Applied Magic: Lesson 1

Friday 23 September
7:00 am
The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children

Applied Magic was a new subject at Hogwarts. One that most might not understand before entering the classroom. Simply put, it’s how to apply magic to everyday life. Typically while learning charms or transfiguration, you are trying to get the full force out of a spell. Many applications specific to dueling and defense that can be used in normal circumstances, but rarely taught for those times.

There is a subtle art to charms, where instead of using Diffindo to hack away at something, you use it to precisely cut an onion into small usable pieces. Or using Glacius to gently cool a glass of water instead of freezing it into a block of ice.

Along with the use of magic in everyday activities, the students will learn where the use of muggle methods are needed. You don’t always need a wand to get things done.

For the first few weeks of Applied Magic, Professor Blackwood focused the students on using normal everyday spells to different degrees. Lumos at varying brightness levels. Wingardium Leviosa in a controlled setting to move objects carefully, slowly and precisely. Most spells could be cast with different results. Dim and bright. Fast and slow. Hot and warm.

As the students arrived to class they would notice a message on the chalkboard with directions on how to proceed.

• Leave all belongs on your desk
  
• You will need your wand only
  
• When ready, grab the small trinket/portkey on your desk
  
• This portkey will bring you to the location of today’s class
  
• Best behavior today, or detention is in your future
  

---

Gideon stood in the front entrance of The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children, waiting for his students to arrive. Down the hall giggles and the voices of young children could be heard, the group was very excited about their guests today. One by one the students popped into existence, many looking around at where their feet landed.

Looking at his watch, he allowed three minutes extra for those that may have needed extra time to stow their belongings before arriving.

“Good morning to you all. Today, as you may have guessed, will be slightly different. Welcome to The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children. We are guests at this fine establishment, I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you are unable to mind your manners, expect detention and a failing grade on today’s project.”

Gideon looked over the group of students, many looked tired at the early hour, but it wouldn’t last. They would soon discover that the early hour wasn’t a problem for the room full of young children, who even at the crack of dawn were already running at full steam. Hopefully their excitement would rub off on the sleepy teenagers.

“Today you will be working with some of the preschool children, all between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. I met with the children last week, getting names, hobbies, likes and dislikes. You my dear students will be playing with them today, so please. Make it entertaining.”

The groans from a few students warmed his heart a bit. For some this would be fun, for many it would be torturous. He wasn’t at all bothered by this.

---

OOC: HELLO! And welcome to the first ever lesson of Applied Magic. Below you will find the list of students in today’s group of preschoolers. In this first post, please arrive at the group home, give your reactions to the lesson and pick your student. YOU WILL NOT MEET YOUR STUDENTS UNTIL THE NEXT POST. The portkey/tricket on your desk is a small brass replica of a children's toy. Crayon, small car, block, tiny doll, etc.

Name	Age	Hobby	Likes	Dislikes	Student
Paul	5	Building skyscrapers	Tall block towers	Loud noises	Ellen
Maya	4	Playing "shop"	Shiny buttons	Being told to wait	Matilda
Toby	3	Digging	Mud and worms	Wearing shoes	Benji
Sophie	5	Dress-up	Sparkly capes	Sticky hands	Rae
Arlo	4	Racing	Anything with wheels	Sitting still	Maevie
Chloe	3	Drawing	Purple crayons	Nap time
Finn	4	"Dinosaur" hunting	Roaring loudly	Vegetables	Morgan
Isla	5	Tea parties	Imaginary tea	Cold weather	Alice
Noah	3	Climbing	High places	Being picked up	Tulip
Ruby	4	Dancing	Twirly skirts	Dark rooms
Luca	5	"Science"	Mixing liquids	Getting his hair brushed
Evie	3	Stuffed animals	Soft blankets	Sharing her "Bunny"
Jasper	4	Playing "pilot"	Paper airplanes	Staying on the ground
Mia	5	Storytelling	Dragons	Plain sandwiches
Zane	3	Splashing	Water tables	Itchy sweaters

NEXT UPDATE WILL POST ON January 10th.

Classes were mandatory. It was a thing. She had looked into it.

Participation was another thing altogether. Ever was in class, because it was required, but actually talking and “doing things” was not on her priority list. Sleep had been elusive, or damn near non-exsistent. One of her more studious dorm mates pulled her out of bed for breakfast ever morning, even if Ever protested… silently.

The few times she tried to talk, words came out like a tossed salad. No rhyme or reason, nothing made sense, not even to her. The words she intended to say rarely made an appearance. There were times when her thoughts were coherent, but most of the time they were not. Memories interspersed with musings from a book she read five years ago, thoughts about a person she knew in primary school, times of pure nothingness, then flashes of pain and screaming. It was a jumbled mess.

Being pulled to class was easier then her trying to make a decision for herself, so like a good little minion, Ever walked into class, put her things on her desk and grabbed the small brass statue of a teddy bear without having to think. It was the minutes after that made her mind nearly melt.

The portkey deposited her in the hall of a very nice looking building. Ever saw none of it, her brain going back to a time last year where she was whisked away by Thayer. There was no carnival, or dark tower, but the feeling it brought on, the rapid movement and pull behind her belly button, took her straight back to the tower.

The minute her feet touched solid ground Ever sank down into a crouch and hugged her chest to her knees. Rocking back and forth, shaking her head, one word tumbling out of her mouth on a hushed whisper. “No no no no no no no.”

The pop of other students coming into existence around her didn’t break the panic that was ramping up quickly.

---

((OOC: feel free to ignore Ever. Stare, whisper about how crazy she is now. Her friends are free to try and comfort her if you desire.))

