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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 27, 2024 19:55:51 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Jul 26, 2017 13:52:43 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Jul 26, 2017 13:52:43 GMT -7
@poet This all made sense. Grey was sure that there plenty of animagi that were there that became one in the first place just because they could, or because it was the highest level of transfiguration available. But having a practical reason to use it made it that much better. He couldn’t see how being able to turn into a dog was beneficial aside from doing recon or getting around undetected. Maybe that was just how he viewed Poe though, since he was an auror. Turning into crow obviously would allow for faster travel at short distances, as well as blending in splendidly in cityscapes. Birds were more auspicious for reconnaissance than dogs were as well. He had seen animal control be relentless before. “That’s a pretty good reason then,” he nodded his head, still taking all of it in. He hadn’t been aware that a patronus could be utilized by that kind of emotion or memory; most of the time he used whatever the most recent thing that made him smile was. That was what happened a few minutes ago, and usually how it went in class. “I think being able to blend in and be highly mobile is what I’m going for…” And a crow was perfect for that. Having the ability to disappear into a murder of crows sounded fun, and highly effective for a job.
Grey frowned slightly when Poe said he didn’t know any bird animagi. It probably didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, since the process of becoming an animagus was the same for all of them. And he knew how to fly on a broom already, so turning and riding with the wind couldn’t be that hard either. Or could it? Those were the kinds of questions he wanted to ask. Once he got the transformation down pat, then he would get to the flying part of it. “Could you? I mean, as long as that’s legal.” That thought hadn’t crossed his mind. He figured there were quite a few animagi amidst the aurors. It seemed to be an incredibly useful ability, and that passing it up would be silly. “So what’s the first step in all of this? Meditation? Putting that thing under my tongue for a month?”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 3:14:06 GMT -7
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Jul 29, 2017 18:24:55 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 18:24:55 GMT -7
Grey accepted his reasoning for being a dog, and Poe wondered if the Gryffindor actually agreed with what the Auror had said, or just wanted the conversation to move on. Poe was happy to move on if that was what the boy wanted, so he kept his comments on a crow being able to blend in to a minimum. “The only bad thing I can see about it is that some consider crows omens of bad luck, and want to avoid them.” Poe had gotten mixed up with the superstitious type before, and if they believed that a crow was following them, then Grey would have bigger problems than blending in… namely, that it was much, much easier to attack a crow than it was to attack a dog. Dogs at least had teeth – the only thing a bird could do when backed into a corner was fly or peck – and Poe had honestly never seen a bird peck someone hard enough to make the person let go if they really wanted to hold on. He couldn’t argue with the mobility bit, though. If Grey was willing to learn how to fly, then it definitely was going to be easier to move around as a crow than as a human.
Poe nodded when Grey asked if he could look for some bird Animagi. “They don’t make Animagi register so that no one can look at the list.” The Auror said with a little bit of a chuckle. “I can’t promise that it’ll be quick, since there is paperwork to be done, nor can I promise that the Animagi I do find will want anything to do with you, but I can do some digging.” Poe promised, smirking a little at the fact that he was a dog, doing some digging – but the useful kind of digging, not the kind that made people roll their eyes. “Meditation is definitely a good way to start.” Poe said when Grey asked what the first step was. “If you’re familiar with the concept behind Occlumency, it’s kind of similar. You want to get in touch with your innermost self so that you don’t lose that when you change into an animal.” The best part about being an Animagus, of course, was retaining a human brain while inside an animal’s body, so knowing what a human brain felt like was a good first step.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 27, 2024 19:55:51 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 4, 2017 15:45:15 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Aug 4, 2017 15:45:15 GMT -7
@poet “People actually believe in that kind of stuff?” he asked. He had never contemplated the fact that people weren’t fans of crows. “Sounds like they don’t get out much. Not like that would surprise anyone, I think.” All that superstitious talk never really meant anything to him. Seeing was believing. Though he had come to realize that magic could practically do anything, so the possibility of crows being bad luck could be real. In a funny way, with him being one and hunting down criminals in his bird form would be bad luck for them. Poe didn’t say anything about the other reasons he had brought up, so Grey figured that meant he was correct about mobility being key. Aside from that, bring a crow sounded fun to him, and he had always enjoyed watching them fly around when he could. They were highly intelligent creatures, and a human pretending one could probably easily pull it off. Curiosity apparently killed the cat, but Grey wasn’t going to be a cat, and last he checked, nobody ever thought a crow hopping around was suspicious.
