Basic Charms Class 1

Jess was horrified.

Truly and utterly horrified.

Someone had stuck... with a permanent sticking charm... pieces of art all over his old classroom. It was an abomination... It wasn't that he didn't like art, quite the contrary, however this just was not his style at all, and he wanted it gone.

But that was the funny thing about permanent sticking charms... they were permanent... though Jess did have an idea of how he was going to fix the problem, that was for next lesson though. Today was just going to be a simple introduction sort of lesson, bit of a meet and greet, and Jess had the perfect class planned to do exactly that.

Standing at the head of the classroom Jess checked his pocket watch and frowned...

it was dead... drat.

But regardless, he was ready for the class to start, he'd just have to wait until they arrived in order to get things moving.

School had officially began. It was official to Julien once the routine of classes begin to sink in. Sure, the feast was supposed to be as official as one could get, but even at it, one could still allow the festive mood of the feast to still bask in a holiday mode. Only the first day of classes could pull one back into reality, that a big part of school was supposed to be about performance and grades. Julien frowned. The feast was certainly not very festive, despite the typical excitement and offerings of food and delicacies. In the Ravenclaw common room, people were going on about missing belongings. Julien was not a happy trooper either. He had almost half of the things in his trunk gone. He had gone into a b*tch fit at that, and immediately sent an owl to Grandma in France, asking for a replacement of clothes, shoes, and hair-styling products. Hopefully, the owl could make it there, and bring something substantial back.

Although clad in his Ravenclaw robes, Julien sulked as he made his way from Potions to Charms. Usually, the idea of Charms classes was enough to keep him chirpy. Today, however, he walked silently, wishing not to talk to other people. Without his hair-spray, he felt awful. There was no volume to his hair, and even the volume in his head could not make him feel happy about himself. While others socialised, he decided that he just wanted to sulk about his lost. With no conversation or anyone to hold him back, Julien found himself entering the Charms classroom, the earliest one among attendees. The professor was already in the class. Not up for a cheery greeting, Julien merely muttered a "bonjour", before trudging to a seat at the far right of the class. Ensuring that he sat at the second row instead of the first, the boy settled down and began to touch his hair, wondering if there were any spells at all to replace the function of a hair-spray.

Alex was glad to be back at Hogwarts, this year it was different, he was going to be hanging out with is new friends he had made in the train, he had made great new friends, and even though him and Sam were annoyed to each other most of the time they were ok with each other, and they accepted each other, and then Rhys, Alex thought she was cute and a fun girl to be around, he liked her, but wouldn't tell anybody, he though Lysander was pretty cool, and form Alex being a detective Alex could tell that Lysander also liked Rhys.

Alex wore his Hufflepuff Robes, he still was filled up with all the food he had eaten at the Start of Term feast, he had the other day been in the courtyard and vowed to find the person that killed his brother, and hurt Alex, then got up early, he went to his first class, Basic charms. Alex was pissed, things had been gone missing from the Hufflepuff dorm rooms and common room, Alex had losed his magnyfing glass that had been signed by the Detective Conan creator in Japan, which pissed him off, Alex had another mystery now, that B**** wouldn't know what hit him.

Alex walked into the classroom, "Hola." He said.

‘Improvised explosives’ was an old term given a new lease of life and the Slytherins had been the first to experience it that morning. Generally everything the Finnigan girl did was improvised and had some form of explosive matter involved but since the guards had hijacked her supplies and all of the semi-decent clothes she’d gone to Hogwarts with, there had been a lot more improvisation and, oddly enough, a lot more boom. That morning had seen a rather controlled explosion but a devastating one for the girls of Slytherin and any of those foolish enough to sit too near. Most of them had been drenched in pumpkin juice thanks to the jolt the potion mixture and gunpowder had made. Admittedly she’d had to turn her robes inside out to even get a pinch of the black powder but it had been worth it. Magically controlled, it wouldn’t hurt a fly unless changed to do so, and it had done the job today. It wasn’t her best attempt at mayhem but it was keeping her entertained and it definitely inconvenienced more than a few of them.

