This lesson contains an Practical assignment. Please remain in character. Any out of character comments should be put behind spoiler tags!

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The charms class was instructed to meet on the quidditch pitch. "Hello students," Professor Norman said as students glanced around to see a large trampoline on the pitch. "Today we will be working with the spell Arresto Momentum. This is a charm used to slow the momentum of an object or person. Now we'll practice the charm. You say the words, Arresto momentum at your object and if done correctly the object will slow down. So... you can see, we've got a trampoline... This is a muggle jumping tool and I thought we'd have a bit of fun. So I've asked Zoe Parker , our 7th year Head Girl, to be your jumping buddy. The idea is she will be jumping on the trampoline and then you try to slow her down. If done well, then your classmate will fall slowly to the trampoline. If not well, I have mats all around for her to land on and I'll be here to help avert any injuries. But she's one of my best students so I'm sure she can prevent injuries. Let's give it a go!"

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Your assignment today Is to practice the Arresto Momentum incantation. Please remain in character! Be aware that in a real situation, not everyone would be successful in casting the spell on the first try. Any effort will be rewarded! All students who RP and stay in the rules will receive 15 House Points. Please note that Professor Norman will be observing your progress should you get stuck or have any questions. Zoe will also be available to help out. Just ping me. No, this rp does not need to be under spoiler tags. But you do need your house name on it to count.

The object of this lesson is to have your character slow Zoe jumping on the trampoline. *Don't maim or kill Zoe. If you want her to fall off or have some sort of injury, please check with me first. *Give an accounting of how successful your student was/was not at this.
*Give me more than just a few sentences. In what way was your student successful/not successful. Show at least 3 attempts. *Don't RP Zoe. I'll be happy to work with you but please don't rp her. (Saying she's jumping is fine ;) )

Aisling reluctantly stepped up. If she was going to do this, she might as well just get to it. As Zoe started to jump, Aisling pointed her wand. At this point she got extremely nervous and somewhat forgot the spell! Hoping that she would just instinctively remember once she started to speak she said, "arrectus momentum", with a ting of doubt in her mind that she'd said it right. As Zoe started to go up in the air again she moved as if there was a steep incline under her. She sort of slid backwards at an invisible forty five degree angle. But she didn't slow at all. Luckily, she'd started near the front edge of the trampoline, so when she started to fall straight down again, she just came down on the back edge of the trampoline and no harm was done.

Aisling now looked terrified to try again. But she remembered the proper words this time. Her eyebrows furrowed and she said, "arresto mōmentōsus". This time Zoe was in mid-air when Aisling said the spell. Zoe looked concerned as she could tell Aisling had said the wrong thing again. This time, though, Zoe just stopped abruptly for a moment mid-fall and then started to fall again just as suddenly as she'd stopped.

Aisling looked over her shoulder at Professor Norman. He seemed to look somewhat disappointed but encouraged Aisling to try once more, enunciating the spell so that she could hear it in her mind before trying to say it again. Aisling repeated it to Professor Norman before turning back to Zoe. After he gave her an approving nod, she turned and with a little more confidence than she'd had before, Aisling said, "arresto momentum". As Zoe touched down on the trampoline again, her jump back into the air was very much slower, showing that Aisling had properly executed the spell on her third try. Aisling smiled with relief and hoped that she wouldn't have to perform any more new spells this school day. She felt somewhat exhausted.

Aisling | Ravenclaw

Lysandra was amused. This lesson sounded like a lot of fun! Hopefully, Zoe wasn´t prone to nausea after all the classmates had a go at her!

When it was her turn, Lys stepped forward and smiled at Zoe who already looked a little bit rattled to her. When her proband started to jump, the blue-eyed witch pointed her wand at the girl intending to incantate very slowly and distinct. „Arresto…….“ Huh! Just this very moment, her Norwegian Forestcat Frida who wasn´t supposed to be at the pitch at all, dashed through the field, hunting a dry leaf which had fallen off from a nearby tree. The cat almost got caught in Lysandra´s shoelaces with one paw, distracting the young girl immensely. What was this spell again? Remember the sound! Lys tried to coax herself. Ah, it was: „Arresto fomentum!“ Lysandra exclaimed, clapping her mouth because the words came out so loud. A bowl filled to the brim with water appeared above Zoe´s head who hopped up and down, blissfully unaware. Very slowly, the bowl started to tilt, and the end of this would have been a drenched Zoe if Lys hadn´t redirected the bowl to the right side using her elven energy, then let it disappear for good with a flick of her hand. Fortunately, all students and also Professor Norman were busy with learning and teaching and nobody seemed to have caught the occurence.