Applied Magic was new. New seemed to be an increasingly common theme for Hogwarts. But Ellen found the class interesting enough. It likely wouldn't ever be one of her favorites, but it was suitably decent. Dare she say easy?

Today, though, that did not seem the case. The message on the chalkboard was evident enough, and so were its accompanying instructions. Portkey, written there, had given her a moment's pause; a slight tread of trepidation which curled low in her gut. It had no reason to be there, but after everything, she was not so sure she liked the idea of leaving the castle for some unknown location. Still, it was class, and there was nothing that Professor Blackwood couldn't handle. Class was perfectly safe.

The travel itself was swift, if a bit nauseating, and while she was used to portkeys, the early hour was pulling a little on her brain. So, in an effort to reorient herself, she looked around. Others were popping into place around her, and.. there seemed to be the sound of children? Somewhere?

.. morning.. welcome...

the.. Gloria Whitfield Home for... Children.

The word made her blink. Children. A home for children. This was an orphanage?

Blackwood's continuation only caused dismay in her. Playing with children? Playing? She had never had to do that. Not when she had always been one of the youngest; there had been no trail of siblings behind her to mind, no cousins foisted into her lap at family gatherings. Children were something she really only ever saw at a distance on promenades or at village fêtes, strapped into prams or held firmly by their nurses. They were not, as a rule, handed to you.

And then, Everleigh Ravenstone arrived badly. Because of course she did.

Ellen heard the small, broken “no no no” before she properly saw her; a crouched shape on the floor where a girl ought to be standing. Arms wrapped hard around her knees. Rocking. The kind of movement that had nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with holding herself together.

She.. stared.

And just as quickly turned away.

It wasn't logical; it was uncomfortable. Happening in front of her with a complete lack of dignity, of everything sensible. She drew in by some small, automatic degree, the same faint tightening that was becoming real feel then imagined. It was not fair. It was not kind. But it was there nonetheless.

Her eyes found the list, neat columns of names and ages and likes. Simple. Paul, five, building skyscrapers, tall block towers, dislikes loud noises. The choice was almost made for her. Sturdy, quiet work. Something you could stack and straighten. No shrieking required.

Ellen stepped forward when there was a gap, touching her finger to his line as if that made it official.

“Paul,” she told Professor Blackwood, when she could.

Simple.

Well apparently Professor Blackwood didn't want to do Charms anymore, leaving it to Professor Barlowe to handle.

It was all good and well he supposed. Benji had been forced to cook last term, and while he'd done the bare minimum, he wanted to learn how to fight when it came to Charms. Professor Blackwood seemed more of a lover and a homebody (evidenced by Applied Magic) than a duelist.

Professor Barlowe seemed more of a napper, but he did know how to wrangle dangerous creatures so probably had an edge.

The class had been interesting enough - easy for the boy so far - but his neutral expression immediately fell as he found himself standing outside the children's home. An orphanage. Nobody ever wanted to call it that, but it was what it was. An orphanage. A place for kids nobody wanted.

Like him. And Kate. And Rae and Ren.

He remembered his time here. Every moment felt like an eternity. Every shriek and scream from the kids around him felt like daggers to his eardrums. The place smelled of bananas and old carpet, but it was the memories - of feeling unwanted and unloved that permeated his mind. He'd...never felt wanted or loved before Julia, but the orphanage had just exacerbated all of it.

He wanted nothing to do with this.

Everleigh the nutter was already rocking and muttering to herself. He didn't know why. She came from the Ravenstones. She was Matilda's cousin. She'd never lived here as far as he knew.

Efficient Ellen was efficiently choosing her kid before anyone else could snag the best one - he supposed. That's what he would do anyway.

His hand reached for Rae's as she appeared next to him, slipping his fingers between hers to ground himself. This was fine. He just needed to pick a kid - apparently.

He glanced quickly over the parchment and gave a slight shrug. The kid that was probably most like he was at that age. "Toby."

Maevie loved Applied Magic. Her months away from Hogwarts and the concomitant magic ban had meant she'd gotten quite out of practice. She remembered spells and wand movements well enough but the actual application had made her first week back just a little bit tumultuous.

Maybe there was a scorch mark on the ceiling of her dorm still.

The candle she had wanted to light sure had caught fire and so had half the room as well. Nothing that hadn't been manageable. The sixth year girl that had coincidentally passed by and witnessed the whole thing had been able to extinguish the fire before any greater damage had been done, loosing only half of her hair in the process.

No big deal, really.

Professor Blackwood's class had at least managed to help her control the force with which she cast spells again. A bit rough around the edges still but at least not life-threatening.

Portkey was a word she'd never heard before but she quickly learned what exactly it was and did.

A yank around her navel pulled her away, only to drop her off again within a heartbeat, knees and palms making harsh contact with the floor.

Maevie sucked in a pained breath through her teeth, the miniature brass horse digging uncomfortable indentations into the scar tissue of her palm. She sat back, inspecting her hand before giving it a rough shake and rub along her skirt to get rid of that tingly feeling that always appeared when too much pressure irritated the frizzled nerves there.

Mr. Blackwood was introducing the lesson, and Maevie finally took in her surroundings.

Shouted laughter and eager footsteps sounded in the distance, the unmistakable sounds of children babbling. And they'd be playing with them today? That sounded easy enough.

Only then did the not so childlike voice register, repeating only one word, over and over again. Turning, Maevie found her friend sitting on a couch nearby, knees to her chest, that look of utter panic and confusion that had become too frequent etched onto her face.

Her heart sank right through the floor.

