|
|
|
last online Apr 25, 2024 5:02:45 GMT -7
|
|
|
Sept 4, 2020 2:33:44 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2020 2:33:44 GMT -7
October 2025 It was no secret that Aura was a very dedicated and ambitious student. She always submitted her homework on time, and did a thorough job of studying and preparing for exams. She knew she had big dreams and the talent to achieve them, and that almost always showed in her schoolwork. Almost being the key word, because Aura had not been a good student for the first month of her fifth year at Hogwarts. She and Silver had decided to become animagi, and all of their free time had been dedicated to accomplishing that endeavor. Aura had stopped speaking up in class, stopped attending all her extracurriculars, and spent most of her time locked up in the Room of Requirement studying the process. But the twins had finally finished the task, and now Aura was looking to clean up all the damage from her month not-being-quite-herself. That meant apologizing to her Quidditch captain on her knees and dutifully attending every practice. That meant kicking up her dedication to her prefect duties and watching out for rule-breaking. And that meant cleaning up her reputation in class and seeking extra credit opportunities. Aura had begun participating in every class again and taking her studies seriously. But she also wanted to speak to her professors individually, to look for opportunities to excel without exactly explaining why she hadn’t done so well in September. It was a tricky balance, but asking for extra credit seemed like the right way to go about it. She’d done so in just about every class, but…she’d been procrastinating doing it for DADA. Professor Zabini was, in a nutshell, intimidating. She might go so far as to say scary at times. He was an impressive wizard, and extremely strict in class. It made Aura nervous to speak to him outside of class, for fear he might uncover more than she wanted him to, but… Show no fear, she reminded herself as she hung back after class one afternoon. It had been grueling, naturally, as the fifth-years were getting ready to tackle their OWL year. But Aura was bright-eyed and finally ready to approach the professor about doing better in class. Silver knew about her plan, so he left with the rest of the students as Aura lingered to approach the teacher’s desk. She had her book bag slung over her shoulder, and she cleared her throat to prepare herself as she fidgeted with the strap. “Professor Zabini.” Good, her voice had come out nice and clear. Aura opted to get straight to the point instead of wasting precious time with ridiculous small talk. “Do you ever assign extra credit assignments for interested students?” blaise leo zabini
|
|
|
|
|
blaise leo zabini
HOGWARTS ALUM SLYTHERIN HEAD OF HOUSE DADA OCCLUMENS LEGILIMENS DUELING MASTERY ORDER OF MERLIN - SECOND CLASS
134 posts
played by Colin
|
|
last online Apr 24, 2024 5:03:03 GMT -7
HOGWARTS CAMPUS STAFF
|
|
|
Sept 23, 2020 19:23:12 GMT -7
Post by blaise leo zabini on Sept 23, 2020 19:23:12 GMT -7
▲ The fifth years weren’t a terrible bunch this year. The same couldn’t be said about the current seventh years, whom he had to drag through their classes for the last year. For whatever reason, they refused to learn. A rowdy bunch, he felt like half of them were being led by Potter and her return to Hogwarts for another year, and the rest were off doing their own thing. Normally he wouldn’t have found that to be a problem but they were a longshot from being considered decent students. And that was his NEWT level class. Complete opposite of that were his fifth years. They were more attentive (probably because they knew OWLs were this year and he had been drilling that into them the past two months), and they seemed to have a better grasp on the subjects he was presenting to them. None of it was impossible at the end of the day. It all came down to whether or not they were paying attention as a class, which the seventh years weren’t doing. With the fifth year class ending his classes for the week as well, Blaise immediately started to clean up his desk the second he let the students go. He was halfway through shifting all of his paperwork into one pile when one of them approached. One of the Du Lac twins, who were normally top tier participators and who had also been deathly quiet in class for the last few weeks. He wasn’t even going to begin to try and understand what the reason behind that was, but kids seemed to have that happen every once in a while. As far as he knew, someone else was casting tongue-tying hexes on them before each class. It really wasn’t a far flung idea. “Seems like you’ve found your voice again,” Blaise commented, still trying to push all of his papers into one pile for organization’s sake. She was asking about extra credit assignments. He could only assume that she probably figured less participation had led to a lower grade. Some professors did that, but he didn’t really care anymore. It all came down to application and repetition. Not everyone could regurgitate things back on the spot. “Occasionally. But I usually only dole that out to students that need it. Last I checked, your grades are fine. Keep it up and you’ll be taking NEWT level next year.”@aurum ● 402 ● the last great american dynasty by Taylor Swift MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 25, 2024 5:02:45 GMT -7