So, after shovelling a forkful of eggs into her mouth, Millie skipped out of the Great Hall and headed up the stairs to the second floor. She was having a hard time of getting there though. In fact, she was having a hard time of getting anywhere really. First years seemed to have wrongly identified her as a beacon of help and were nigh on stuck to her. She had to round up at least a dozen or so of them and give them directions to the Herbology greenhouses and Potions respectively before being able to slink away to her class. Despite the holdup though, she was still early. Millie was faced with a near-empty classroom when she first opened the door and she took a step back, wondering whether she’d gotten the right class. A quick look on the door told her she was in the right place and a glance at her watch informed her that she wasn’t dreaming but she was instead very, very early. Millie grinned despite herself and stepped over the threshold.

Leaving the door open, Millie strode down through the main aisle of desks. “Alright kids?” She exclaimed jovially, looking between the Hufflepuff and Julien; the latter of whom looked as if someone had killed his dog. Well, maybe not that sad but it was that sort of mood. “Wow...” Millie whistled lowly, her eyes dancing around the room. She snickered at the art that was stuck to the walls and was unable to keep the grin off of her face. It was a guilty grin but not one that said she’d done it - just that she knew who had and that she approved. “I love your choice of decor, Professor.” Millie said finally as she dropped her bag onto her desk of choice in the middle of the classroom. “Very unique - I love it.” Millie smirked at the Professor and paused upon realising who it was. “Oh wow...small world. Weird. Ah well. If we all avoid cacti then we’ll be fine.” And with that said, she sat down.

Keith...wasn't exactly looking forward to charms, but for once he wasn't dreading the idea of going to class.

His backpack was full of books, the hustle and bustle of school had begun in earnest, and most importantly - he was writing up his first issue of Keith's Korner. For the first time in forever. Keith was feeling very accomplished, and how better to extend that feeling than by going to class?

(Well, Keith could think of several better reasons, all off the top of his head, but who cared about that?)

Heck, he was a third year now! Maybe he wouldn't be the youngest kid in the room anymore! Keith eagerly stuck his head inside - only to realize that yet again, the room's only student occupants were fourth and fifth years.

"I swear," Keith muttered, taking his seat, "we get more fourth and fifth years every year. Are there any first or second years in this stupid school? It's like everyone but me just gets to skip ages eleven to thirteen."

Damien was later than he wanted to be, although he was not late at all for class. When he arrived, there were already students who had well settled themselves in chosen seats already. He merely nodded to the Professor who was standing in front of the class, because his eyes were darting about, eyeing the hideous pieces of art that had been put up in the classroom. This Professor had certainly gone nutters, or it was some practical joke he was playing on students. Either way, it was not a sight that agreed with Damien. Shrugging, he sneered at the scan of students in the class. There were certainly those from his Potions class, as if he did not already need to tolerate them there, he had to do the same here.

Damien's eyes landed on Millie Finnigan. As soon as they did, he ensured that he chose a seat as far away from her as possible. She had been awful to sit with in Potions class, and he could not sit through more of that. What was wrong with Gryffindor girls? Roxi and Millie were enough proof that the House was indeed what he expected them to be -- the dumps. Happy with the seeming safety of his seat at the last row in the classroom. It was a good position, too; offering a great angle to watch people if he needed some amusement away from the Charms lesson at hand.

Soon enough, Kane and Augustine halted at the entrance of the classroom, peeked in to check for Damien, before proceeding to saunter in, choosing seats near Damien. Once Damien noticed their presence, he narrowed his eyes. "Dumbasses," he muttered under his breath before rolling his eyes. They had made a fool of themselves once again, obviously. While Damien had ensured that he was neatly and properly groomed in presentation, the other two boys looked tardy and were panting with perspiration. They had obviously overslept and missed Potions, and a detention was what Damien hoped for them. Sure, they were his friends, or at least the boys he had to tolerate because they were in his Year and House, and they had been following him ever since First Year. Still, they often embarrassed him.