"Ever," Maevie said tentatively, stepping closer with hesitant steps, her own face scrunched in sorrow that struck right into her soul. She stopped for a second, wringing her hands before carefully sinking into the cushions next to her. She wanted so bad to take the other's hand but the past had taught her just a touch alone could make the whole thing worse.

"It's okay, Ever, it's only the Children's Home," she tried to comfort instead, bringing a reassuring smile to her lips. "And look, Mr. Blackwood is here, too! Nothing can happen to you."

---

(Maevie is choosing Arlo after whatever Ever will do <3)

...

.....

Fuck.

Rae's eyes hurt. Her head hurt. Her body ached. The Slytherin wasn't sick, nor was she on the verge of an attack on her immune system. She was tired. Both her body and soul ached for sleep, but it had been harder to come by after last March and damn near impossible after June. Even with wandering, even when she tried running, practising spells or quidditch – anything – she only managed to have her eyes close when she could literally not take a step further. This morning, that didn't happen to be until 4 AM. As she always did, Rae had slept through breakfast to squeeze in that extra hour of sleep, but it wasn't enough before her dormmates came bounding back into the room, yanking her unconscious from bed.

She was miserable, and in that moment of misery, something became abundantly clear. She would need to have a word with the headmistress. 7 AM classes weren't sustainable for anyone – not for her, at least.

The instructions when she got to the classroom never registered. Eyes barely opened, Rae zombied her way to her desk. It took her another two minutes of being slumped at her desk to realise that her classmates were literally disappearing.

What fresh hell was happening this time?

With an unceremonious and unenthused groan, Rae pulled herself to her feet as another disappeared. There, on her desk, she found the trinket. Barely functioning, she managed to glean it was her ticket to where everyone else was going. She could just...not. Pretend she never made it, and deal with Blackwood when he got back. It was unfortunate he was her head of house now, having unfettered access to her common room, but his lecture was nothing when compared to another hour and a half of sweet sleep.

There was a tug at her belly button, a swerve in her head, and then a building she typically avoided whenever she showed up in Hogsmeade.

The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children.

An involuntary shiver ran through her as she took in the place that had once – briefly – been 'home'. It was one of many in a long line of orphanages and foster homes the girl had passed through. Nothing more than another strike against a map so convoluted that the girl had stopped paying attention to where she was going. Now she was back and not awake enough to process the professor's horrifying words.

It wasn't that Rae didn't like children. On the contrary, she was absolutely besotted with them. But playing with them while her entire body was threatening to crash sounded an awful lot like cruel and unusual punishment.

Somewhere in the corner of her eyes, Rae became aware of Everleigh as she broke down and the way Maevie offered her comfort, but the sudden hand in hers grounded her to someone closer. Benji. This had been his 'home', too. It was still Ren's. She gave the boy's hand a light squeeze, silently reminding him she was right there and hoping to anchor him into the reality that this place could no longer define him. It couldn't define either of them. None of the places could, not even her father's estate in New York.

When Benji tugged her closer to the list, Rae grimaced at the way her eyes refused to focus. She rubbed at them a few times, letting others have their pick while she did. It figured Ellen would choose the quiet kid. That became evident when her dark eyes sharpened.

As for her?

"Sophie." The girl liked sparkles. Nothing else was needed.

Applied magic, this was something new to Tulip, normally it was learn spells you work out where they will be useful. So far this term they had been working on using spells rather than just learning them. Simpe everyday spells but there was use in those, and working on things like Lux at different levels was useful sometime you needed a light but you didn't want it too bright as that led to get caught. Maybe there was actually a point to this class. She decided she would show up, she wouldn't mitch off in favour of spending time doing other things. Other things would wait. She made her way to class following various students, keeping her distance some what.

She was surprised to find the class empty despite following other students here, this was new, normally there was people. Today was no people she looked around and saw the message on the chalk board. Leave their stuff, grab a port key and best behaviour or detentions were in their future. Tulip smiled, she'd give the professor two out of the three. She wondered where they were get sent this time. The only way to find out would be picking up the port key. Which she did.

By her fith year she was so used to the weird sensation of the portkey that it bearly shook her. The hallway was unexpected it was often somewhere odd or strange but a hall was seemed pretty innocuous. She saw others standing around the professor and found her own little space.

“Good morning to you all. Today, as you may have guessed, will be slightly different. Welcome to The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children. We are guests at this fine establishment, I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you are unable to mind your manners, expect detention and a failing grade on today’s project.”

There was that best behaviour thing again, he really didn't trust them, the temptation she felt to give him a reason not to trust was very high. A children's home was a really interrsting place, interesting as why on earth, she thought bavk to the previous terms and wondered what creature was trying to eat these poor kids.

“Today you will be working with some of the preschool children, all between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. I met with the children last week, getting names, hobbies, likes and dislikes. You my dear students will be playing with them today, so please. Make it entertaining.”

Tulip raised an eyebrow, this would be interesting, playing with little kids, her youngest sister was only a few years younger than this lot, she'd played with younger sisters all the time. She saw the list, and glanced down them spotting one. "Noah" she said, she'd only had sisters she knew how they played but playing with a little boy might be way more fun.

She looked over and noticed Everleigh who seemed to be having a turn after transporting over, she saw one of the little second years go over and comfort her. But she noticed several of the older ones totally ignore her. Tulip knew Everliegh in passing, she'd seen her round, took classes with her, but she wasn't someone Tulip would call a friend, heck Tulip didn't really have many of them. But there was soemthing in the way other ignoring the girl made Tulip step over to her.

