9 Mar 2018, 21:41
Your Strength is My Weakness
Private thread for Sett
Of all the subjects Norah had to be bad at, it was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She could practically hear some Gryffindor students laughing at her expense, and even several of the Slytherins found combative magic far more rewarding than turning matches into needles. The professor was her head of house, and there was no way that she'd go crawling to him in defeat of barely being able to cast even the simplest of spells. Never mind that this was only mid-September.
She stared blankly at her textbook trying to troubleshoot the Green Sparks spell. So far as she could tell, the incantation and movement was right, but the sparks didn't really shoot from her wand as described. It more spluttered out and died mere inches away. She sighed and collapsed onto the textbook in frustration. Everything seemed right, and yet...such a simple spell eluded her. Red Sparks were no better. Though, that one sometimes came out as a reddish mist that did absolutely nothing. Norah had been practicing for days in private trying avoid what were sure to be condescending looks from her classmates. Just another reason why Muggle-borns shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts--they clearly had less magical ability than pureblood families.
The classroom, thankfully, was empty. No one was around to see her failure as the weak sparks coughed and died. Norah could feel her temper rising and her frustration only compounding upon each successive failure. She felt a surge of anger and a momentary urge to just snap her wand and be done with the whole magic thing. She slammed the textbook shut with an echoing thud. A moment later, she winced at her own lack of control. Her father would have been furious to see that given how often he was lecturing her on the importance of self control and discipline. Still, it wasn't like he ever failed despite taking every measure to do things right. Norah flopped back in her chair suddenly exhausted and groaned. This was going to be a long year of being the worst Defense Against the Dark Arts student in Hogwarts history.
12 Mar 2018, 23:03
Your Strength is My Weakness
Sett looked at the clock and sighed. If he wanted to do this it was now or never. As great as he was at casting spells Sett struggled quite a lot with the theory of it. His knowledge of the magical side of the world was almost non-existent. Uncle Adrian made sure of that. Sett spent more time being told what not to do than learning about the world he now belonged to. Since his ability to perform spells on demand got noticed he felt the pressure to learn as much theory and history as he could. It was tiring to hear others talk about things Sett didn't understand. Traveling trough the fireplace, having house elfs, having siblings in professions that shouldn't exist. Boy felt like he was only one who has been kept in the dark all his life. In order to catch up he needed to read a lot. But since most of the books were about things others already knew Sett wanted to do it in secret.
One of the first things he learned after coming to Hogwarts was that pretty much everyone hated or at least avoided Defense again Dark Arts. Classroom was dark and terrifying, teacher weird and subject itself seemed to be a torture for most kids. Perfect place to read about things he didn't know.
Sett entered the class and froze. Someone was here. He saw the girl few times before, but she wasn't in his house. Sett stood still for few minutes deciding if he should stay or leave. Girl didn't notice him yet. In fact most people didn't until Sett spoke to them. If he will sit in the corner maybe she will soon leave without ever knowing he was here. Sett picked a desk and burried himself in the book, or at least tried to. Girl closed her book so loudly that he almost jumped. From what he couldn see she was having trouble with her spells. Sett himself knew green and red Sparks quite well. He spent less half hour with both of them. Sett wasn't the one to brag but the girl looked miserable. He was afraid that she will give up or hurt herself. He sighed, closed his book and walked up to the girl.
"You are missing something" he said. "There is no soul, no passion for it. You can have perfect stance but it won't work unless you mean it" His voice was calm, almost bored. No pride or bragging in the information he just provided.
One of the first things he learned after coming to Hogwarts was that pretty much everyone hated or at least avoided Defense again Dark Arts. Classroom was dark and terrifying, teacher weird and subject itself seemed to be a torture for most kids. Perfect place to read about things he didn't know.
Sett entered the class and froze. Someone was here. He saw the girl few times before, but she wasn't in his house. Sett stood still for few minutes deciding if he should stay or leave. Girl didn't notice him yet. In fact most people didn't until Sett spoke to them. If he will sit in the corner maybe she will soon leave without ever knowing he was here. Sett picked a desk and burried himself in the book, or at least tried to. Girl closed her book so loudly that he almost jumped. From what he couldn see she was having trouble with her spells. Sett himself knew green and red Sparks quite well. He spent less half hour with both of them. Sett wasn't the one to brag but the girl looked miserable. He was afraid that she will give up or hurt herself. He sighed, closed his book and walked up to the girl.
"You are missing something" he said. "There is no soul, no passion for it. You can have perfect stance but it won't work unless you mean it" His voice was calm, almost bored. No pride or bragging in the information he just provided.
13 Mar 2018, 02:29
Your Strength is My Weakness
Norah hadn't noticed the Ravenclaw boy come in. She was too preoccupied with her own failings to take notice of her surroundings. Besides, it wasn't like Professor Mellowrose was in his office, so no one could be coming to see him. It just didn't make sense. She knew she could perform much more complicated spells than these, yet even the basics here were tripping her up. The girl startled when the Ravenclaw boy came up to her. There was a silent reprimand to pay more attention to her surroundings so that things like this didn't happen. Besides, it wasn't like she trusted her housemates to be oblivious, and there were definitely a few pranksters in Slytherin. Pranking was a Gryffindor trait, in her opinion, and their presence in Slytherin was annoying. A future leader didn't spend their time on cheap humor.
