[Open] Charms in the Evening (Exam Prep) [Hogwarts]

Victoire always liked Charms, they were simple and delicate. Reminded her of Ballet, sometimes she missed dancing. She still did it on occasion but not like before school. It was more of a hobby now something she did to relax that was different from constant study and reading. She walked into the Charms room, arching a brow at the size of the room. Noting the different things in the room. Maybe she could kill two birds with stone today, practice charms as well as the bird conjuring charm for her Transfiguration NEWT.

She walked over to a bin with cushions after she placed her bag on a chair. She could start here once she learned what Professor Ward wanted them to do.

At Chalice's question, Jenny pulled herself out of her book with a start. She set it down and smiled at Chalice, hopping down from her perch on the desk. She glanced swiftly around the room, noting the other young witches who had arrived. It was a fairly small turnout so far, but she didn't mind that. It would give her time to pay individual attention to the students.

"Good evening, all," she said in a voice pitched to carry down the room. "Welcome to Charms prep. These sessions are intended to give you a chance to practice the application of the spells we've covered this year, so that you can approach your exams with confidence."

"As you can see, I've set up a number of objects for you to practice with, but if you need something that isn't here, simply ask. Similarly, if you want help with something in particular, well, that is what I'm here for. Don't be shy about it. I know exams can seem daunting..." She gave Chalice a kind look as she said this, remembering very well how nervous she'd been for her first end-of-the-year exams. "But I want you all to feel comfortable with your Charms."

"I suggest that you each pick one charm that you would like to practice or improve tonight. Miss Weasley, as a NEWT student, remember not to neglect the theory. The examiners expect you to have a higher understanding of Charms than at the OWL level. You should understand the basic components of each spell: the intention, the incantation, and the wand movements...and how they work together." She paused, her eyes twinkling. "Miss Burke, only the charms we have covered in this year, if you please. Nothing more advanced."

That said, the professor turned most of her attention to Chalice, though she kept one eye on the older students to see what they did. "Miss Storm, what would you like to work on?"

Victorie thought for a moment, might as well try the two birds with one stone. Since she had to understand the theory. "Do you think, I could get some help with avis?"

Maybe she could figure out what she was getting wrong since she had his wand movement down but maybe she was saying it wrong. Maybe she could it the birds and not just the bang and smoke with nothing.

She did give Chalice a smile, she really needed to apologize for the last class. "It took me sometime to get a bond with my wand when I first got it. Olivander says, wand relationships are two fold. The wand learning from the wizard and the wizard learning from the wand. So keep trying, it picked you for a reason."

It was always a delight to have students as eager to learn as Jenny was to teach. Far from being daunted by the questions from each girl, Professor Ward actually seemed to perk up. She greeted Jillian with a cheerful nod, and strode briskly towards the desk with the caged raven on it.

"I'll be happy to help you in a moment, Miss Weasley. Let me just get Jillian and Chalice settled."

She eyed the raven consideringly, then pulled out her wand and pointed it at one of the bird's wings. "Accio feather!"

The feather plucked itself neatly and settled in her hand. She offered it to Chalice, raising her voice a bit to be heard over the raucous squawking that resulted. "Try this, Miss Storm. Charms work the most easily the more appropriate the material is, and for Wingardium Leviosa, a feather from a living bird is about as appropriate as you can get. As for your wand, they do have personalities, you know. Some take longer than others to form a true partnership with their chosen witch, and ebony in particular rewards self-confidence. You must believe the feather will do what you want it to. But rest assured," she added encouragingly, gently steering Chalice by the shoulder to a table at the side of the room, "Victoire is right. Your wand only chose you because you have the capability."

"Miss Penrose, the far end of the room, I think. Otherwise none of us will be able to hear ourselves think." She grinned unrepentantly at the squawking raven, giving a small chuckle. "You are a noisy old thing. It was only a small covert—you'll never miss it. Still, waste not, want not. It saves us having to tickle you. Remember, a nice sharp downward flick at the end of Silencio, Jillian, and emphasis on the second syllable. Keep it crisp. Ravens require a bit more forcefulness than frogs; they're considerably more strong-willed."

"Now then, Miss Weasley...Avis." Her voice was warm as she turned to Victoire. She'd noticed and appreciated the way that Victoire had encouraged the young first-year. "What seems to be the trouble?"

Jenny nodded and hooked a hand behind her own neck, her eyes going slightly distant as she considered Victoire's problem.

"You're right—although we do teach the subjects separately, the theory is linked together. One of my professors used to say 'Magic is magic is magic.'"

Beckoning, she walked over to the blackboard at the front of the room, where she drew the wand movement: two graceful arcs joined together, the simplest representation of a bird in flight. "Conjuration is interesting, because the spells are both charms and transfigurations. The object of your charm is, of course, the air; but you are also transfiguring air to life, or energy, or spirit...however you choose to think about it. The thing is, according to the laws of elemental configuration, you can't just make life out of nothing. You have to borrow it from somewhere: yourself."

Or at least, that was the only ethical place to take the energy from. Jenny left the other implications unsaid, knowing that she was already skirting dangerously close to raising Minerva McGonagall's eyebrows. She wasn't sure she agreed with the Hogwarts philosophy on such things. Ilvermorny had taken a rather different approach to the spirit world, influenced as it had been by centuries of trading magical knowledge with the Native American magicians.

"In any case, that is why birds are among the most suitable subjects for live conjuration, being so air-oriented to begin with...and why the birds created by Avis will always reflect your own emotional state. If you're angry, for example, your birds may attack the person you're angry with."

Realizing she was beginning to run on a bit, Professor Ward quirked a quick smile at Victoire. "I always think it's easier to do things when you know exactly what's happening," she said, almost apologetically.