She dropped to her haunches and rested a hand on Everligh's shoulder, "Are you okay?" she asked, "Do you need something, a drink, a distraction, or a vomit bag? Weall get travel sick on those crappy port keys." Tulip had no idea what was wrong, she didn't look travel sick but if it was soemthing else she doubted Everliegh would want the other students gossiping, Tulip figured asking if she was travel sick would stop people gawking.

Alice was late to class, and that stressed her out more than anything. She’d had a hard time getting to sleep after getting into bed post patrol. Once she finally did get to sleep, it was very early morning. She’d missed breakfast, and missed walking with Everleigh to Applied Magic. She felt like shit for it. She’d have to make it up to her little sister somehow.

The portkey travel was unpleasant. Her stomach was empty and she was hungry and just plain exhausted. It took her brain a moment to catch up with her physical location, and she could hear her sister melting down.

What were they doing? Alice was usually so on top of everything that this was strange.

Some peers were ignoring her sister, the rest were already selecting children. She saw Maevie and Tulip with Everleigh, so she turned briefly to the list. “Isla, I guess,” she said to Professor Blackwood, before joining the other girls with her sister.

“I’m sorry I was late this morning, Ever, I’m so sorry. I’m here now,” she said, a frown on her face and dark bags under her eyes. She looked at Tulip and Maevie. “It’s not… the portkey… completely,” she said to them, trying to push down the panic she was beginning to pick up from her sister. She bit her lip and balled her hands into fists. She squeezed her hands shut until she could feel her nails begin to dig in a little. Not enough to truly hurt her, but enough to get her out of her head.

After a moment, Alice got up and walked over to the teacher. “Professor Blackwood, would it be alright if Everleigh stays with me for this one?” she asked, pleading with her eyes. She was worried. Mostly because she hadn’t been there in the Great Hall for her sister.

Narrowing her eyes as she appeared with the group, Morgan wasn’t sure where they were.

“Good morning to you all. Today, as you may have guessed, will be slightly different. Welcome to The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children. We are guests at this fine establishment, I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you are unable to mind your manners, expect detention and a failing grade on today’s project.”

Ohh… right. She glanced at Benji, and at Rae. They’d had experiences here, but she hadn’t. She bit her lip slightly and let her eyes wander around as Professor Blackwood explained what they were doing.

“Today you will be working with some of the preschool children, all between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. I met with the children last week, getting names, hobbies, likes and dislikes. You my dear students will be playing with them today, so please. Make it entertaining.”

Kids? She smirked. Blobby was two, and hilarious. Honestly with how ‘cold’ she was when she talked about the toddler, she did love him. So the thought of playing with a kid a bit older than her brother actually made her excited.

This would be fun.

Morgan looked over at the group of girls on the floor, her brow raised. She felt bad for Everleigh, and the others who had been taken, but Rae was fine and she had been one of them. So shouldn’t Everleigh be too? Maybe it was heartless of Morgan, but she moved closer to Benji and Rae and looked at the list.

She smirked. “Finn, please,” she stated. She was going to be a dragonologist when she grew up, like her dad had been. Dinosaurs were a lot like dragons, so that was a no-brainer. The kid was 4, and a boy, so he’d be a bit more reckless like she always had been.

Plus, she loved to roar too.

Annnnnnnnnnnnd Tilly was late. Great.

Running full speed to the Applied Magic classroom, she read the board quickly, tossed her bag on her desk and grabbed the small metal book trinket before the familiar sensation of a portkey took her for a ride.

As her feet hit the linoleum of the hall, she saw that the group of students was still there, thankfully not missing much. Panting, heart beating with adrenaline, Tilly found a spot next to Benji and Rae in the group. “Did I miss anything?” She whispered to her friends.

“Good morning to you all. Today, as you may have guessed, will be slightly different. Welcome to The Gloria Whitfield Home for Children. We are guests at this fine establishment, I expect you to be on your best behavior. If you are unable to mind your manners, expect detention and a failing grade on today’s project.”

Well fuck, they were at the Children’s Home, which just happened to be the previous home to both Rae and Benji. Sighing, Tilly looked around the hall, wondering what it would have been like to grow up here. Deciding that she would make her best effort with the kids today, hopefully bringing them just a bit of joy. She liked kids well enough, but wasn’t well versed in actually working with them, being an only child.

Looking over the list of kids, she blindly chose, not really caring who she worked with. “I’ll work with Maya,” she told Professor Blackwood, hoping that it wouldn’t be too difficult to keep her happy. How hard could it be really, kids were easy, right?

The students looked less than thrilled about today’s lesson. He felt the need to remind them in other lessons they were subjected to poison, dangerous magical beasts, difficult and possibly painful spells and the occasional trip to a horrible location. He was subjecting them to possible picky toddlers. ‘Oh the horror’

Back turned talking to the woman in charge, he missed the fact that Everleigh Ravenstone was in a ball on the ground. The poor girl, he felt for her. After the dark tower incident last year, Gideon felt particularly protective of Ruth, Maevie and Ever. While the older and younger of the three seemed to be reintegrating into castle life with ease, Everleigh was not. Something he would like to discuss, but until the trial is over, he decided it wasn’t the best idea.

"It's okay, Ever, it's only the Children's Home," little Maevie tried to console Everleigh. "And look, Mr. Blackwood is here, too! Nothing can happen to you." Considering one of his students was having a nervous breakdown, he thought it best to check on her before beginning. Then Tulip stepped in, and finally Alice, the sister. Gideon stepped back, letting the girls take the helm. He would help if needed.

Alice, turning to grab his attention, asked “Professor Blackwood, would it be alright if Everleigh stays with me for this one?” Looking over at Everleigh, still curled into a ball on the ground and Alice, with worry in her eyes he didn’t see much reason to deny the request. ”Only this once. If it becomes too much, we can send her back to the castle and to the hospital wing.”