|
|
|
Sept 26, 2020 9:20:25 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2020 9:20:25 GMT -7
It took approximately two seconds of conversation with Professor Zabini for Aura to remember why she’d been putting it off. She had been sure the worst class to try asking for extra credit would have been Potions – because it absolutely sucked to have your cousin be both your Potions professor and your Head of House. She had a hard time viewing him in a position of authority, instead of just her unusually law-abiding cousin (compared to her other cousins, at least). And she couldn’t even imagine the reaction he must have had when he’d found out about her detentions and unusual behavior in class. But no, even with that, Professor Zabini was by far the scariest professor here. Aura flushed bright red as he commented that she’d finally found her voice again, although she kept a calm enough composure not to let out an embarrassed squeak or, really, to say anything at all. But the rest of his commentary was not what she wanted to hear – that extra credit was likely not going to happen, and that her grades were only fine. “Fine isn’t perfect,” Aura responded almost automatically. Aura wasn’t trying to be fine, or good, or even great. She was determined to be the top student in the year, and she had some serious competition both inside and outside her House. Being the best in the year would both give her a big boost in pursuing her future career plans, and also be serious bragging rights. Still, she wasn’t sure that argument would fly here, so she tried a different tack. She started again, her tone controlled as she consciously chose her words. “I’m looking forward to starting NEWT level material. But I would hate to discover a damaging limitation in my knowledge only during the actual exams.” She fidgeted with the strap of her book bag before continuing. “This isn’t my best subject and I believe extra credit would help me discover those gaps now so I have time to correct them before the OWLs. Unless you disagree, sir?” she asked carefully. She didn’t have a reputation for disrespecting her professors, but she wasn’t afraid of challenging them occasionally if she thought she could squeeze some extra knowledge or an opportunity to study advanced material out of the attempt. At least, if she wasn’t steamrolled by Professor Zabini first. blaise leo zabini
|
|
|
|
|
blaise leo zabini
HOGWARTS ALUM SLYTHERIN HEAD OF HOUSE DADA OCCLUMENS LEGILIMENS DUELING MASTERY ORDER OF MERLIN - SECOND CLASS
134 posts
played by Colin
|
|
last online Apr 24, 2024 5:03:03 GMT -7
HOGWARTS CAMPUS STAFF
|
|
|
Nov 22, 2020 13:04:53 GMT -7
Post by blaise leo zabini on Nov 22, 2020 13:04:53 GMT -7
▲ Whatever the reason for the month of vigilant silence was, Blaise could clearly see that his comment caused a reaction in the girl. He honestly didn’t care, but for being one of his best fifth year students, it had certainly stuck out. At the same time, there were plenty of instances over his last year of teaching where students came back from break and simply didn’t want to put the effort in anymore. It was understandable, and he really had no reason to pry into those sorts of things, nor did he really want to. He was a professor now, not a babysitter or magic police officer. Despite pointing out that he was completely fine with how her grades were thus far in the year (which was what, two or three graded assignments?), the Du Lac girl was quick to refute that she wasn’t okay with her grades being just ‘fine’. He didn’t want to say that she was sounding like a stereotypical Ravenclaw, since the students of that house had more going than just their book smarts and drive to learn, but she really was giving off the vibes that she was. If anything, that sort of ambition would have made her fit better in Slytherin, but who was he to tell the Sorting Hat it was wrong? Blaise leaned back in his chair and listened to the girl as she explained her reasoning behind wanting the extra credit. The good thing, which he couldn’t argue with, was that it had more to do than just having perfect grades. There was no reason he was going to be giving extra credit out to bolster already high marks. The whole idea of having over a one-hundred percent in class simply didn’t happen in his