15 Apr 2020, 07:45
Aly's Academy for Mazed Muggle-Borns
Aly Salinger practically bounced into an abandoned classroom on a lazy Saturday in mid-April. She had only been preparing for this for a few days, but that was enough time for any Salinger to get something done. The first-year Ravenclaw girl had changed into her cleanest robes (aka the ones that weren't covered in ink, cat hair from the Ravenclaw common room, or dust from the many ancient tomes she enjoyed reading in her free time) just for the occasion, and as she swept as grandly as any short eleven-year-old with too-long robes could into the room, Aly felt as majestic as ever. Usually she was in this very classroom for her lessons, but today, she would be the tutor, not the student.
Aly sailed to the board, ensuring that she wouldn't trip over any of the haphazardly put-away chairs that were strewn throughout the cluttered room, and picked up a piece of white chalk. In her best, loopiest handwriting, she proceeded to write:
Aly's Academy for Mazed Muggle-Borns
She had spent hours the prior day coming up with the title. If you broke it down, each part made sense. "Aly's", of course, yes, she was the one who had come up with the entire idea. "Academy"- well, it wasn't any official academy or class, of course, but she definitely thought the word sounded very official for the crash course she was about to try to teach. "Mazed" had taken an ancient, heavy volume from the library to discover- it was a synonym for 'confused' or 'lost'. Aly was learning something new every day! And finally, "Muggle-borns", well, that was who she was planning to teach, of course. When you put it all together, it became quite clear: Alyssa Salinger, who had grown up her entire life completely immersed in the wizarding world- everything from flying and Quidditch to The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly to magic spells to wizarding pop culture and music- had put together a little seminar on the Wizarding World to show her Muggle-born friends and acquaintances. They would not be going about all mazed, not if Aly had anything to say about it!
It took her skinny frame and weak limbs more than a few moments, but Aly managed to push a few desks into a sort of order, a few rows of a kind. (They were misshapen and crooked, but whatever- rows they still were!) From there, Aly distributed the scrolls she had spent days poring over and creating with (again) her best and fanciest handwriting. These were a combination syllabus-slash-textbook, of course; each one carried her so well-thought-out title at the top, as well as a brief overview of the main topics Aly hoped to cover and a short description of each, plus a vocabulary list at the bottom. And each desk received a scroll, perched neatly in its exact center. Her rows were perhaps not neat, but the scrolls definitely were so.
The last thing Aly could do while she was simply standing here alone was consult her attendance list. Aly whipped the stray piece of parchment from the inside pocket of her robes and read over it, tapping the corner of her lip with her aspen-wood wand. (This was perhaps a dangerous practice, but Aly had never thought much of it- it helped her think.) Each name was scrawled on the parchment in different handwriting, and in differently-colored ink. Kaden Truell. Charlie Cutting. Reynolds McNeil. Liv Hartley. There were a few more, but Aly stuffed the list back in her pocket. She had managed to convince all of her Muggle-born friends and even a few of the more clueless half-bloods into signing up for this, and she couldn't help but hope that all of them would come.
Footsteps in the corridor outside the half-propped door to the classroom alerted Aly to the presence of what could have potentially been her first pupil. Scrambling to seem professional, Aly shoved a small box that was some sort of footstool closer to the board and stepped up upon it. She straightened the large black wizarding hat on her head, wishing on whatever lucky stars happened to be shining down on her that the big white owl feather she'd found on one of the common room windowsills and attached to the side didn't look too garish. She beamed with excitement and watched the door with careful precision, practically bouncing atop her makeshift footrest.
WC: 736
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gen1 Aly Salinger || gen1 iNPC Manu Macedo || gen2 Kahira Valerian || staff Aulis Vorozheykin
16 Apr 2020, 17:22
Aly's Academy for Mazed Muggle-Borns
Well, she might not be muggle-born, but she certainly fitted neatly into the 'clueless half-blood' category. It was fair to say that the blonde had not managed to learn anything remotely helfpful from her dad prior to arriving at the Castle, and since she had been here, magic had not come easily to her. Plus, there were so many stories and rumours that she was convinced half of them had to be made up! She never had found that pear after chasing Valentina through several corridors just to see if she could tickle any pear to open the kitchens. Lillia had accompanied her and if she had known otherwise she hadn't told the Hufflepuff that she was wrong in her approach. Admittedly, she knew they technically weren't allowed to be there, but she only wanted to understand the need for such secrecy! It wasn't a secret that House Elves prepared food, this much she had picked up from their first evening at Hogwarts when she had suspiciously glared at each food item, convinced it wasn't actually tangible but more figments of their imagination or a prank at the expense of all the new students to join the congregation. It had taken much convincing to persuade her otherwise.