Looking over the rest of the class, Gideon clapped his hands together and rubbed them furiously. “Ok, time to get started, the kids are getting restless. As you enter the playroom, the caregiver will direct you to your child. Your assignment is simple. Play with them.”

As a smirk graced his face. Somehow, he looked both devious and excited at the same time. Quite a feat. The children wouldn’t be easy to entertain. At their young age, most were spirited, bossy and wildly in search of a captive audience. Luckily Gideon brought them a class full, even if against their will.

“Talk with your child, introduce yourself, ask them questions about things they like. Once you decide on something to play, you must use your magic in a controlled and mindful manner. They may attempt to talk you into something dangerous, I would suggest you do not entertain such ideas. Unless you would like to have detention, with me, for the rest of your term.”

They walked as a group to the playroom, Gideon opened the door and motioned for the students to follow him in and stand along the wall at the front.

“Ok kids, can I have your eyes up front please!” The caregiver, Miss Patricia said in a sweet but commanding voice. The children, most of them, directed their eyes to her. Little Noah completely ignored the woman in leu of sitting, he was climbing on to the play kitchen in the back of the classroom.

“All right, these are your new friends! They have come all the way from Hogwarts to play with you.” At the mention of Hogwarts a few of the eyes in the crowd got wider, one little girl looked awestruck. Noah, steadfastly ignored everything while now trying to climb up a bookshelf.

“When I call your name, please come up front and I will introduce you to your new friend. Noah! NOAH! For the love of cupcakes GET OFF THE SHELF!”

---

If you have not yet posted in this lesson, NO WORRIES, just post with your entrance, picking a child and get right to business.

((OOC: Hello and Welcome to update #1! During this update you have THREE goals. Meet your child, get to know them a bit and play with them, incorporating magic in some way. You need to fit in ONE magical display of some sort. Please pay close attention to your Willow Tree, and only do something that you are comfortable with. If you have an issue finding something magical that you can achieve, please let me know so I can help you.

In this update, it is completely up to you how you want the interaction to go. BUT DO NOT give a reaction to what the child thinks about the magic.

At the end of your post, in a separate OOC message, please pick a number between 1 - 7. You may pick the same number as your peers, so don’t worry about what others chose. This number will be explained in the next update.))

NEXT UPDATE WILL BE 01/15/2026

He had no idea what applied magic was. However, the word applied implied it was practical. In general if he had to choose between theory and practicality. He always chose practicality.

So he chose to try out Applied Magic. Though the word choice in that thought was definitely loosely applied as apparently there was a minimum number of classes one had to take as he learned from Battersea. So he just decided to not cause a ruckus and just take this class without complaint.

Though when he walked into the room he felt a complaint bubbling in his head. He wasn’t a fan of portkeys. Especially when they weren’t shared as that was an easy way if a professor went crazy to make someone disappear. He took a deep breath as he picked up the toy that was his portkey.

As he arrived by portkey he landed soundly and looked at his classmates appearing to be one of the later ones to arrive. At the thought of playing with children he shrugged. This could have been much worse considering wasn’t Blackwood one of the professors on the docket of upcoming trials - though not the first.

He glanced towards Everleigh knowing this, or anything really, wasn’t going to go well. Thankfully, Alice was here to help her sister. He debated going to try to help Everleigh, but he was smart enough to know in this environment Alice would be best even if they were housemates. Though admittedly he couldn’t say they were much more than that.

Considering the kids he said “ Dancing sounds like fun. I’ll pick Ruby. “ Though dancing sounding fun wasn’t the reason he picked the girl. He picked her due to her dislike of dark rooms which meant she probably was cautious enough to not pull him into anything to dangerous and if things got out of hand she might be the running type like him.

He waited to be introduced to his kid. Then once he saw her he really had no clue how to start so he just asked “ So what is your favorite dance? “ He smiled as the little girl showed him a twirly dance with a few spins.

With a smile he said “ Have you ever tried spinning on a spinner? “ Then he conjured two spinner plates on the floor which were rather simple disks that were thin with a point on the bottom so when one stood on them with one foot and pushed off them and the plate would spin.

He said “ Let me show you. “ Then he stood on the simple spinner plate he conjured for himself and spun on his spinner plate. Blinking and a bit dizzy he said “ You try. “

OOC: 5

There was no shortage of reassurance for the traumatised Ravenclaw girl. Rae kept her focus on her boyfriend—what little she could conjure—while her eyes continued to scream for at least another hour of rest. How was she going to entertain a kid when she could barely stay awake? The answer was anyone's guess and a mystery to the Fifth-Year.

The pair were soon joined by their friends, Tilly and Morgan. Rae shuffled a bit, allowing them access to have their own look at the list.

"Nothing much," she replied to Matilda's whispered question. She could barely contain her yawn. "We're picking kids to play with. Ever's being Ever. Ellen snagged the quiet one." She leaned her head onto Benji's shoulder. "Carry me?"

They were getting ready to begin and it was safe to say that she wasn't ready. The girl's muscles felt heavy and her knees threatened to buckle without a moment's notice. Could she pass it off as being unwell? If Professor Blackwood thought she was at death's door, surely he'd let her sit this one out. Maybe a quiet room somewhere? With so many of them here, it mean places that had fewer kids. She was sure she could make it work.

There he went, threatening them again. The man seemed incapable of giving instructions without tacking a threat onto it and with each time he did, they lost a little more of their effect.

Lucky for him, she'd picked a girl who liked dress-up. It didn't leave much room for chaos.