The information about the Animagi registrar was relatively interesting though. He recalled learning about it when the topic was covered in Transfiguration, but Poe explaining it made it easier to understand. Being an auror, it was probably easier to check the list than if the Gryffindor walked into the office and asked to see it. Still, paperwork meant some people didn’t want to be known about, and in the wrong hands could cause problems. “No rush on it. I think I have a little while before that part comes in.” More like a long time. He was sure that there was no guarantee on the time frame that becoming an animagus would take. Some books said some things, others said other things. If he was a natural at it, which he hoped he was, it wouldn’t take nearly as long of a time to accomplish and perfect. He nodded his head as Poe said that meditation was a good start to it. “Innermost self?” he repeated. The part of not losing himself when turning into an animal made sense. “Is that something only I know?”
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last online Mar 28, 2024 3:14:06 GMT -7
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Aug 4, 2017 18:54:18 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2017 18:54:18 GMT -7
Poe had to hide a laugh inside of a cough when Grey asked if people actually believed that crows were omens of bad luck. He also thought it was rather ridiculous, but openly making fun of other people wasn’t something that Poe ever aspired to do. Instead, he decided to take a slightly more moderate approach. “Some people will believe anything someone with a Sonorus charm tells them.” Poe responded to the question. “You know how wizards can be. We have people who can see the future and read minds. To some, it’s not that great of a leap that certain animals or symbols can portend danger and doom.” He said with a shrug. He definitely didn’t agree with the people that saw omens in everything, but if Poe put down everyone who disagreed with him, then he wouldn’t have many people who liked him. Poe liked being liked.
Grey said that there was no rush on finding a bird on the registry, and Poe nodded. If there was a rush on the thing, then he’d be able to apply a couple of creative measures to expedite the process, but it was always better to do things the simplest way, if at all possible. It was funny, Poe thought, that the more convoluted pathways could somehow end up being quicker. Grey was right in saying that it would probably take him a while to figure out how to become an Animagus, let alone how to hold his form long enough to attempt flight, but who knew? Maybe one of the bird Animagi could give him tips on how to find his form more quickly than Poe could. Grey repeated Poe’s comment about the innermost self, and the man nodded, trying to decipher whether or not the Gryffindor was scoffing at the idea. It seemed like he was genuine, which was good, Poe supposed. “It’s possible that other people know who it is, too. But only the people that know you, not some construct of yourself.” Poe paused. “I wouldn’t recommend asking your family, since they have expectations of you. But friends, more than friends…” He paused again, wondering if Grey would realize that he was fishing for answers again. “They may be helpful in that front.” Poe finished.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 27, 2024 19:55:51 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 17, 2017 19:27:41 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Aug 17, 2017 19:27:41 GMT -7
@poet Grey acknowledged Poe’s points with a nod of his head. Those were all valid points. He had never seen these so called Sonorus charm preachers before, but history of magic said otherwise. Surprisingly, he always managed to stay awake in the parts about civil unrest. Having aspirations to be both an auror and a journalist meant that those kinds of things peaked his interest. Troll wars were a different animal though. Binns was horrid at keeping anyone awake during those lectures. “That makes sense…I guess. I’m kind of interested in running into one of these people now. After I can transform though. See what happens.” As long as he got out of it unscathed. Poe made some of these individuals sound as if they were radicalized enough that they would take their aggression out on any and every crow they say. It was a scary thought, though still better than being picked up by a dog warden.