Despite the appearance of Kane and Augustine, Damien was glad that they came. He was getting tired of looking at the lack of Slytherins in classes. It certainly felt a lot better to be having his kind of people around. Bored, Damien ignored his friends and began to stare at the ceiling, waiting for class to commence.

Waking up with ferocious bed head was bad enough without having to deal with it being any colour it wished to turn. Though talented, the Krum Metamorphagus had little control over his subconscious utilisation of his ability. He hadn’t the foggiest what he’d been dreaming about but whatever it was must have had something to do with the fuchsia that had stained into his normally bleached locks. The braid his hair was usually in had come out during the night, thereby allowing his hair to stick out at any angle it pleased. It was not the best thing to wake up with if one was as weary and still as full from dinner from the night prior as Sevastian was. His stubbornness and pride would not and did not allow for him to get dressed and go out with cotton candy hair - instead, he bit the bullet (so to speak; thought Bludger probably would have been a better term) and went in search of the girls who would hopefully help him out. And they did.

In no time at all, Sevastian found himself sat in their room in front of the vanity that didn’t look like Hogwarts-issued furniture. He didn’t have the time to figure out how he’d gotten past the wards surrounding the girls’ rooms because he was being set upon with every piece of beauty equipment known to women. Some of them he recognised but the majority of the items they had, some in clear tubes and others in black pots, were completely foreign to him. The straightening irons he recognised almost immediately and he couldn’t help but clamp his eyes shut as he saw one of the girls take it to his hair. He despised the things and that was something else he should have considered. They looked like they were powered on magic, tweaked to survive in Hogwarts, but he wanted to know how they’d made it past the trunk inspections. A part of Sevastian did wonder why they didn’t use straightening charms but his sister’s voice danced around inside his head at that, reminding him that there was nothing better than magically-altered Muggle tools.

Before Sevastian knew it, it was all over and he was staring at a put together version of himself in the mirror. His hair had gone back to its bright blonde. He frowned at the mirror for a few moments, concentrating on his appearance, and sure enough his hair turned a coppery colour, just as he’d wanted it to. He sat back again and turned to thank the girls as his hair paled back to the blonde, only to find them giggling in the corner of the room. One of them, the girl with raven-coloured hair, pointed to the mirror again and Sevastian turned towards his appearance. He leaned forward, his hands coming to press against the vanity, and gasped when he realised what they’d done. Sevastian’s hand flew to his mouth to stifle the gasp and he blinked rapidly at his own reflection. Once again he’d been turned into Sevvy-Barbie and they’d dressed him up. He didn’t understand why the girls did it - all girls, it wasn’t just them. His sisters took great delight in kitting him out, lending his style to the feminine features he possessed.

Thankfully the make-up they’d plastered on him had been subtle - or at least, what they called subtle - and as much as Sevastian wanted to wash it off, he didn’t have the time. He had to quickly resign himself to the fact that he’d have to wear smoky eye make-up and this strange stuff on his lips that made them shinier. He couldn’t help but notice what they’d done. His eyes were a little on the dull side at times but the darkness against his pale skin had made them explode into colour he didn’t realise they could ever possess. They’d straightened his hair and pulled it up, using grips of a similar colour to his blonde to clip bits back. Some parts were left to fall forward and frame his face but the parts they’d plaited and clipped at the back were for decorative purposes. The majority of his hair was left to fall down his back in waves. He couldn’t deny that he looked, well, pretty, but he knew it was wrong to indulge in such...he didn’t even know how to describe it. At least it was subtle. That’s what mattered. He could still blend. Brilliant.

Rushing through the crowds that filled the hallways, Sevastian ran up the stairs towards the Second floor. He felt late. He felt very late. He had a feeling he probably wasn’t but he was unsettled by the amount of people in the hallways. The classroom was his safety zone and that was where he wanted to be. Miraculously his hair was not ruined by his carelessness. He was clad in his uniform, still trying to shrug on his robes and keep his bag on his shoulder as he hurried along. People were fairly used to seeing him around. They knew him as Mikhail’s-brother-that-looked-like-Mikhail’s-sister. They tolerated him because he was Mikhail’s sibling and they left him alone. There was no other reason. If it wasn’t for the elder Russian then Sevastian would have had more to worry about than his hair being askew or being late for class.