Clinging to Benji's hand as she walked with her friends, Rae followed the group to a room she hadn't spent too much time in. The playroom. Very little had changed since she'd last seen it but there were some differences. A new coat of paint, a few extra toys and more children than she remembered.

The state of the country.

With visible reluctance, she finally released her boyfriend's hand and allowed herself to be guided to her new little friend. What was she meant to do again?

Right, introduce herself, get to know her, play a game.

Rae bent over, both hands resting on her knees so she could be closer to the 5-year-old's eye level. "Hello, sweet thing," she said softly, trying her very best not to look as close to collapse as she actively felt. She had been five when she'd been turned out onto the streets, and could remember how terrifying it all felt when you didn't have too many kind people in your corner.

"You can call me Rae. I heard your name's Sophie. It's almost as pretty as you."

Her eyes fell to the dress the girl wore. She paused to ask the girl her favourite colour. With a wide smile, she cast "Colovaria!" changing Sophie's dress to that very colour. "We might not have a lot of clothes to choose from," she knew that first hand, "But we can play around with the colours if you'd like."

---

Rae: 6

Tilly (on request): 3

Tulip crouched before Everleigh, adding her own attempt at comforting the girl who didn't seem to notice them at all. Or maybe she was stuck too deeply in her panic and simply couldn't find a way out. Either way it pained her to watch the girl slowly dissolve before her eyes, utterly helpless. She had tried before and never did she seem to be able to help.

That alone felt like a squeeze around her heart. Her words were totally useless every time.

Her sister arrived though, and Maevie knew she was the only one Ever felt comfortable around, the only one that could manage to actually calm her down. With a deep sigh she stood, turning away and stepping towards the list of children, trying to focus on the lesson. Most everyone had chosen someone already and Maevie quickly scanned the various names and hobbies. "I'll play with Arlo," she announced after a moment. She also didn't like sitting still, and racing sounded like a great way to get her mind off the melancholic mood that wanted to settle over her.

Professor Blackwood explained what they were supposed to do and Maevie nodded fervently. She was good with children, connecting with them was easy to her. Playing with them even easier.

Once Arlo was called up, Maevie smiled brightly. "Hi Arlo, I'm Maevie! What do you wanna play?" Excitedly, Arlo mumbled something about a race car and after she told him to show it to her, he took her by the hand and gently guided her into a corner of the playroom.

"Ooohh, that's nifty!", she awed as she dropped down to her knees next to Arlo who was showing her a toy version of a muggle car. It was a bit battered to say the least, one of the wheels hanging at an odd angle and squeaking terribly as the young boy rolled it over the ground.

Pulling her wand forth, Maevie extended her free hand. "May I? I can try to fix that wheel for you."

Curious eyes wide, Arlo nodded and placed the toy in her hand. Maevie pointed her wand at the wheel and said, "Reparo," concentrating hard to make the car whole again.

With a little click, the wheel plopped back into place.

"There!" Smiling widely she offered the car back to Arlo, happy her spell had worked on the first try.

---

7

Despite being where they were, Benji was open to the idea of hanging out with the little ones and distracting them from their normal day-to-day. He grinned widely when Rae asked him to carry her, deciding instead to wrap one of her curls around the index finger of his free hand. "You're alright," he assured her. His girlfriend was as far from being a 'morning person' as was possible, and after a night of wandering, he knew she was struggling. She normally did during the school term with their earlier classes, her brain failing to ever recognize that sleep at night was the most beneficial.

When Rae released his hand, Benji waited for his little guy to be called up, and felt himself relaxing a bit as the boy barreled towards him, dirt streaked on his face and hands and no shoes to be found. "Alright mate?" Benji asked, holding his hand out to give Toby a high-five.

"I'm Benji. Looks like you've been busy." The boy could remember the days when all he cared about was playing in the dirt. Even in first year, he'd gone to the younger year party without shoes - not on purpose, but because he'd forgotten them.

He looked the boy over once. As much as Benji had liked playing in the dirt as a kid, he'd also been obsessive with cleanliness and ensuring he bathed as soon as he came in from outside. His mother's neglect and lack of care around the house - and for her children - had necessitated he kept himself as clean as possible.

"Want to get cleaned up and then you can show me around?" He didn't need to be shown around, very familiar with the layout of this place. The little boy nodded and Benji pulled his wand. "Hold still then." A quick flick and an easy 'scourgify' and the boy was as clean as though he'd just come from the bath. "That's better, yeah?"

---

4

Talk with your child, introduce yourself, ask them questions about things they like. Once you decide on something to play, you must use your magic in a controlled and mindful manner. They may attempt to talk you into something dangerous, I would suggest you do not entertain such ideas. Unless you would like to have detention, with me, for the rest of your term.”

Tulip listened with a bored expression as they were given their instructions. They were playing with little kids. She'd help look after her younger sisters, surely it wasn't exactly hard. She was certain they'd be asked to do dangerous stuff, that's what kids did sometimes. Despite the border look Tulip was actually looking forward to playing with the little ones. This was more fun than book learning.

They entered the room and it was like Bedlam, Tulip couldn't help but grin, it was going to be a good lesson. One kid was ignoring the preschool teacher and seemed to be busy making his own fun by climbing stuff. The father frustrated preschool teacher spoke with that annoying sort of soft voice that those sort of people had. That was until end seemed to have enough of the boy who was climbing and yelled at him.

When I call your name, please come up front and I will introduce you to your new friend. Noah! NOAH! For the love of cupcakes GET OFF THE SHELF!”

Tulip laughed out loud. "I guess that's my kiddo" she said, clearly a lad after her own heart, she could totally relate to him.