All this talk about inner selves was a lot more convoluted than he had initially thought. It made sense; that much he was sure of. The part that got confusing was that other people could know what his inner self was, and seeing that he currently had no idea what that was exactly, that meant he’d need to look for help. Which is exactly what Poe voiced as the Gryffindor thought all of it over. Grey knew he couldn’t ask his family for that; Addi would be biased on the positive side of things, and Claire the other. Then his parents…they would spout off their expectations again. As for friends and more than friends, as Poe put it, that was a good question. “I never expected it to be easy,” he pointed out. “I’m sure there are a few people that can help in that though.” Putting all of that into a question that didn’t sound like he was crazy would be difficult at first.
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last online Mar 28, 2024 3:14:06 GMT -7
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Aug 19, 2017 12:48:34 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2017 12:48:34 GMT -7
Poe chuckled when Grey said that he was interesting in meeting a superstitious person after mastering his Animagus form. If his own form could be used for terror of some sort, Poe probably wouldn’t actually use it for that purpose, but it was still fun to think about a crow circling around someone who believe them bad luck just because Grey decided to cause some mischief. “I’m sure it would turn out amazingly.” Poe said, his tone implying that he expected the exact opposite to happen. “Just don’t get killed by someone who wants to turn you into a stew or something to reverse the bad luck.” Poe wasn’t sure if that was actually a think – making a crow into a soup to reverse the bad luck – but some people would do just about anything to minimize the chances that they had ill fortune, so who knew.
“As long as there’s one or two, you shouldn’t have a problem.” Poe said. “You don’t need half the world weighing in on who you really are.” In fact, it might be better to have fewer opinions, as long as those opinions were from people who actually knew the real Grey. Poe glanced down at his watch – it was about time that he got going. “No time like the present to start practicing.” Poe said. “I’ve got to go back to the castle, but maybe try meditating a while before you go back.” Poe didn’t want to push any more of the ‘finding your inner self’ stuff, so he just left it at that, raising a hand in farewell before beginning the long journey back to the castle to tell the Aurors patrolling that he was leaving.
grey xavier slater
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grey xavier slater
HOGWARTS ALUM DAILY PROPHET QUIDDITCH REPORTER
688 posts
played by Colin
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last online Mar 27, 2024 19:55:51 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 19, 2017 16:09:07 GMT -7
Post by grey xavier slater on Aug 19, 2017 16:09:07 GMT -7
@poet Crow stew? People did that? Grey grimaced at the thought of it. “I thought those were just muggle depictions of witches. You know, like Salem and all that.” It was interesting to think the muggle interpretation of their kind. They didn’t even know, and yet they kind of did. History talked about witch-trials, and how they were wildly unsuccessful in killing any magical folk. A little tomfoolery and advanced spell casting allowed them to get away with a lot. He wasn’t sure how many muggles still believed in witchcraft, but they sounded as equally terrifying as his own superstitious kind. “I’ll wait until I have it fully figured out. That way I can get away if it turns ugly,” he reassured Poe. The Gryffindor didn’t know why he felt like he had to do that, but he figured it would seem more serious that way. Starting off lessons by saying he was going to get into potential trouble wasn’t exactly a smart idea. Learning to become an animagus was to better his chances in the auror department, and to be a bigger asset to them. It would also prove that he wasn’t the same as Claire, and just following in her footsteps. Finding one or two people to help out wouldn’t be too difficult. That kept the whole thing personal, and he wouldn’t have to go around telling everyone his intentions. This was going to be one of his secrets. The less people that knew, the better. Just like the love-potion incident. Grey nodded his head as his new mentor pointed out that he had to go, and that starting on the meditation wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Thanks,” Grey waved as the auror headed up towards the castle. Now it was time to officially start. Finding this inner self concept felt daunting. Then again, this wasn’t supposed to be an easy task. As for meditation? That was basically like sleeping except not. Getting relaxed and delving into thoughts was probably easy. Confident in his new teachings, Grey headed off into a remote corner of the grounds to figure out how to meditate properly. [THE END]
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