lee-us, her voice confident and clear as she pointed her aspen wand at the girl before her, moving it downwards and towards the brunette. A sniffle, followed by a delicate sneeze, and then a continuous bout of sneezing followed her spell and Sarah felt pride well up within her as she realised she’d successfully cast the spell. The pride, however, was quickly overcome by regret as her eyes fully focussed on the sneezing girl in front of her. “Merlin, I’m so sorry,” She said, though through the sneezing she could just about make out laughter which somewhat eased the Slytherin. “Here,” She said, quickly passing the girl a tissue as the spell began to wear off. She caught the playful glint in her eye as it was suggested that her turn was next, and Sarah found herself gulping audibly. “Great, just fantastic,” She said sarcastically, though she smiled despite herself. You get what you give, I guess.

Professor Edit: Stopping next to a pair of Slytherin girls, Zahid observed as they hexed each other with today's spell. He took note that they not only successfully hexed each other but also aided each other in the aftermath. “Well done, you two.”

Steleus learned

Zahid al-Benghazi ibn Masoud wrote: Did... Did that student just hex himself? Zahid had to admit, that was a new one. He quickly Finite-d the hex and made his way over to remind the boy of the wand movement.

“Mr. Burnett. Pointing your wand at yourself when trying to learn a new spell might not be the best idea. That is why you are supposed to partner with one of your classmates. And keep in mind, that the spell has a specific wand movement – downward and out toward your target.” He quickly demonstrated the wand movement for the student.

Steleus not learned

As you did not include the proper wand movement of the spell, you did not learn it.
You can still learn the spell by making a new post writing how you try again - just make sure to include both the proper wand movement and the pronunciation this time.

Oh - right! The wand movement! He had been so apprehensive about performing the hex on himself that he had completely forgotten to perform the proper wand movement! "Oops..."

Perhaps he had become too complacent due to the fact that, as Professor Zahid had reminded them just a little while earlier, this spell was unlike the last two they had learned in his class because it had an actual, proper accompanying wand movement. Well...when he tried to behave like an idiot, even just to pretend to play dumb, he often ended up thinking like one, too. His forgetfulness of the wand movement was proof of that in this case.

Nodding at the History professor's instructions, he repeated them to himself mentally. "Yes, Professor Zahid. Thank you for reminding me." Downward quickly, then outward toward your target. Simple enough; he could do that.

Now that he thought back, he also remembered being told to practice the incantation a few times without a wand and then also the wand movement at least two to three times without actually casting. What a fool he'd been, so nervous that he'd even neglected to do all that and warm up properly.

With a deep sigh at his own stupidity, he did as he had been instructed while trying to figure out what to do next. Pairing up was among his least favorite things to do, particularly when it came to classwork. Wasn't there some other way he could get around finding a partner? He didn't really want to hex anyone, but he especially didn't want to be a potential victim of someone else's spell gone wrong.

Eventually, his gaze alighted upon a small, furry face curiously peering into the classroom. A cat. Someone's pet, no doubt. A wicked grin stretched across Jack's face.

While everyone else was busy with their partners, Jack walked over and smirked at the inquisitive creature, planting a fist on his hip. "Well well well," he told the feline silkily. "Hasn't anyone ever told you curiosity is dangerous, kitty cat?"

He brought his wand up - only to bring it down and then direct it toward the cat while carefully calling out, "STÉ-lee-us."

Professor Edit: "Mr. Burnett." The anger in his voice was palpable. "Detention! While you may have permission to cast a spell at another student as practice in this lesson, you will never have permission to hex an animal in my class." He would prefer to say in any class but animal transfiguration was a thing, after all. "This is unacceptable behaviour. 10 points from Slytherin." What in the world was wrong with this student..?

Steleus learned

sometime in first year
#b76e79

Ah, yes, History of Magic. Everly would be lying if she said she wasn't surprised that they were learning a spell in this class - she had initially thought that this class was all books and memorizing dates. Ever so eager to add a new spell to her toolbelt, she listened closely to the professor's words, drilling them into her brain. Okay, the Sneezing Hex - Steleus - STÉ-lee-us - downward and out. Seems simple enough. I got this, right?

Yeah, those were the ominous words one said before dying.

Everly spoke out loud a few times, practicing. "Steleus. Steleeus. SteLEEus. Steleus." Everly nodded to herself, giving herself the seal of approval. Moving on to the wand movement, she drew her wand, facing the table/some invisible opponent, drawing her wand down sharply towards it. She went again, this time moving a bit slower, judging to herself which one looked the most similar to Professor Zahid's. A bracing smile appeared on her face when she deemed herself ready, and quickly found herself a partner [npc] to practice with.

Drawing her wand and smiling at her partner after they agreed who should go first, Everly raised her wand in front of her, squinting, and focusing on the spell. Bringing her wand downwards, stopping it as it was pointed towards her partner, and exclaiming, "Steleus!"

Everly made sure to hand them lots of tissues.

word count | 230

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Professor Edit: Making his way over to another pair, Zahid watched as the Gryffindor sent her partner into an impressive sneezing fit. “Well done Miss Charlton.”