Flying was another thing that truly amazed her. It still amazed her that it was possible to command a broom to listen to you. Okay, so she hadn't yet convinced one to listen to her, but that didn't mean anything. She was still young and new to this whole 'sit on a broom and make it take off' thing. If she hadn't seen other students successfully mount and fly on them she would've taken it to be yet another joke told for someone else's amusement. It was impossible to refute though when she witnessed the proof that it could be done. Obviously she was consistently given faulty brooms to practise with though since Flying was definitely not the easiest of tasks for her. Rather, she found it fairly impossible! Once she had picked up a broom rather than waited for it to not come to her hand, and placed her left leg over the side of it. That was when she realised she didn't know how to make it take off. She tried scrunching her eyes up, willing it to move upwards and even pushing off from the ground. Unfortunately despite trying hard, she didn't manage to prevail. Instead she hurtled head-first over the broomstick and onto the grassy expanse in front of her, embarrassment a new friend to add to her expanding collection.
Lessons just had never been her thing. Practicals were more the type of thing she preferred although it was exponentially more difficult if she either didn't know the subject well, or if she had to read a lot of theory to make the practical element flourish. She didn't do a lot of reading, not for pleasure anyway. There were just so many words that individually made sense, but thrown together turned into a jumble of nonsense. Her parents didn't much care for her to shine here, so she wasn't too bothered about pushing herself to work hard. She did want to pass the end of year exams though and that required actually settling down and doing some revision for them. Unfortunately, she was being asked to give up a sacred Saturday to go and learn something from a knowledgeable Ravenclaw which didn't sit right with Liv. Aly was a great person, liked a good conversation almost as much as she did and was friendly to boot. She just chose a day when the Hufflepuff would've preferred a lie-in and to ignore her growing pile of homework. Having perfected her best pout, she flounced into the allocated classroom, intentionally not sitting immediately in front of the self-appointed teacher.
It was then she noticed both the box and the fancy scroll with words etched on it. "Wait, we have homework already? We haven't even started yet! I've still got work from my classes to tackle, and figure out why the broomsticks don't like me." she huffed (pun not intended). "I didn't expect to be the first one here, though. I'm surprised I beat Neil here - I thought he'd be here long before me. He's much more responsible with classes than I am." She quickly glanced back to the doorway, hoping someone else turned up soon and they hadn't just bailed on her and let her take it for the group. "Why are you on a box anyway? Are you a dwarf? Do you have dwarf in your family? I bet that's fun playing Hide and Seek!" Liv rambled, just waiting for someone to stop her from this downward spiral she was now on. "We could probably play a great game of Hide and Seek in the Castle...we have to try that at some point!"
Flying was another thing that truly amazed her. It still amazed her that it was possible to command a broom to listen to you. Okay, so she hadn't yet convinced one to listen to her, but that didn't mean anything. She was still young and new to this whole 'sit on a broom and make it take off' thing. If she hadn't seen other students successfully mount and fly on them she would've taken it to be yet another joke told for someone else's amusement. It was impossible to refute though when she witnessed the proof that it could be done. Obviously she was consistently given faulty brooms to practise with though since Flying was definitely not the easiest of tasks for her. Rather, she found it fairly impossible! Once she had picked up a broom rather than waited for it to not come to her hand, and placed her left leg over the side of it. That was when she realised she didn't know how to make it take off. She tried scrunching her eyes up, willing it to move upwards and even pushing off from the ground. Unfortunately despite trying hard, she didn't manage to prevail. Instead she hurtled head-first over the broomstick and onto the grassy expanse in front of her, embarrassment a new friend to add to her expanding collection.
Lessons just had never been her thing. Practicals were more the type of thing she preferred although it was exponentially more difficult if she either didn't know the subject well, or if she had to read a lot of theory to make the practical element flourish. She didn't do a lot of reading, not for pleasure anyway. There were just so many words that individually made sense, but thrown together turned into a jumble of nonsense. Her parents didn't much care for her to shine here, so she wasn't too bothered about pushing herself to work hard. She did want to pass the end of year exams though and that required actually settling down and doing some revision for them. Unfortunately, she was being asked to give up a sacred Saturday to go and learn something from a knowledgeable Ravenclaw which didn't sit right with Liv. Aly was a great person, liked a good conversation almost as much as she did and was friendly to boot. She just chose a day when the Hufflepuff would've preferred a lie-in and to ignore her growing pile of homework. Having perfected her best pout, she flounced into the allocated classroom, intentionally not sitting immediately in front of the self-appointed teacher.