classroom. The grade range was from a Lily Potter zero, to a one-hundred. Nothing hopefully lower than, and definitely nothing over. “If you’ve followed everything I’ve taught the last two years, then you’ll have no trouble with the OWLs,” Blaise stated. He had specifically set up the lesson plans for the fourth and fifth years like this, so that they could maximize their effectiveness on the exams. With their grades higher, his reputation as a professor also went up. And really, why would he want Ministry produced exams to stump his students? In his opinion, that was a good hurdle to get his classes to jump over. Prove to the government that the OWLs were easily beatable by any manner of student. At the same time, he knew this wasn’t going to work for the girl. She had been insistent on learning more, even going as far as to say that his class wasn’t her best - which begged the question of what class was, because she did well in his. “Is there a specific topic I’ve covered that you aren’t absolutely positive on?” he asked, feeling like that was the best place to start. “Or is it something we haven’t reached yet?” There had been a few students the previous year that wanted to get a head start on lesson plans months ahead, so it only made sense if that was what she was maybe looking for in terms of extra work. @aurum ● 537 ● Marcel by Her's MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 25, 2024 5:02:45 GMT -7
|
|
|
Nov 29, 2020 9:04:23 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2020 9:04:23 GMT -7
Aura had a newfound respect for her Slytherin classmates that continued to make mischief and find themselves in less-than-legal situations with a Head of House like Professor Zabini. There were rule-breakers in every House, to be sure, but the threat of punishment could be a powerful enough deterrent if your professors were strict enough. Aura hadn’t been afraid of starting the animagus process with Silver because, well, their cousin was the Head of Ravenclaw and Aura had never been afraid of him the way some of her year-mates might be. He was just her cousin, strict, orderly, decidedly less wild than his siblings. And Aura had questioned her Transfiguration teacher, Head of House for Hufflepuff, extensively on the process of becoming an animagus. Naturally, she hadn’t told him her and her brother’s plans, but he was an extremely easygoing professor and had been open enough about answering her questions. So she could understand why there were still unorderly Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs meandering around the castle. But Professor Zabini could scare the warts off a toad and she didn’t see how any Slytherin could dare to try breaking the rules if it meant being caught and disciplined by him. She wasn’t a particularly fearful person, but Aura swallowed slightly in apprehension as the professor smoothly refuted her argument by saying if she’d followed the syllabus then she would have no problem in exams. Because, well, how exactly does one respond to that? Either she needed clarification because there was something she hadn’t understood (and that idea bothered her greatly), or because he hadn’t taught something well. And she’d rather clean Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom with her toothbrush before even insinuating that. He asked if there were specific topics she felt shaky on, and Aura nodded resolutely as she fumbled with her bag to pull out the DADA textbook she’d put away earlier. “Something of a mix between the two, sir,” she responded as she struggled to open the book to the right chapter. “I’m trying to understand the theory behind counter-spells. We mostly learn those in DADA, but they seem to come up practically all the time as well.” So it was something they’d been covering since year 1, although Aura was struggling to understand the practical implications of how counter-spells could be used in other aspects of life, especially in areas they hadn’t covered yet. The subject of counter-spells, be they charms or curses or Transfigurations, seemed to come up in every class in some form, so she knew it would be useful to thoroughly understand. In her Magical Theory class, the professor did their best to explain the theories behind the magic, how spells were and could be developed through careful calculation. But Aura hadn’t yet grasped how that could be done on-the-fly – how to know when a counter-charm versus curse was needed, for example. She finally found the chapter on counter-spells, something she’d come across while reading ahead in the book one night. “I suppose I understand the basics. Designing a spell to affect the result of another one. But…some counter-spells seem specific to certain enchantments, while others have more general applications. As in, how do some counter-charms have the ability to reverse the effects of