Steleus learned

Sneezing Hex
#004d65

History of Magic, first period, on Monday. It was too much of a torture for a first-year to handle. The grumpy Ravenclaw girl sauntered to the class with four hairpins on her hair that said 'I'm', Full', 'Of', 'Excitement'. As soon as she stepped into the classroom, she was confused because it was not as grim as it used to look like. It was more like defense against the dark arts class. Aurora looked around to make sure she was not in the wrong classroom and the sight of Professor Zahid in the middle of the class proved that she was indeed in the right right. Then, she decided to walk towards where the students were.

"...Steleus – the Sneezing Hex will be the focus of today..."

Aurora pinched her left arm over and over again. It hurts like being bitten by an owl, but it confirmed her that she was not in a dream state. History of Magic class can be exciting.
Professor Zahid told the students to partner up and hexed the out of each other. Well, he did not say that exact word, but to Aurora, that was what it sounded like.

"Steleus, stilius? steel le us, ste lee us, okay." As she searched for a partner to hex with, someone poked her and cause her to turn around.

"Hey, are you excited to sneeze?"
"Oh,- hi- um.. Yeah, I'm full of excitement, you see." She awkwardly pointed her finger to the hair pins she wore.

"Great! me too! get in position!"

Aurora held out her wand and said "Steleus! (STÉ-lee-us)". But nothing happened.
"You need to move your wand, like this." Her partner demonstrated the wand movement without saying the incantation. "It's okay, you can try again!"

The brown-haired girl took a deep breath to calm herself out, then she moved her wand downward quickly then outward towards her partner over and over again until she felt like she gets the right move.

After a couple of minutes of making sure she made the right move, she decided to cast it again. Aurora moved her wand downward then outward to the target and said "Steleus! (STÉ-lee-us)"
Right after she did that, her partner sneezed uncontrollably.

"You did- *sneezing* gre- gre- *sneezing* gre- *sneezing" The poor student seemed to struggle to hold the urge to sneeze, they decided to give Aurora a big thumbs up and caused her to smile sheepishly.

"Oh right, tissue, wait, tissue, where are you tissue?"

Word count : 414

Professor Edit: ”The tissues are at the side of the classroom, Miss Ranvier. Well done.” Pointing her toward the table with the tussiue boxes, Zahid gave the Ravenclaw a nod of approval.

Steleus learned

backdated to first year.

The moment Tina entered the classroom, she let out a gleeful squeal. The familiar layout told her everything she needed to know. Immediately, she clasped her hand over her mouth, hoping it would suffice her getting out of trouble as she rocked up and down on the balls of her feet with unabashed excitement. Surely, Professor Zahid would understand her anticipation. Practical History of Magic lessons were the best, namely because they had nothing to do with history and everything to do with magic, but also because she didn't have to take any notes (concentration wasn't her forte). This excitement quickly dispersed into disappointment, however, as Professor Zahid noted that it was-

"...The last one for your first year-"

Tina's quiet groan was drowned out among those of the others as Professor Zahid continued on, informing them of the spell they'd be performing and calling up a tall Ravenclaw boy to the front of the class to demonstrate. Tina felt her mouth (and nose) twitch as the boy burst into sneezes, covering her face to hide her amusement. At the very least, she could make the most of her final practical lesson in History of Magic, and maybe even learn a spell beneficial to getting her on the duelling team, which she was considering applying for.

When Professor Zahid dismissed them, Tina's instantly set about finding a partner. Her dark eyes darted about the room like a hawk searching for prey; she didn't have many close friends in this class, and needed to find someone or risk being stranded without a partner. Thankfully, it looked like a group of three was struggling to negotiate partners in the far corner, twiddling their wands and glancing between themselves awkwardly. Perfect.

"You wanna be partners?" she asked, tapping the girl nearest to her (a Gryffindor) on the shoulder. The girl whipped around, staring down the length of her nose at Tina, who stood at a measly four foot five. Longingly, she glanced back up to her friends. Their lips remained pursed.

"Sure."

Her agreement was reluctant. She sighed, unable to disguise her discontent at this partnership - mainly with her friends rather than Tina herself - as she lead them over to the other side of the room, grabbing some tissues along the way. As they moved over, Tina rehearsed the wand movement: swiftly down and then out. She sliced it through the air and then jabbed it forwards like a fencing sword.

"Careful. I'd rather be sneezing than have my eyes poked out by that thing," the girl commented, keeping her tone light-hearted. She lowered her eyes to Martyna's wand, raising her eyebrows. "It's funny that you have such a big wand."

"Maybe it means I'll grow," Tina replied, not sure whether she believed the words coming out of her mouth. It was true - her wand looked way too big for her. She moved her gaze upwards: from the position of her partner (arms folded, weight on one hip, eyes daring) it was clear that she was to go first. "STÉ-lee-us. STÉ-lee-us. Does that sound right?"

"Yep, sounds fine. Hurry up."

With a quick huff, Tina drew her wand down and stuck it out in front of her.

"Steleus!"

Professor Edit: Observing the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor pair, Zahid was glad to note that the Hufflepuff did not let herself be distracted by her partner trying to hurry her along and instead remained clear-headed and successfully hexed her partner. "Well done, Miss Romero."

Steleus learned