Opening the door, Sevastian bowled into the classroom without even looking to see who was inside. He shut the door behind him and whirled around, his eyes dancing from the Professor at the very top of the classroom to the students that were dotted around the classroom. Sevastian swallowed, his throat dry all of a sudden - probably from missing breakfast - and he absent-mindedly licked his lips. He paused as an unfamiliar taste tickled his taste buds and he licked his lips again. He repeated this action thrice before realising that he was tasting whatever they’d put on his lips. It was sweet like a fruit but not nearly as freshening. He couldn’t quite describe it but it tasted divine. Sevastian cleared his throat quietly and looked up at the professor, smiling brightly at the unfamiliar man before drifting over to the seats.

It was then that he spotted Julien who had been obscured by someone or something during Sevastian’s first perusal of the class. Smiling, Sevastian turned and made his way over to where the Ravenclaw was sat. He grabbed the strap of his bag, for reassurance more than anything else, and looked down at his seated friend. “Is, um, that seat taken there?” Sevastian asked gently, gesturing to the chair beside Julien. Had he been bolder and braver he would have just sat down, expecting Julien to be alright with it. He wasn’t though and he’d been brought up better than that - he knew to ask.

Jess had systematically inclined his head to each student with their entering his classroom as they had filed in one by one, pretty much ignoring all their small talk... mainly because he knew that he'd only really add the bear minimum of dronish interest to their words.

However when... well, when a girl entered his classroom, and after he had quickly checked his roll, he did have one thing to say in response to the humdrum small talk. "It's not mine," he said with a slightly pouty look, a sulky tone hanging in his voice for a few seconds before he remembered exactly where he was.

"Bugger," he muttered, shaking his head as he realised he'd probably already lost a strong aura with the students.

But then again, strong auras were boring, he'd always found... predictable, snappy, and rather over the top. It went without saying that if you wanted to spice things up, you had to act a little different to everyone else.

"Well, I suppose that enough of you gorgeous little munchkins have arrived for me to get started," he said, his voice sinking into the most condescending tone he could manage, "we can really get started in teaching you little guys and gals the basics of charm work." He said, the tone continuing but for a slight crack in his voice as he finished.

"Now, charms are magic" he said slowly, turning and writing the word 'magic' on the board, before looking back at the student, a look of mock interest appearing on his face for a split second before he burst out laughing.

"I'm only kidding," he said, his voice snapping back into its proper, normal state, albeit perhaps with a little more nerves than usual. "You're not all little munchkins, in fact, I've had reason to believe that half of you are probably... well, the words that fly about in the staff common room should remain in the staff common room..." he said, a playful smile appearing on his lips.

"And no, I will not be that teacher this year, who treats you all like you're delicate pieces of porcelain who can cope only with the most dainty of treatments. You may be the "Basic" class, per se, but that doesn't mean that what I teach you is not important. Everyone needs to start on a basework of magic, and whether it's a simply cheering charm, or some... really hard piece of magic," he said, shooting them a look which really said 'think-up-your-own-phrase,' "It has importance, because as I said, everyone starts learning what you will learn here." He told them, walking around to the front of his desk and sitting on its lip so as to get a little closer to the students.

"Now, in direct contradiction to what I was just saying, I figured that we'd, as it's the first lesson of the year, learn two charms, rather than one," he said, a broad grin stretching across his face as he flicked his wand lazily at the board, revealing a set of instructions for two different charms. Quietus and Sonorus.

"Now, I'm sure that you all know about these charms, they are used quite often, and are best used hand in hand. Sonorus is a charm used to enhance one's own voice, and is performed by pressing one's wand to their neck, like so," he said, demonstrating the movement as he explained it to the class, "tapping twice, and uttering the proper incantation," he said, shrugging subtly and doing as he had told them.