She walked over to him "Hey Noah, wow you're super good at climbing. I'm Tulip, I've been asked to come play with you today but it looks like you've already got a cool game." she said introducing herself to the boy. She wasn't here to tell him off, clearly he wanted to climb she knew that feeling. "You know I love to climb too. I do it all the time at school, and I get told off too." she had his attention now. "You know climbing is fun, but it's difficult if you fall off. So let's do a couple of things to make it a bit safer" she said pointing her wand at a big cushion "Accio cushion" the cushion headed at her and she caught it and placed it on the floor under Noah's current shelf.

That was a bit safer at least it be fell he'd have something soft under him. "I have one more spell. But that's my safety spell. You should never climb unless you've got someone who can do this special safety spell okay." she watched him carefully, it was the opposite of the usual inattentive Tulip she was actually keeping a really close eye on the kid, Tulip just had disregard for adults, little kids and animals, she loved them. Right now she had a Winggardiun Leviosar ready should he slip she'd catch him.

---

OOC: 2

Alice looked over at her sister when Professor Blackwood did, and then back up at him, knowing that he’d say yes. But also needing the confirmation that he was okay with it.

”Only this once. If it becomes too much, we can send her back to the castle and to the hospital wing.”

Biting her lip, Alice nodded and made her way back over to Everleigh. Her sister was still on the ground. “You get to stay with me for this,” she said, her voice soft. She was hopeful that the child she had picked – the one who loved tea parties – would be easy for Everleigh to interact with.

She knelt down beside her little sister as the professor explained what they’d be doing. Using magic, but not dangerous. She thought back to the child’s preferences. A tea party. How on earth could that possibly go wrong? She honestly couldn’t think of a way.

When Professor Blackwood began leading them to the playroom, Alice helped Everleigh up and kept their hands clasped as they followed after, at the back of the group. She came to a stop along the wall, still holding her sister’s hand.

After a while, Isla was brought over to the Ravenstone sisters. Alice kept Ever’s hand in hers. “Hi, Isla,” she said, bending over a bit. “My name is Alice and this is my little sister Everleigh. I heard that you love tea parties. We do too. Wanna have one?”

It was honestly very difficult for Alice to remain focused on the child. They followed Isla over to a small wooden table that had a toy tea set on it. The two sat down while the little girl picked up the teapot and ran off. When she returned, she was walking slowly and carrying the teapot carefully.

“Oh, did you get some water? Smart idea,” Alice said as the girl set the small ceramic teapot on the table.

“Can you make it hot? With fire?” Isla asked, looking at Everleigh and Alice.

Alice raised her brow and smirked a bit, shaking her head. “Fire is dangerous. We don’t have to do something as dramatic as that. How about this? I’ll just heat it up a little bit so it’s warm like real tea. We don’t want it boiling, afterall.”

The Hufflepuff pointed her wand at the teacup and very carefully used the hot air charm to warm the water up. When tiny bubbles began showing up, she stopped.

---

4

Morgan walked with the group into the playroom, her face lighting up. She pretended to hate her baby brother, but she didn’t. If she were to catch anyone being mean to the toddler, she’d do worse than hit them with a bag of rocks.

(She was older now and more resourceful, afterall.)

A little boy approached and immediately let out a very loud ROAR!

Morgan laughed and nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry. We shall roar in a moment. I am Morgan, and you must be Finn,” she said and looked around the room.

“So what is your favorite dinosaur? Mine is the velociraptor. I heard they were really smart,” she responded as she followed Finn towards a toy area. She could see the small dinosaur figures in a bin.

“Tire-annosaurus! ‘Cause they can destroy everything and beat all the other dine-saurs!”

Morgan sat down on the floor by the bin and watched as Finn dumped out a whole collection of every type of dinosaur she had ever heard of. And some she hadn’t.

“I dunno, I think the raptor could take ‘em. They’re smaller and can move faster.”

Finn shook his head, adamant that she was wrong. “See?” he took a raptor and a t-rex, one in each hand, and then crashed them together. It proved nothing. He was wrong.

“Engorgio,” Morgan said, her wand aimed at the raptor toy. “Still think yours will win?” she asked, smirking at the boy as the raptor grew to be bigger than the other toy.

---

3

Tilly was happy she didn’t have to deal with Noah, he looked like a handful. Instead she got little Maya, who looked sweet and quiet. “Hello sweet girl, my name is Matilda, but you can call me Tilly. Would you like to play?”

The rest of the class was moving around the room, magic happening before their little eyes. Most of the kids looked excited, some looked bored, a few looked scared out of their minds. Peering down at Maya, she was afraid of what she might get.

Holding out her hand, Tilly waited for Maya to say something, but it never came. The girl was quiet and her eyes looked everywhere but at Tilly. “Come on, let's see what fun we can have.” She said, bringing Maya over to the play area. Tucked up against the wall was a small child’s size grocery counter, filled with fruit, vegetables and a small cash register.

“Oh, this looks like fun! Would you like to play shop with me?”

Looking at Maya, she got nothing. No words, no emotion, just a blank stare. “Oooookkkkk, here. Let’s take these,” she said, handing Maya a basket of play fruits. “How about you’re the shopper and I’m the worker. We can also… let me see” Tilly saw a stack of small teddy bears and waved her wand at the toys, “Accio bears.” Bringing the bears over to Maya, setting them up on the store shelf. “There, we can shop for toys as well! How does that sound?”

---

#3 was chosen for me!