Puuuh! That was a close call! Lysandra peeked at her book for a quick glance at the name of the spell. Arresto momentum! Yes, that sounded much more correct for her endeavor. The young witch gulped and renewed her attemps to master the spell. She had to admit though that the use of elven energy had drained her, like always. Would this never fade? She didn´t see her mother only flinch when using this little of energy. Years in the making, I think, Lys pondered. And also, her mother was determined and a potent magic user. „Arresto … potentum!“ Lysandra tried again, already recognizing her mistake during her incantation and now watching with horror as Zoe hovered in the air for good before Professor Norman send her jumping again with a deprecating stare in Lysandras direction.

The third time is the charm! Lysandra thought, hopefully the right one this time. Most of her classmates had some difficulties here yet they all had accomplished the task in the end. Lysandra took a deep breath, trying to recollect her yoga classes for relaxation. Tadasana! she vaguely remembered, the mountain pose, was the one to improve awareness of body and mind. Striking the pose, Lys concentrated and became slowly aware of each part of her body. It wasn´t long before her mind was engulfed in calmness and she felt a deep inner peace. Flicking her wand again and with a distinct „Arresto momentum!“ Lysandra smiled when handling the spell at last and observing Zoe falling slowly to the trampolin. Third time lucky! she rejoiced. What a remarkable coincidence we learned yoga last term, it´s even good for spellwork!

Lysandra, Ravenclaw

Outfit Not Found

Callista stepped forward. She was a bit concerned about doing this spell on Zoe after seeing how overwrought Zoe had been at the beach party, but then again, Zoe had volunteered.

Callista was a sixth-year, anyway. It wasn't like she was going to screw up.

She focused her Will as she went through the motions, but apparently, she was still in fact concerned, because it ... really didn't work. "Arresto momentum," she had said, but nothing had happened.

She scowled at her wand, feeling just a little betrayed, and glanced around the room to see if anyone was hiding laughter. Fortunately, she couldn't see anyone laughing.

Not even Zoe, though she wouldn't have blamed her!

Okay. Strike two.

Callista banished all extraneous thoughts from her mind and focused on her wand, and then on Zoe. It was going to work this time. It was going to work.

"Arresto Momentum!" she snapped, flicking her wand.

Zoe's fall did not slow.

It stopped.

Zoe was now suspended in midair.

"Sorry," Callista said to Zoe under her breath. "Didn't mean to do that--" She looked over her shoulder, then raised her hand. Wouldn't do to act embarrassed about it. "Professor Norman, I have a problem! What did I do?"

((Callista Zabini, Slytherin))

"Thank you, Professor," Callista said, glad her skin tone hid most of her blush, "but in order to practise, don't we need to un-freeze her first? And if I'm supposed to figure that out on my own, do you have any suggestions?"

She bit her lip. "Determination was probably definitely part of it. I was embarrassed that I failed the first time, and I was determined that it was going to work this time."

"Eeeeeeh...thanks," Callista finally said to both of them. Of course Finite Incantatum, why hadn't she thought of that? Oh, yeah, because she had managed to suspend one of her friends in the air and had been quietly freaking out about that. "And thanks, Professor."

At least when she failed to do something right she did it with style. "OK, Zoe, we'll see if I can duplicate the effect, and then...then we'll see if I can do the spell the way we were supposed to."

Callista concentrated while Zoe jumped. "Arresto momentum!"

Stopping her in midair was a bit trickier this time because she was thinking about what she was doing instead of thinking about it being done, but Zoe did stop after dropping an inch or so more.

"Finite incantatem," Callista said, "and thanks for your cooperation, Zoe."

Finally, satisfied that she knew what she had done, Callista took a deep breath and did the spell with slightly less determination (and without thinking about how 'arresto', being Latin-derived, actually did mean 'stop') and let the energy go with a more delicate flick of her wand, slowing Zoe's descent.

She let out a long breath. "Good. I know you're proud of me, Professor, but I wanted to make sure I could still do it both ways."

Someone giggled in the back. "Er. The spell." She glared at that someone over her shoulder, then shrugged. It had, after all, been funny. It was just a whole lot funnier now that she knew what she'd done and also how to undo it.