"And Quietus," he said, a deafening roar being emmitted from his mouth as the sonorus charm came into effect, "is cast identically, however with the different incantation, and with four taps," he said, quickly doing so and returning his voice to normal.

"Now," he told them, rubbing his neck with a slightly pained look on his face. "As you are only just learning the spell, I don't expect you to produce results quite as loud as my own, however whoever can perform it best will have the privellege to... er... well, hand their head out of the window," he said, gesturing around the classroom walls at the various windows which had opened themselves as he'd spoken, "and enjoy a minute or so of my own acquired deafness to share their views on... anything," he said with a devilish grin.

"If you have any questions, please ask, and if you do it wrong, just try again. You'll all, of course, be receiving house points not matter what quality your spell is, so good luck to you all," he said, eagerly awaiting the first student who shattered their voice box (Memories... ahhh) or changed the pitch of their voice entirely.

Roxi often ran late and she could not help it. It was just... so many people demanded her presence, she could not deny the public what it wanted. Oh, the curse of adoration. She bore it well, she thought, but it was something that should exuse her from occassional tardiness. She was just trying to make the world a better place was all.

Actually, her alarm had not gone off. She had not had breakfast so she was shoving Every-flavored beans in her mouth as she skidded inside the classroom. She was always great with enterances and she just so happened to enter right before the professor said "Well, I suppose that enough of you gorgeous little munchkins have arrived for me to get started."

Roxi waved a hand and said, "Oh you're too kind professor." She grinned widely at him and then took on a serious expression. "I'm sorry I'm late. I shall try to be a more exemplary example of a pupil and-" she burst into giggles, knowing she was bullsh!tting the professor. She waved a hand. "I'm sorry, professor. I'll just sit now." She swept her eyes over the class and saw Millie. She scamped off to sit next to her friend.

She listened to the professor and thought she would rather like him. Besides, he was not an old bugger like all of the others. Giggling, she leaned over and whispered to Millie, "Who's this guy again?" Ahhh... scandal. Roxi knew who to report on in the girl's bathroom.

When he released the class to try, she turned to Millie. "I think I'd be burned at the stake if I spoke any louder."

*

The next person that entered the class was someone he could care less about, if not for the snickers that Damien heard beside him. At the sight of Sevastian Krum, Kane and Augustine had began to chuckle. It had been like this ever since Merlin knows when. Damien had been less amused, although he would laugh along on days when he would be in a better mood than usual. Kane and Augustine soon stopped laughing, since Damien looked bored rather than amused. They turned their attention to Millie Finnigan instead, ogling at her as she went about doing whatever she was doing. Unlike Damien, they were more interested in girls rather than House rivalries. Still, they knew better than to let the other boy know of it.

Soon enough, and thankfully at that, the Professor began to speak. Damien offered his attention, although his mind slipped off at the unimportant beginning. The entrance of Roxi into the classroom, however, made him suck in a bit of air, and hold it there. As expected, she made a comical entrance, no less. It would have been funny to most people, but Damien forced himself into an obligatory eye-rolling. He turned to Kane, as if checking that his friends were reacting in the same way. But no. Damien smacked his friend's head hard at the sight of what he thought was lust in his eyes for Roxi. Scowling, Damien warned him. "House traitor." Of course, his friends did not know anything about his relations with Roxi, not that he wanted them to know, and not that he would like to think of what the relations were. It was ambiguous, at best.

Damien returned his attention to the Professor, although he became bored by the long introduction. He was more interested, and impatient, to get on with what was going to be taught. As soon as it was revealed, Damien rolled his eyes. What was the use of it all, really? Damien was not going to be some speaker of anything. He wanted something out of his books on the Dark Arts. But of course, he was never going to get it here, especially with the first lesson of Charms just being about Quietus and Sonorus. They sounded like trivial Charms to him, and he lost the motivation to do well for this lesson. Damien brought his wand out, and held it, but merely waited to see what others were going to do. He was not going to be an eager beaver, trying out this lame spells.