13 May 2020, 05:52
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Rose Moon
Alina Rosier was all about being as prepared as she could. Since setting up a time to practice the correct wand motions with her Charms partner from that day, Rose Moon of Gryffindor, Alina visited the library to get a few instructional aids. She now sat on the grounds of the Castle that very evening, reading over one while she waited on the girl.
Her wand still rested in her bag while she looked over the text and the only thing she held in her hand was the occasional lemon drop she pulled out of a small bag before placing it in her mouth. She was quickly finding out as she read that this wasn't something that one lesson was going to quick, as the book said that an experienced spellcaster can be capable of shaping the magic within their mind, but this also requires years of training and effort.
Still, who was to say that she couldn't practice and get this down? This wasn't a class so dreadful as Tranfigurations where nothing made sense. No, Alina Rosier was quite confident that both she and Rose Moon could get this down. She also had a list of different movements that they could work on once her partner arrived.
Last edited by Alina Rosier on 13 Jun 2020, 04:20, edited 1 time in total.
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl.
13 May 2020, 18:56
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Alina Rosier
Rose Moon walked out onto the grounds, looking for Alina Rosier, who she was going to practice wrist movements with. She wasn't sure if Alina was going to bring a book about it or what exactly they were going to do to practice, but Rose was fine with that. She had brought her wand and a couple of books on the subject, just in case they needed to look something up. She had done some light reading beforehand and had marked a few of places in the books with tabs- things that could come in handy when they were practicing, or a passage on the basics she found. Seeing Alina, Rose smiled and went over to her and said, "Sorry, I got carried away in my book for a little bit..." Although she was only five or ten minutes late from the time they had agreed on, Rose felt a little bad. Rose was happy to find Alina reading a book on the subject, as she would already have some knowledge of what they were about to practice.
"So," Rose said, sitting down next to her and easing her bag down on the floor as well, "You've been busy. Do you have any idea or preference on where we start?"
14 May 2020, 02:23
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Rose Moon
Where SHOULD they start? None of the books really specified an order to which the various wand movements should be learned so Alina supposed it was up to them. "Well, according to my notes," and she took out a notepad of parchment that she made notes on, "there are many different types of wand movements. There are Flicks, Jabs, Points, Rolls, Swirls, Swishes, Taps, Twirls, Twists, Waves, Shapes, the Incomplete Infinity and the Infinity." She finally stopped to take a deep breath as she pondered over the words that she had just said.
"I suppose it makes the most sense to start from the basic and move to the more complex," and her eyes scanned over her notes. "So we should probably start with Points, then Jabs. Then we can go into Taps, Flicks, Swishes. From there, Swirls, Twirls, Waves, and then finish up with Rolls, Twists, the Incomplete Infinity and the Infinity. Of course this might take more than one session," if Rose was up for that.
"Now I think we'll be safe as long as we practice the wand movement only and not a particular Charm. If we're not thinking of the intention or stating the incantation then nothing should go wrong. Let's just say I already had to push a boy into The Great Lake earlier in the year for setting himself on fire."
Alina rested her notepad up against her bag and got out her wand and smiled to Rose.
"Okay, tips for points..." she glanced back down to the parchment, "it should be a nature movement. The wand should remain stationary, and the tip of the wand should line up with the target object but not touch it. So it seems accuracy is key," and she looked out at a first year Ravenclaw in the distance and tried to do the motion. She then looked to Rose again. "What kind is yours? Mine's Chestnut with a Phoenix Feather core." She was interested in wands.
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl.
14 May 2020, 19:14
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Alina Rosier
Rose nodded. That made sense, to start at the easiest stuff. Rose was listening to Alina's explanation on points and how they should just practice the movements and not the actual spells so as to avoid setting each other on fire... or worse. Rose laughed and said, "That's a good idea. Even though we would both very much enjoy being pushed into the Great Lake, we should probably avoid setting ourselves or each other on fire."Her emerald eyes were sparkling with sarcasm.
Pulling her wand out of her bag and standing up, Rose said, "Let's try it, then."
"Mine is chestnut wood, as well," Rose answered when Alina asked her about her wand. She looked at it curiously. The last time Alina had asked a random question like this, Rose had been inwardly annoyed because they were pressed for time and Alina was off-task, but this time, she didn't mind. They weren't on a time limit this time, but also, she honestly, didn't mind. "But mine is dragon heartstring, instead of phoenix feather. And yours is a little bit longer than mine. Anyway, do you want to do the same strategy with constructive criticism, like we did in class, or do you have another idea?"
14 May 2020, 21:32
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Rose Moon
Yes, honest opinions. I'm not here to bite your head off and hopefully you're not here to bite mine off," she smiled to Rose. "So constructive, honest opinions. If we sugar coat everything, then we're never going to get any better."
Alina went and sat down by her notebook. "You go first, I'll critique first," she said as she got another lemon drop out of her bag to enjoy. Then she picked up the notebook and wrote the date and what motion Rose would be trying. "We can even work on tracking progress, maybe give each other some little mini homework assignments." In mid-quill stroke she stopped and laughed, "Merlin, do I sound like a Ravenclaw or what?" But of course that wasn't the house that either of these girls had been separated into.
Alina wasn't too bad at school work. Her lower grades reflected more on the sass that she delivered in class and in assignments to her professors than her lack of effort or work. That didn't matter though, there were other reasons to be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry than to make good grades - find friends, find family, find future, find yourself. It was certainly much more than grades.