It was then she noticed both the box and the fancy scroll with words etched on it. "Wait, we have homework already? We haven't even started yet! I've still got work from my classes to tackle, and figure out why the broomsticks don't like me." she huffed (pun not intended). "I didn't expect to be the first one here, though. I'm surprised I beat Neil here - I thought he'd be here long before me. He's much more responsible with classes than I am." She quickly glanced back to the doorway, hoping someone else turned up soon and they hadn't just bailed on her and let her take it for the group. "Why are you on a box anyway? Are you a dwarf? Do you have dwarf in your family? I bet that's fun playing Hide and Seek!" Liv rambled, just waiting for someone to stop her from this downward spiral she was now on. "We could probably play a great game of Hide and Seek in the Castle...we have to try that at some point!"
16 Apr 2020, 19:13
Aly's Academy for Mazed Muggle-Borns
Reynolds McNeil was not technically a muggle-born, not by blood status standards anyway. But the way he had grown up made him about as knowledgable about the wizarding world as one. He may have found out about magic at a young age when his brother had exploded a bunch of paint all over him, but his dad had forbidden him to talk about it. It wasn’t until two years later when his brother got his Hogwarts letter that magic was anything talked about in their home.
Even after his brother Will was off to Hogwarts though, trying to learn about magic was like pulling teeth in the McNeil home. Whenever Will was home, Reynolds would try to ask him questions, but like with everything else, his brother had no desire to acknowledge his questions or even his existence. Over the years he had just gotten angrier and angrier each time he came back from school, so Reynolds had just stopped asking.
His father meanwhile had become fairly reclusive as Will went off to Hogwarts. When Reynolds woke up for school his father would still be asleep and when he got home from school he would be at work, not getting home until after Reynolds was already asleep. Slowly as the years passed he slowly emerged from his self-isolation. In recent years he had even started paying enough attention that he was telling Will off when he bullied Reynolds. While it was great for Reynolds, it just meant that Will secluded himself from the family even more.
The other good thing about his dad’s changing behavior was that he started to share more and more about the wizarding world with Reynolds. When he was 9 years old he went to Diagon Alley with his dad and his dad’s best friend, Fagin, who lived in London, for the first time. His dad and Fagin for the past two years had answered all his questions about the wizarding world and provided him with books and magical toys. So even though he knew more than the average muggle-born, he still felt like he had a lot of catching up to do.
When his Ravenclaw friend Aly Salinger had invited him to learn more about a wizarding world along with other muggle-borns and clueless half borns, he had jumped at the chance. He hadn’t wanted to ask any questions at Hogwarts because he assumed people would think he was stupid for not knowing this kind of stuff. So it sounded like Aly’s class would be the perfect environment to feel comfortable and safe learning all the things he had always wanted to know.
He was smiling - or at least what he counted as smiling, to others it was just a very slight upturn of his lips - when he entered the room. His eyes fell immediately on his friend Liv Hartley, who was talking up a storm as per usual, though he didn’t quite catch exactly what it was that she was saying.
“Hello there,” he said, making his way to the desk in front of Liv. “I’m sorry I’m late! I don’t know if I’ll ever - ever get the hang of those staircases.”
He sat down, he would have wanted to sit closer to the front and to Aly, but he didn’t want to seem rude in choosing a seat so far from Liv, so this would do fine. It didn’t look like he was too late, he wasn’t sure who all was coming, but he really would have been fine if it was just the three of them. He felt the most comfortable around Liv and Aly, though he had made a few other sort-of-friends at Hogwarts.
Even after his brother Will was off to Hogwarts though, trying to learn about magic was like pulling teeth in the McNeil home. Whenever Will was home, Reynolds would try to ask him questions, but like with everything else, his brother had no desire to acknowledge his questions or even his existence. Over the years he had just gotten angrier and angrier each time he came back from school, so Reynolds had just stopped asking.
His father meanwhile had become fairly reclusive as Will went off to Hogwarts. When Reynolds woke up for school his father would still be asleep and when he got home from school he would be at work, not getting home until after Reynolds was already asleep. Slowly as the years passed he slowly emerged from his self-isolation. In recent years he had even started paying enough attention that he was telling Will off when he bullied Reynolds. While it was great for Reynolds, it just meant that Will secluded himself from the family even more.