curses, while others will only work against charms? Or some counter-jinxes can prevent jinxes, while some only undo the effects after the fact? If I’m dueling, or working in a time-sensitive situation, how do I know which type of counter-spell to use, and what effect it will ultimately have? Is there some sort of rule or system? How can one prepare for the worst if they don’t even understand the tools that are used to combat it?” The last question came out in a frustrated huff, as Aura silently berated herself for not being able to research the answer on her own. Aura had started off reciting the technical definition of a counter-spell, but the deeper she got into her questions the more it became a series of connected observations as opposed to a single clear question. And the more she talked, the deeper her brow furrowed. Was there a system to this, knowing what type of spell was needed to counteract jinxes or hexes or Transfigurations? Or was it a simple case of memorizing a sheer number of spells and which types of enchantments they could target, then practicing until they came to you naturally? And was there really any way to know if it would stop the spell from happening in the first place, or just counteract the effect afterwards? They were questions that were beyond her, but if anybody was certain to have an insight, it would be Professor Zabini. Aura was burning with more questions, but she looked hopefully at the professor for what would hopefully be a brilliant and illuminating answer. Or even better, an answer to her question and then the possibility of receiving an extra credit assignment. At the very least, she wanted to know how to practice for the class moving forward. Counter-spells sounded supremely useful, being able to use a charm or a jinx or a counter-curse to stop the worst from happening. It was one area she was determined to master. blaise leo zabini
|
|
|
|
|
blaise leo zabini
HOGWARTS ALUM SLYTHERIN HEAD OF HOUSE DADA OCCLUMENS LEGILIMENS DUELING MASTERY ORDER OF MERLIN - SECOND CLASS
134 posts
played by Colin
|
|
last online Apr 24, 2024 5:03:03 GMT -7
HOGWARTS CAMPUS STAFF
|
|
|
Dec 28, 2020 20:38:35 GMT -7
Post by blaise leo zabini on Dec 28, 2020 20:38:35 GMT -7
▲ A bit of both. Blaise wasn’t entirely surprised that it had turned out that way, and the girl absolutely unloaded her questions on him. While there was a direct question asked, it seemed like she had been overwhelmed by terminology, which he could see happening if she was trying to cram large amounts of information at once. As a fifth year, she was edging into territory that was discussed over the next two years in the higher level courses. Which she would definitely end up in. At the same time, she had figured out the great spell conundrum that magic-kind was always dealing with: there was simply too much knowledge out there. Centuries of developing and transforming magic to fit specific needs had created an overabundance of spells and charms. And for the ones that tweaked things just differently enough from another spell, there needed to be ways to correct that one as well. Personally he thought that it was ludicrous to memorize virtually every counter-jinx or counter-charm out there, but there were certainly ones worth remembering that could cover a broader range. “First off, you’re assuming the worst encounter would be something where another party is slinging a variation of spells, curses, and hexes at you. While that is possible, there are usually catch-all counter-spells and charms that can prevent any of those from occurring in the first place. Using a shield charm in a duel will stop almost anything if you make it strong enough,” Blaise explained. This was going to be a lengthy conversation if his initial response to satiate her questions. “Finite Incantatem is another quality counter-spell if you do end up getting hit, and there are plenty of variations on that depending on how strong you may need it. I would say that in general, there are general counter-spells to cover enchantments, curses, spells, and etcetera, and anything more specific than that would be entering specialized territories of knowledge.” Blaise unfortunately knew of a lot of these counters to dark curses and the likes, his years as a Hit Wizard making sure that he was always on his toes. But he liked that sort of stuff. Constant memory cramming in the off chance someone would use a specific hex against him in which he’d be prepared for. In terms of specialization, that begged another question: what exactly did the girl think she would be doing that she would need all of this for? “Because I have to ask, is this because you’re confused in general about the concept of counter-spells, or because you have a career path decided?” If it was something like Curse Breaking, then Hogwarts had two former Curse Breakers as