Gideon walked around the playroom, watching his students interact with the young preschoolers. He was happy to see most were being creative and doing magic that wouldn’t scare the kids. The magic they were doing wasn’t ground breaking. No one would win an award for the simple things going on inside the classroom, but that was part of the point of the lesson. So much of their learning was how to do magic bigger, stronger, better. It was important to remember how to simply summon a cushion, or change the color of a shirt. Not everything needed to be extra and flashy, and with kids involved, you needed to be very careful and precise. Skills not everyone possessed.

Walking around the room, he went to each student and watched their interactions and the magic they were demonstrating.

Bear:
Watching the Ravenclaw with the young girl, Gideon smirked as she showed off her twirling abilities. He gave her an exaggerated clap when she finished her dance, then watched as Bear summoned a spinning plate, then showing little Ruby how it was done. It was truly an ingenious idea, and one Gideon thought the girl would love. Watching as Ruby took a turn on the plate, he looked on in horror as the little girl vomited all over the floor right on Bear’s shoes.

Clasping Bear on the shoulder, Gideon shook his head. “Tough luck on that one, but it’ll be a good chance to practice your cleaning spells.” A lovely caregiver came over and retrieved young Ruby, hauling her off to get cleaned up.

Rae:
Walking next over to Rae, he was shocked to find the older student working so well with the young girl. It was a pleasant surprise. Watching her interact with young Sophie brought a smile to his face, especially when Spohie reacted so positively to the magic. Not only did she love the change in color to her outfit, but knowing what Rae was capable of, she was now requesting that every color in the room be changed. Confident that she had everything under control, he moved on to the next student.

Maevie:
As Gideon came closer to Maevie and Arlo, he winced at the look the kid gave her. He was not impressed. “My brother is way better. He took a toy car once and made it a REAL care and everything. And THEN I got to drive it. Can YOU drive a car? You can't. I know you can’t. This is STUPID.”

Arlo then angrily grabbed another car and two small action toys, breaking the pieces with his little hands, red in the face and huffing mad. Gideon knelt down next to Maevie and the little boy. “Fix what you can Maevie, but if Arlo doesn’t want to play, he doesn’t have to.”

Benji:
The sound coming from the next group brought another smile to his face. Benji was working with a very muddy Toby, that was, until Benji took care of the dirt. With a nod in his direction, Gideon watched as Toby lost his mind at the magic. Impressed was an understatement. “OH MY GOODNESS, That was TOTALLY AWESOME! Can I do it? Let me do it? I’ll trade ya a biscuit. Let me try just once, pleeeeeeeeeas!” Toby was jumping up and down, wonder and desire bright in his eyes.

Tulip:
Tulip had the difficult job of working with Noah. The young boy loved to climb and was not easily impressed. He was also a manipulative little snot and loved to get one over on people. “If you were a REAL wizard you’d give me wings. I know you’re not. Why’d you even try? This is stupid. If you were good AT ALL, you’d make me bigger than a dragon! Yeah, That’s it. MAKE ME A DRAGON! RAAAWWWRRR!”

Matilda:
He heard the scream before he got to the next group. Matilda was working with a small little girl whose eyes were wide with terror. Maya was screaming at Matilda, eyes wide, mouth open, screaming to Paris and back. Hurrying over to the two, he looked down, not knowing what to do in this situation. Stepping back, he decided that the Lion was more than capable of dealing with the child. She was smart. Totally competent.

Alice/Ever:
Hurrying away from Matilda and the still screaming Maya, he noticed Alice and Everleigh. With a sigh, Gideon crossed his arms over his chest and watched. The poor Ravenclaw barely looked conscious. Her body moved, but her mind looked blank. It was heartwrenching to watch, but thankfully Alice was good with Everleigh. When the two were together, Ever seemed more herself, even just a little.

Ever sat with her sister and the young girl, while they began a traditional English tea party. While the young girl asked for fire to heat the water, he was glad to see that Alice didn’t go that route. As the little girl saw what Alice was doing, her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. “DID YOU JUST MAKE IT WARM?! You are the smartest. That was so cool! What else can you do? I like candy, can you get me candy? Like ALL THE CANDY?”

Morgan:
He heard the last group before he saw them. Morgan was having a wonderful conversation with Finn about dinosaurs and which was their favorite. What caught Gideon’s attention was not the discussion, but the scream of the small boy and how fast his little legs carried him across the room. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET AWAY FROM ME!” It seemed that little Finn was not a fan of magic. In fact, it looked like he was terrified at even the simplest charm. It might take some creative thinking for Morgan to get back in his good graces.

Clapping his hands twice, Gideon stood in the middle of the classroom turning in a slow circle to get the attention of his class and the young kids. "My Students, you have thirty more minutes to work with your students. If your first attempt wasn't a success, maybe try something new. Otherwise, keep up with the fun. If you need help, raise your hand and myself of one of the caregivers will be around to help."

---

((OOC: Thanks for your patience! Great job on your first post playing with your students. The number you chose in the last update corresponded to the reaction your little friend had to your magic. Some lucked out, others have some damage control to get in their good graces. In this update please use TWO SPELLS to impress you student (God Willing). It is up to you this round on how your student reacts. Will the scream and flee or think you are the best wizard that has ever lived. Be creative, and feel free to power play your NPC student. You can talk for them or decide their actions. If you have any questions, please let me know!))

List:
1. Takes out fake wand and starts doing their own magic, which is way better than you!
2. Meh… Just Meh. Thinks it’s just ok, asks for something CRAZY.
3. Terrified, screams, hates magic and you
4. Overly excited, loves you and the magic.
5. Quiet, shy, receptive.
6. LOUD, Loves the magic, wants more. SO MUCH MORE
7. Doesn’t matter what you do, it’s not good enough. Nothing you can do will be good enough.


NEXT UPDATE: 01/21/26