She stood rather defensively and rather embarrassed to have been called out on her struggles. "These spells," she flicked her wand and produced a thin and unimpressive puff of green sparks, "are stupid." Another flick and there was a cough of small reddish sparks that died out almost instantly. She had no love for the subject and found it rather brutish. A lot of jabbing and shouting without the elegance and technicality of Charms and Transfiguration. The lackluster performance only added to Norah's frustration.
There was a burning fire in her eyes that refused to be defeated. Norah was determined to not make a total farce of herself and be able to master these spells, but she hadn't a clue what sort of heart the Ravenclaw boy was describing. Of course she wanted the spells to work! She wanted them to work just like how they were described in the textbook. It all looked so easy! Studying harder clearly wasn't the answer. In Blackburn's class, they had discussed magical potential and how some people had a better affinity towards some types of magic than others. But they never discussed magical ineptitude which was how Norah viewed her lack of skill at Defense Against the Dark Arts. "I'd much rather be turning animals into goblets. Sparks are useless, anyway. It's not like I'll ever need them."
She stood rather defensively and rather embarrassed to have been called out on her struggles. "These spells," she flicked her wand and produced a thin and unimpressive puff of green sparks, "are stupid." Another flick and there was a cough of small reddish sparks that died out almost instantly. She had no love for the subject and found it rather brutish. A lot of jabbing and shouting without the elegance and technicality of Charms and Transfiguration. The lackluster performance only added to Norah's frustration.
There was a burning fire in her eyes that refused to be defeated. Norah was determined to not make a total farce of herself and be able to master these spells, but she hadn't a clue what sort of heart the Ravenclaw boy was describing. Of course she wanted the spells to work! She wanted them to work just like how they were described in the textbook. It all looked so easy! Studying harder clearly wasn't the answer. In Blackburn's class, they had discussed magical potential and how some people had a better affinity towards some types of magic than others. But they never discussed magical ineptitude which was how Norah viewed her lack of skill at Defense Against the Dark Arts. "I'd much rather be turning animals into goblets. Sparks are useless, anyway. It's not like I'll ever need them."
15 Mar 2018, 06:17
Your Strength is My Weakness
Sett watched the girl becoming all defensive. He knew that behavior all too well. He used to do exact same thing when uncle Adrian gave him what looked like useless boring exercise. Make a breeze. Blow the paper off the table but not the cup. Tell from which direction the rain is coming while blindfolded. Things like that were given almost daily while Sett wanted to go out and play. He did not understand why Adrian was so specific until the accident. Sett was playing at the park when kid with a bike ran into him. It hurt, Sett's leg was bleeding, but instead of apologising the boy laughed and said that it was Sett's fault for being a trash on the boy's path. Sett's blood boiled and before he knew it the sun was covered by dark clouds, wind picked up and big heavy raindrops started falling, scaring everyone in the park. Sett heard the sounds of people leaving in a hurry, then his uncle yelled one of his spells and Sett fainted. He woke up in the hospital two days later. Doctor asked if Sett was sleeping and eating in last week. According to him when Adrian brought Sett in the boy looked like a skeleton with the skin. Sett knew better to keep his mouth shut. After that day he never complained about the training. Lessons were needed regardless of how stupid or boring they might be. He allowed the girl to release her frustration and watched calmly how she failed once again. When she calmed down he pulled out his wand.
"You said it yourself. This is stupid. Not needed. So every time time you try to cast it your brain considers it a waste of time." Since the girl seemed even more confused he decided to rephrase. "Imagine that you are drawing a house. If you want to draw it, if you like drawing you will try hard. Your lines will be straight, windows even and you might even add a tree next to it. Now let's say you hate drawing. Teacher tells you that you can't leave until you draw a house. You will draw a square, triangle on top of it, door and maybe even a window. Does it qualify as a house? Yes. Is it good? No. Now you are doodling. Start drawing." With his last words Sett moved the wand and produced bunch of bright green sparks. "Turning animals into goblets won't help if you or your friends ever get lost". Another move with the wand created a group of red sparks. "But this might"
"You said it yourself. This is stupid. Not needed. So every time time you try to cast it your brain considers it a waste of time." Since the girl seemed even more confused he decided to rephrase. "Imagine that you are drawing a house. If you want to draw it, if you like drawing you will try hard. Your lines will be straight, windows even and you might even add a tree next to it. Now let's say you hate drawing. Teacher tells you that you can't leave until you draw a house. You will draw a square, triangle on top of it, door and maybe even a window. Does it qualify as a house? Yes. Is it good? No. Now you are doodling. Start drawing." With his last words Sett moved the wand and produced bunch of bright green sparks. "Turning animals into goblets won't help if you or your friends ever get lost". Another move with the wand created a group of red sparks. "But this might"