Magic Mispronounced PV Athenia Rycroft Closed

@Aria Wright

Although she would never admit it, Athenia was having an uncharacteristically difficult time at Hogwarts. With intellect easily surpassing her peers, the young girl had breezed through primary school with an air that both impressed her teachers and annoyed her classmates. She had a particular tendency to flaunt her smarts – after all, surely it wasn’t her fault answers came so easily. Her academic prowess might also be attributed to her mother, who, being a well-respected researcher and professor of astrophysics at Oxford University, ensured that her daughter would be nothing short of an academic genius. Whether it was memorizing constellations, puzzling through physics concepts, or spending evenings wandering the libraries of Oxford towing books much too heavy for a child, there was no doubt that little Athenia was a right little scholar. Of course, that was only reality in the Muggle world.

Within the stone walls of Hogwarts, though, Athenia was frustratingly average – perhaps, Merlin forbid, even below average. She resented her peers who had grown up in the magical world, who weren’t shocked every time portraits hanging on the wall spoke and didn’t fear taking to the skies on a broomstick. All of the first years might have started the academic year on level ground, but there was certainly a disadvantage that came with not understanding a single thing about the magical world or its history. It didn’t help that Athenia based her reality on logic, either, as this had led her to spend her first month at Hogwarts attempting to understand the inner workings of magic – the how behind a wand and the spells one could cast with it – but to no avail.

Now beginning her third month at Hogwarts, Athenia had grown to be equal parts fascinated by magic and frustrated by how slowly it came to her. Unlike primary school algebra and how it easily clicked into place as she eagerly attacked equation after equation, success in casting spells was consistently elusive. Whether she failed to wave her arm just perfectly, mispronounced yet another incantation sounding nothing short of glorified Latin, or fell short of complete concentration, it seemed nearly impossible for the girl to eke out a spell.

Rather than discourage her, though, these constant struggles only drove Athenia to practice harder and more frequently to hone her craft. To reach the top of the class might be a high order for now, but it was her ultimate goal to do so eventually. Soon. Sometimes this meant staying behind after class to pester a professor for help; more often, though, Athenia found herself tucked away in a corner of the library, muttering incantations and waving her aspen wand, practicing on thin air, scraps of parchment, a small stone – anything she could find. Today, though, she had a specific mission to fulfill.

It had happened during Potions, just a few hours prior. Wanting to protect her glasses from damage as she tried her hand at the simple potion recipe the first years had just learnt, Athenia had removed them from their typical perch on her shirt collar and placed them on the table to her right. It was just moments later that in her haste to add the first ingredient to her cauldron, though, the girl dropped her copy of Magical Drafts and Potions onto the fragile silver frame, breaking one hinge and leaving the glasses in two pieces. She was no stranger to the situation, never having been a particularly patient nor careful child, but she no longer had parents to run – not even a screwdriver to attempt the fix herself. Now, though, she did have magic.

Thankfully, the first years had learned the Eyeglass Repair Charm not long ago in an unusually fascinating History of Magic session. There certainly was an abundance of information for Athenia to absorb from the class, knowing next to nothing about magical history, but the humanities had never been her strongest suit. It was much more interesting when textbooks were cast aside in favor of wands, and the students were allowed to do magic, for once. Neither the incantation nor the wand movement required were particularly difficult, but like all the spells she’d attempted so far, Athenia had yet to perform the simple charm in one try. But now that she truly had motivation to succeed, her glasses having broken, perhaps this would be her day.

The library was rather quiet; without exams looming and the weather crisp but pleasant, most students were likely outdoors, taking advantage of the last days of sunshine before the icy winter gripped the castle. Still, Athenia took a seat at a table near the back, next to a large window providing much-needed light in the darkened room. Setting down her books, she slipped the two pieces of her glasses from a cloak pocket and placed them gently in front of her.

“Oculus Reparo,” she incanted, tapping the larger portion of the glasses with her wand. Perhaps she had channeled too much concentration into the first, arguably more difficult, word of the incantation, because the following syllable came out much too accented. Nothing happened. Cheeks tinged slightly rosy, Athenia’s gaze darted quickly around the room, hoping desperately that no one had been paying enough attention to witness her failure. There were a couple of upperclassmen at the next table, and a petite Ravenclaw girl not far beyond. The students surrounding her appeared to be absorbed in their own work, but Athenia could never be too sure.

Shoulders still squared, she would show no further signs of embarrassment as she fingered her wand, ready to try again. This time, it would work.

History of Magic was Aria's least favorite subject. She was trying her best to focus on her textbook so she could answer the homework questions, but she just kept reading the same sentence over and over again. She just wasn't interested in Goblin Rebellions. Aria looked up from her textbook and decided to take a break. She stood up from her table and decided to take a walk around the library. Aria headed towards the back of the library where the fantasy books were. She dragged her hand along the spines of the books. Aria was so lost in her thoughts, she just loved the library, that she almost didn't notice the voice next to her.

Oculus Reparo!

Aria turned her head and noticed the girl sitting at her table working on her homework. Aria new what spell she was working on; it was the Eyeglass Repair Charm. But she didn't say it right... Aria didn't want to sound accusational to the girl, but she thought it was important that the girl was practicing the correct spell. Aria walked over to the girl and smiled at her.

Hey! My name is Aria Wright. I heard you practicing the Eyeglass Repair Charm, and I thought I'd just tell you... I think you said it wrong. It's OculAs ReparA. Not OculOs RearO.

Aria gave the girl a slight smile to show that she wasn't trying to be mean, but she was trying to be helpful.