The other good thing about his dad’s changing behavior was that he started to share more and more about the wizarding world with Reynolds. When he was 9 years old he went to Diagon Alley with his dad and his dad’s best friend, Fagin, who lived in London, for the first time. His dad and Fagin for the past two years had answered all his questions about the wizarding world and provided him with books and magical toys. So even though he knew more than the average muggle-born, he still felt like he had a lot of catching up to do.
When his Ravenclaw friend Aly Salinger had invited him to learn more about a wizarding world along with other muggle-borns and clueless half borns, he had jumped at the chance. He hadn’t wanted to ask any questions at Hogwarts because he assumed people would think he was stupid for not knowing this kind of stuff. So it sounded like Aly’s class would be the perfect environment to feel comfortable and safe learning all the things he had always wanted to know.
He was smiling - or at least what he counted as smiling, to others it was just a very slight upturn of his lips - when he entered the room. His eyes fell immediately on his friend Liv Hartley, who was talking up a storm as per usual, though he didn’t quite catch exactly what it was that she was saying.
“Hello there,” he said, making his way to the desk in front of Liv. “I’m sorry I’m late! I don’t know if I’ll ever - ever get the hang of those staircases.”
He sat down, he would have wanted to sit closer to the front and to Aly, but he didn’t want to seem rude in choosing a seat so far from Liv, so this would do fine. It didn’t look like he was too late, he wasn’t sure who all was coming, but he really would have been fine if it was just the three of them. He felt the most comfortable around Liv and Aly, though he had made a few other sort-of-friends at Hogwarts.
The willow survives by bending with the wind
Stats: Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 8 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 6 | ArcPower: 6 | Accuracy: 6
16 Apr 2020, 20:42
Aly's Academy for Mazed Muggle-Borns
"Aly, you know I love you, but school on a Saturday?"
That had been Charlie's initial reaction when Aly had first come up with the idea. He already went to classes Monday through Friday, five days a week, the idea of adding on one more day... But he had told his fellow Ravenclaw on their first night that he had plenty of things he was curious about, and school had only taught him enough to pass exams. If he wanted to more about the magical world as a whole, this was his best way. After agreeing - half-reluctantly - to the little tutoring session, he had quickly come to realize that some of their friends would also be joining in on the fun of the Mazed Muggle School, namely Kaden, Reynolds, and Liv. It wasn't lost on Charlie that he was the only one who was technically muggleborn in the group, but he knew some of the others hadn't quite grown up saturated in magical culture either.
Waking up on Saturday in Ravenclaw Tower, Charlie dressed quietly as to not disturb his roommates who still wished to sleep in and made his way out for the morning. The trip from the Tower to the empty classroom had been quick for him, or at least in his mind it was, as he was still only half awake for it, and paid very little attention to the thought of how long it was actually taking. Once he'd found the room, he pushed it open to fine Aly, Liv, and Reynolds already inside.
"Am I late?" he asked, half hoping he may have been. It wasn't as though he had no interest, he most certainly did. He was just never a personal fan of the classroom setting, and he hoped this wasn't all going to be too formal.
That had been Charlie's initial reaction when Aly had first come up with the idea. He already went to classes Monday through Friday, five days a week, the idea of adding on one more day... But he had told his fellow Ravenclaw on their first night that he had plenty of things he was curious about, and school had only taught him enough to pass exams. If he wanted to more about the magical world as a whole, this was his best way. After agreeing - half-reluctantly - to the little tutoring session, he had quickly come to realize that some of their friends would also be joining in on the fun of the Mazed Muggle School, namely Kaden, Reynolds, and Liv. It wasn't lost on Charlie that he was the only one who was technically muggleborn in the group, but he knew some of the others hadn't quite grown up saturated in magical culture either.
Waking up on Saturday in Ravenclaw Tower, Charlie dressed quietly as to not disturb his roommates who still wished to sleep in and made his way out for the morning. The trip from the Tower to the empty classroom had been quick for him, or at least in his mind it was, as he was still only half awake for it, and paid very little attention to the thought of how long it was actually taking. Once he'd found the room, he pushed it open to fine Aly, Liv, and Reynolds already inside.
"Am I late?" he asked, half hoping he may have been. It wasn't as though he had no interest, he most certainly did. He was just never a personal fan of the classroom setting, and he hoped this wasn't all going to be too formal.
( Stamina - 5 | Evasion - 8 | Strength - 4 | Wisdom - 6 | ArcPower - 5 | Accuracy - 7 )