professors currently, and they would end up being better suited to answering those questions. He didn’t have nearly enough experience with cursed objects or hexed locations as they did. Giving his initial comments more thought, Blaise decided to make an addendum, “Maybe think of counter-spells as medicine. Muggles are always developing new ways to cure certain diseases. The one they start off with might do the trick at first, but a second shot is needed. Or maybe daily pills have to be taken. Over time, they develop one shot, you get that as a baby, and you’re set for life. Some counter-spells, curses, whatever, work specifically on one thing, like shots. But then you have those broad, general spells, which work like over-the-counter painkillers.”@aurum ● 572 ● Affection by Casiio MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 25, 2024 5:02:45 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 16, 2021 9:05:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2021 9:05:50 GMT -7
Aura’s mind worked furiously to commit to memory every single detail that came out of Professor Zabini’s mouth. In her years of studying at Hogwarts, Aura had found that there was a time for reading and a time for questions. Sometimes every answer could be found in a book, and she preferred those situations – a trip to the library was all it took to clear up the confusion. But every now and then, Aura came across a challenging topic. One that got more confusing the more she read about it. Sometimes the question required an answer with multiple, nuanced components – but more often it was because the books held contradicting information and conflicted with each other. She wasn’t nearly experienced enough to guess which book might be right, in which case the next step was always to turn to the most knowledgeable professor and listen intently. Somehow, in the extremely detailed notes she’d taken on counter-spells, Aura had forgotten about Finite Incantatem. Much less something as simple as a shield charm. Professor Zabini explained that there were some spells that were designed as a catch-all, acting as a sort of wide net that could stop any number of charms or curses. Aura nodded slowly as she shut her textbook. “But is a shield charm advanced enough to stop anything more than minor hexes or jinxes? I would think that a more complex counter-spell would be needed to combat higher levels of, I don’t know, Dark magic or something.” Aura considered her last statement, and wondered if there was a flaw in her logic. It seemed clear to her that complicated forms of magic required equally complicated counter-spells to stop it. But maybe that was wrong? Maybe something simpler could be equally powerful? It frustrated Aura that she had no idea how to begin to answer that question. She shrugged slightly as Professor Zabini asked her about the intent behind her question. Fifth year was the first time that students really began to think about their future careers, and often met with their Heads of House for career advice. “I’ve decided on the Ministry, although I’m not sure yet which path is the best fit for me. I suppose I’m asking because…” Aura trailed off as she struggled to decide the best way to put it. Finally she decided to just push forward, because she would rather say something imperfect than miss the chance to ask completely. “Because I want to learn the theory now so I’ll be prepared for whatever career I end up in. There are so many kinds of spells, and dozens of possible variations and applications. And I still don’t understand how you can learn which situation calls for what kind of spell. There are just so many out there!” She repeated that last bit in a frustrated tone as she clutched her book to her chest. blaise leo zabini
|
|
|
|
|
blaise leo zabini
HOGWARTS ALUM SLYTHERIN HEAD OF HOUSE DADA OCCLUMENS LEGILIMENS DUELING MASTERY ORDER OF MERLIN - SECOND CLASS
134 posts
played by Colin
|
|
last online Apr 24, 2024 5:03:03 GMT -7
HOGWARTS CAMPUS STAFF
|
|
|
Jan 17, 2021 16:43:21 GMT -7
Post by blaise leo zabini on Jan 17, 2021 16:43:21 GMT -7
▲ He had a difficult time with not chuckling at the girl’s disbelief of how effective a shield charm could actually be. There were all sorts of situations where using just that would be sufficient enough in preventing a spell from hitting its mark. The sheer accuracy of it in stopping almost everything was enough to land easily in his number one spot of spells cast. The Hit department had made sure to nail that one down first during training. Without it, there probably wouldn’t be much left of that department. “It definitely is,” Blaise assured her. “Now, that doesn’t mean it protects against everything. The dark magic that a shield charm won’t protect against would arguably have to be dangerous for the caster as well, like fiendfyre. In that instance, fiendfyre