((Callista Zabini, Slytherin))

Toru had been standing off to the side for most of the lesson. They were extremely nervous about completing this spell. They liked Zoe and with their luck there was a chance that the spell was bound to go array for at least the first try. The Hufflepuff was always timid to try new spells, and if anything should happen to Zoe they wouldn't forgive themselves...not to mention have Jona hot at them too. Finally it was their turn to try the spell, and they hoped something would happen especially after Callie's () amazing spell.

The second year took a step forward and carefully pointed their wand at the Head Girl. "A-A-Arresto M-Momentum." Their stutter was a little heavier today with their nerves so nobody would be surprised when Zoe fell at a normal speed. They softly bit their bottom lip as they mustered up the courage to try again. Zoe gave them a small thumbs up to encourage the younger student. “A-Arresto Momentum.” Again there was hardly any show that the spell worked in even the slightest. It was extremely discouraging to say the least.

“Arresto…" Was that a cat? Just out of the corner of their eye near another student () there was definitely a black cat viciously attacking a small dried leaf. Toru quickly laced their eyes tightly since as their fear set in. They were in mid-spell and didn’t want to mess it up again. “Mo-cat-um." The second the spell was said Toru’s eyes snapped open and they put their hand to their mouth in pure shock. “O-Oh... Oh n-no…” Tears gently pricked the corners of their eyes. Not only did the spell obviously not work, but unexpectedly a pair of small fluffy cat ears appearing on the top of the Head Girl’s head.

“S-Sorry, Z-Zoe…” Toru quickly shot their hand into the air for Professor Norman’s help. “U-Uh, P-Professor!”

(OOC: Messaged Raven to torment Zoe just a bit.)

Toru | Hufflepuff

&

"Keep trying, don't give up, Toru-chan!" Callista said, although she said it in Japanese, so the first part was just one word.

Then she looked up at Zoe. "Kinda cute," she said with a grin. "But I bet it's disorienting, having four ears instead of two, especially if you hear like a cat out of the new ones."

Callista sighed heavily. Professor Norman was certainly eccentric. "Zoe...are you okay? Do you need someone else to jump for a while? I probably could, if you needed me to. I've got safety shorts on under my skirt..."

She glanced over at Lysandra.

"And Lysandra...no offence, Sabrina can be a pill too, but...do you think you could get your cat out of the way?"

She patted Toru's shoulder. "You can do it. And you will do it next time."

Toru sniffled but seemed to calm down just a tad since Zoe () wasn't furious at their mistake. Professor Norman was also amused. They moved to help the Head Girl off the trampoline since she was dizzy and all the extra noise was bound not to help. "S-Sorry again, Zoe... I-I panicked." They gave her a small weak smile once she was safely on the ground. At least she seemed to like the ears for a little bit.

Callista () offered them a few words of encouragement. The Slytherin also told the owner of the cat, Lysandra (), to perhaps shoo the feline off. It would put Toru's mind at ease without their greatest fear within eyesight. "I-I'll try again..." At least they would when they had a new jumper.

"Okay," said Callista. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right, Zoe. I'll watch out for that cat, okay Toru?"

Lysandra hadn't replied to her, but she was pretty sure she could keep a small black cat out of Toru's way given that she could control her serval (usually, anyway).

, ,

As Zoe bounces Nicola trains her wand on her. Up, down, up. Getting slightly nauseous. Better try this quick. "Arresto momentem!" Oh, too high. Is that a fly going slow-mo? Cool. Let's try again. Maybe if I bend my knees with Zoe's bounce. Bend and focus and... "Arresto mementum!" Zoe slows for a moment then is back to jumping normally. Well, it kind of worked. Need to sit. Or a bucket. Ugh.

Nicola Stromwing, Hufflepuff

Outfit Not Found Parker watched as her peers tried out the spell on one of the Head Girls. "I'm not so sure about this," she thought skeptically as the girl bounded up and down on the trampoline. "The last thing I need is to potentially maim one of the school's top students!" At least they got to be out on the Quidditch pitch for the lesson. Flying was something Parker enjoyed nearly as much as she loved swimming.

"AH-rest-OH mo-MEN-tum?" she said timidly as she cringed and pointed her wand at Zoe. Predictably not only didn't Zoe slow down or stop, she shot up to quite a height on her last bounce and managed to fall--in what Parker hoped was a somewhat comfortable position--sidelong onto a mat. The Head Girl staggered to her feet but gamely resumed jumping again. "Sorry!" Parker blushed and prayed that the mats were well-cushioned.