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl.
19 May 2020, 15:49
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Alina Rosier
Rose nodded, saying softly, "Okay, let's do this, then." She stood up, wand in hand, brushing off her pants. The last time she had done something like this in front of Alina, her stomach had protested with all of its might. This time, though, Alina had promised to be constructive with her criticism, to find the happy medium between sugar-coating everything and biting her head off.
Alina had commented about how much she sounded like a Ravenclaw. Rose laughed a little, replying, "Yeah, you do. You're smarter than you first seem. Not that you don't seem smart, it's just that-Shaking her head at herself, Rose added, "Nevermind."She went over to a nearby tree and lifted her wand up, pointing her wand directly at the tree. She focused on the tree, staring unblinkingly at it with her emerald eyes. She was very stiff again, though, and stayed in that position for a few moments before lowering her wand and looking down at Alina.
"What do you think?" she asked, shifting her weight on one of her legs. "I probably messed up somewhere and I also probably looked really silly pointing my wand at a tree. I felt like I was supposed to do something or say something,"she laughed, her smile reaching her eyes.
19 May 2020, 20:22
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Rose Moon
"Well, you started it off great!" she encouraged her new friend and popped up. "The way you stood, nice and straight and then put your wand out directly at it. That's the point if I ever saw one! But, in probably feeling silly about it, you grew more stiff-shouldered and I think that's where it could have gone a little off. Yet...the fact that you say it feels like it was supposed to do something...that right there shows some confidence, right. So...confidence, direct, but not stiff," she nodded. "Try it again!"
Rose tried the pointing maneuver again and then Alina followed up, having to repeating it a few times due to some criticism, but Rose was nice about it! By the session's end, they decided to meet again for another topic and leave this one to pointing only.
"I feel like we should get to know one another a bit if we're going to spend more time together. Tell me who Rose Moon is. Where'd you come from, what was your town like, what's your family like, what do you enjoy doing?" It was a lot to tell someone but the better they knew one another, maybe the better they could help one another and maybe even become better friends.
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl.
19 May 2020, 20:53
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Alina Rosier
Listening intently to Alina's advice, Rose thought about it for a moment. She had felt a little stiff while doing it, no that Alina had mentioned it. "Oh yeah, thanks! I didn't notice that," she replied thoughtfully. After trying it again a couple more times with Alina's gentle reminders, Rose finally got it down. After deciding to keep this "session" to the pointing wand movement only, Alina suggested they get to know each other, which Rose agreed completely with.
"I agree," Rose confided. "Well, I was born in England, though I've been to America a lot of times. As for my family, I'm the middle child of five to an single mom. I have two sisters and two brothers, and they, along with my mom, are very extroverted, blond, and freckleless." Rose answered with a smile. She knew that freckleless wasn't a word, but it should be. "I enjoy stuff like reading, journaling, doodling, and Quidditch and I have a strange talent for doing people's hair. I also enjoy baking and cooking, mostly because of the reward that comes after of the delicious food," she finished. "What about you?" she asked. "Where are you from? What's your family like? What do you enjoy doing?"
19 May 2020, 21:58
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Rose Moon
Alina wasn't much of a fan when it came to sharing the sort of details about her home life. Still, it was a question that warranted an answer since Rose took the time to provide hers. "Well..." she paused. "My house is back in Surrey, in Windlesham Village. " She always seemed to assume that people knew what she was talking about but they really probably wouldn't unless they were from Surrey. Windlesham Village was where the most expensive homes were. "Moved there when I was seven. Before that we lived in France," she still had a touch of her French accent that showed itself once in awhile.
"It's mostly just Bella and I," she spoke of her twin sister who had been sorted into Slytherin. "My father is seldom there, spends more time not being there by far than he does underneath the roof. My grandmother lives there too but weeks go by without us seeing her." That's all there was to tell about her family.
"Is it strange to think I'm still trying to figure that out? What I like doing. I like to sketch but I'm not the best at it. I write...just journal my thoughts and occasional try to put them into a poem but I'd never let anyone read them! I like to explore, both in nature and around this place," she looked up at the castle. "There's some pretty great things and people inside there." She wondered if Rose had met anyone she was close with at school yet.
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl.
20 May 2020, 18:14
It's All in the Wrist
Interacting with @Alina Rosier
Rose noticed Alina's hesitation to answer the questions and was about to say it was okay if she didn't want to answer, as it was none of Rose's business when Alina answered anyway. Alina sounded like she had a pretty hard life, with her dad not around and living with her twin sister, who was in Slytherin now. She didn't mention her mom, and Rose was tempted to ask her about her mom, but she decided to not ask about that. If Alina had wanted to tell her, she would have. Rose hadn't mentioned her dad and Alina hadn't pointed that out, so maybe Alina's mom was in a similar situation. "No, that's not strange," Rose replied after Alina was done talking. "I have a lot of mixed feelings about stuff, as well." Rose looked up at the castle, a look u=in her eyes that nobody could quite point out. She said very softly, "Yeah, there are... it's a complicated place. It feels more like home than anywhere ever has. And yet... I still don't have everything worked out. Every day is different and has something new. I still don't know why I, a shy, quirky, awkward, introverted person was sorted into Gryffindor, of all houses." she scoffed a little to herself.