"In a technical sense, I think perhaps we might work on your visualization and your confidence in the spell. It's natural to start to doubt a spell when you have trouble with it, but it makes things more difficult." Jenny made as if to sit on the edge of her desk and remembered just in time that it wasn't there. She leaned against the blackboard instead, heedless of the white chalk dust that transferred itself to her black robes.

"Let's try for, oh...three sparrows. Make sure you have a nice clear visualization before you try, and remember what it is that the spell does."

Chalice managed a shy smile and nodded taking Victoire's words to heart before turning back to her wand and the Professor. When Jillian came into the room, Chalice offered a shy smile. She had a raven as well. Perhaps she could introduce them to Maleficent. Chalice was sure she would love another raven to speak to instead of all the owls. They were getting on her nerves. Chalice had to constantly ask her to behave and stop pestering them.

As the Professor called the feather, Chalice silently tried to communicate to the raven. "I'm sorry you lost a feather. Thank you and I'll introduce you to Maleficent later." She offered the bird a smile and followed where the Professor would have her practice. She looked at her wand. It was made from Ebony, he said it knew I was comfortable being the outsider. Chalice felt the wand, it was shorter but he knew Transfiguration would not be my favorite of classes so it made sense for the shorter wand. Her brother said it was because she was stubborn and didn't change her mind when making decisions.

She held her wand carefully and made sure her wrist performed the movement. It took a few times to get the flick just the way she wanted it. Chalice was glad that she didn't hit herself while the other's in class could watch. She put the wand down and then practiced the words, "Wingardium Leviosa". She shook her head as that sounded to fast. Perhaps she should drag it out, "Wing...ardium Lev..iosa". That didn't sound right either. She picked up her book from her bag and looked at the incantation. Professor Ward had told Victorie that intonation made a difference. After looking for a few minutes she closed the book and tried again, "Win-gar-dium levi-o-sa". She said it that way several times before picking up her wand.

It was time to try the real thing. She wanted to be careful as this was the raven's feather and didn't want his sacrifice to be in vein. She picked up her wand and quietly said,'Swish and flick', then she uttered the words, 'Win-gar-dium Levi-0-sa'. As she spoke the words, the black feather began to float above the table. Chalice smiled at her accomplishment and made it dance around her table. She played with the feather for a few moments before trying again.

Jillian had taken a couple of extra long steps back from the cage before practising her wand movements, obviously worried that she would accidentally jab the bird while attempting to add a little extra force to the final flick of the wand. Even so the raven did not seem to be appreciative of the gesture at all. Jillian had just opened her mouth to make her first attempt at casting her silencing charm when the raven let out its squawk which was closely followed by the Slytherin girls complaint.
Jillian spun around, eyes wide and cheeks flushed with embarassment as she caught sight of the damp younger student. For a second she was unable to find her voice as she realised what must have happened but after a moment she stepped forward toward the girl.

"I.. I'm so so sorry!" She said, sounding flustered. "I'll get the hang of the spell soon, I'm sure!"

Jillian paused, quite unable to meet Iris' eyes. Even so she managed to put on a smile and adjusted the grip on her wand.

"I, er.. I know a hot-air charm if you like?" She hesitated, pointing her wand at Iris and trying to rack her mind for the correct incantation.

Iris quelled her temper and managed a small, albeit strained, smile to Victoire. "Thanks," she said, "sorry I yelled, that was rude of me."

Though, she thought snidely, a drought charm would've been more effective. She decided to demonstrate this on the floor, after all, this was Charms class, and she couldn't have her classmates slipping. With a wave of her wand and the appropriate incantation, the puddle was gone. Easy.

Or maybe not so much, as the water merely gurgled back into existence a few moments later. She cursed under her breath and ran to her notes to see where she went wrong. Maybe it was the inflection of her voice?

"Professor? What's the right inflection for the incantation of the Drought Charm? I thought you dropped the 'oh' in the middle, but that didn't really seem to work."

Jillian turned a thankful smile to Victoire, she had of course heard of the upperclassmen whose family was rather well known but she couldn't remember having actually spoken to the girl before. She blushed a little as she turned back to the caged bird on the desk before her, adjusting the goggles atop her head and raising her wand.
Hesitating a little she glanced back at the younger slytherin student, feeling a little relieved that Iris had turned her attention elsewhere. The fact helped her relax.

"Alright.." she whispered to herself, fixing the raven with as fierce a look as she could. "No more trouble you, okay?"
More determined than before she ran the incantation through her mind once more before saying it aloud, "Silencio!" she stated firmly, tracing her wand through the movements and ending with a sharp downward flick as instructed. The belligerent raven made an attempt to put her off but was cut off halfway through its squawk.

Jillian stared at the bird with wide beaming eyes as it made a few attempts to make a sound. Her smile was bright and proud as she leaned forward, carefully examining the raven to see no sign of swelling. She had done it and on the first attempt too, of course being able to reliably repeat the effect was the most important thing. She calmed her expression, taking a moment to look around the room while she waiting for her charm to wear off. For a moment she considered thanking Iris for inadvertently helping push her to be firmer than usual but she decided against it.

Chalice smiled at her professor and looked around the room. Everything seemed in order so back to work she went. She took up the next feather and began to work on it's levitation. She sat at her desk and practiced the 'swish and flick'. She once again pointed her wand with confidence and tried again: "Win-gar-dium Levi-O-sa". This time her voice was strong and with more passion. She noticed that her feather floated a bit higher this time, almost 4 inches off the table. It would only let her make it dance a few times before falling to the table again. She continued to work on the feathers trying to get them to the same height as the raven feather.