has its own counter charm that would need to be used.” And quickly too. He disliked the use of the curse immensely, and whenever an idiot decided to cast it, a world of hurt almost always followed. There were few spells outside of the Unforgivables that he hated more, and fiendfyre was one of them. Of course, there was also a time and a place for its usage, just like any dark magic, and if push ever came to shove, Blaise had no problem using it if the situation called for it. The du Lac girl admitted that she was indeed looking into joining the Ministry after graduation. Blaise nodded his head as she went on to explain why she was so worried about learning the differences of counter spells and the likes. He understood her reasoning, as there was a point where Hogwarts tended to overload students with dozens of spells that could be applicable in all sorts of situations. Obviously his job was to show a lot of these, and then narrow them down as students got older. The average witch or wizard was never really going to have to worry about most of them after all. “Unless you’re going to attempt to enter one of the law enforcement branches, you won’t be seeing much action where any of those spells would need to be used,” he explained. “And even then, that’s why Aurors and the Hit team members train for years before going out into the field. They expect you to have a solid grasp on spells and counters, but the trainers are there to fill in all those gaps.” And that was only for those career paths. A lot of the students that didn’t have parents that worked at the Ministry seemed to not understand that most of the employees there were paper pushers and desk workers. Very few ever saw action, and even then that pool was limited. @aurum ● 454 ● Miasma by Ghost MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
last online Apr 25, 2024 5:02:45 GMT -7
|
|
|
Jan 26, 2021 8:31:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2021 8:31:01 GMT -7
Aura hugged her book to her chest as she considered Professor Zabini’s explanation about the shield charm. Obviously he knew what he was talking about, so Aura resolved to set aside some time to practice. Something she had learned quickly at Hogwarts was that not every spell was equal, and so was the same for the people casting the magic. You could have two different students cast the same charm with vastly different results. It all depended on the wand, and the student’s level of control and knowledge, and probably natural ability to some extent. Aura had been spending enough time at the library lately – it would do her some good to find extra time to actually practice the charms in the common room or an empty classroom. A shield charm was definitely something she should be able to master, if not something stronger as well. Because yeah, the odds of her coming across fiendfyre in her lifetime was low – but it’s not like Hogwarts had never seen it happen before. She said something to that effect, although she tried to lower the intensity to something more diplomatic. “Will we be learning the counter charm for fiendfyre in class? Or is that something I can learn independently?” Aura didn’t want to circle back around to the topic of extra credit right away, since Professor Zabini seemed disinclined to provide any for students not currently failing the class. But she had come here with that goal in mind, and she was determined to try one more time before leaving. It was just a matter of finding the right opening. And she was curious about his answer too, whether that information was part of the curriculum or if it could be found in the library. More relevantly, whether she would need a note from a professor to enter the Restricted Section. She just hoped he didn’t advise trying Dueling Club – Aura was busy enough with Quidditch and Prefect duties, and she didn’t have the time to add another club to her current list. His answer about Law Enforcement caused her to perk up interestedly. Aura hadn’t really decided which Ministry career to pursue yet – she was only in her 5th year, so that type of decision was a long time away. But it was worth starting a discussion early, especially with someone as experienced as Professor Zabini. The general consensus was that he had been a Hit Wizard, although the stories varied wildly from there. Some students were convinced he’d only ever had a desk job, while others swore up and down that one time he’d famously subdued a whole ring of Dark wizards at once. This seemed like a unique opportunity to dispel some of the myths. “What sort of training do Aurors and Hit Wizards have to go through?” she asked curiously. “And is there a way to start preparing early? Like…memorizing tables of spells and potions, or training simulations…” Her imagination started to run a little wild as she trailed off. blaise leo zabini
|
|
|
|