"With conviction!" Professor Norman advised sagely.

"ah-REST-oh MO-MEN-tum!" This time Parker tried to keep the questioning note out of her incantation, although her face was aflame from her first try. Her second attempt yielded better results. Zoe didn't fall but she remained at the same speed as she jumped and seemed to wobble very unsteadily on the way down from the poor charm. Parker had no clue how the Ravenclaw wasn't nauseated from going up and down for so long.

"ah-REST-oh mo-MEN-tum!" Parker went over the incantation a few times in her head before her final go. To her surprise and delight Zoe stopped on a dime as she was floating down. Parker beamed at Professor Norman and returned to the fray of students hanging out on the pitch, glad to have gotten the work over with. She was not ready to use her peers as guinea pigs in Charms yet, that was for sure!

Parker Lange, Slytherin [edit] You got a forum point while making a post! Check out the shop here!

Niamh's heart sank as they approached the Quidditch pitch - surely the Charms class wouldn't take place on brooms? As the Professor explained their lesson, Niamh relaxed. As long as she could keep her own feet on the ground, she'd be able to concentrate on what she was doing, and she could well get some house points for Gryffindor at the same time.

Niamh took a step forward, pointed her wand at Zoe and said "resto mentum". Much to Niamh's horror, Zoe speed up rather than slowing down, causing her bounces to get higher each time. Niamh swore under her breath, concerned that she might end up being the first prefect to injure a head girl in a charms lesson. Keeping an eye on Zoe's bouncing, Niamh took a deep (hopefully calming) breath, and tried again. She pointed her wand at Zoe, which was relatively challenging given how fast she was bouncing still, and said "arresto momentum".

Niamh was pleased to see Zoe had slowed down a little and the bounces were no longer so high. However, Zoe was still bouncing at the speed she'd started, rather than slowing down completely. With a sigh, Niamh tried again, hoping this time that she would be able to achieve the required effect. She said "arresto momentum" and pointed her wand towards Zoe... who neatly slowed down in her bouncing.

"Think I need to work on my pronunciation," Niamh said, feeling embarrassed that she'd made such a simple mistake, "or at least practise saying these spells first."

Merlin smirked when the professor explained the assignment, it was piece of cake. He learned that spell last year in a flying workshop and was sure he could make it. He waited for his turn to take place patiently, the girl Zoe was jumping quite high and fast and he wondered if most students could aim at her well. Finally he was called to try the spell on Zoe who have slowed down her jumps at this point noticing many failed to hit her. "Hello." He said to the girl before casting the spell. When he was ready he said the words. "Arresto momentum." It hit Zoe without problems and she slowly fell making her look like a giant snowflake. Merlin smiled since it reminded him of Aspen, a boy her mother adopted recently who loves snow. "Done Prof, should I try three times?" Since he wasn't sure he hit Zoe three more times until the professor asked him to move ahead.

Merlin Pendragon, Slytherin.

Sauvage shyly waved at Zoe, wondering how the girl must feel being used as the practice dummy for this lesson. She smiled encouragingly, mostly for herself than for Zoe. As Zoe began her jump, Sauvage felt a surge of confidence and whipped out her wand. But, as Zoe began to decline so too did Sauvage's confidence.

"Arresto Momentum!" She shouted. The spell worked, partly. For a moment, Zoe had stopped in mid-air, but just as quickly she continued to fall. It was almost like gravity had hiccuped. Sauvage sighed, gave a pleading look to the professor and tried twice more.

For her second try, Sauvage thought to try and calculate just how fast Zoe was going. She thought if she knew how fast Zoe was going then she could readjust it properly by knowing the exact numbers. Unfortunately, her strong suit had never been in math. As Zoe began to come down from the jump, Sauvage gave her wand a wave and was so jumbled up with numbers in her head that she mispronounced the spell: "Arrest Momtenum!" In response to the magical confusion, Zoe was thrown even harder against the trampoline and this time accompanied by what looked like small dancing pink elephants that disappeared upon impact.

For the last time, Sauvage took a deep breath and tried not to focus on Zoe falling, but instead on Zoe resting, gliding. Whether she meant it to or not, the meditation worked. Upon verbalizing the spell, Zoe was stalled in the air. It was as if the air was soft caramel, lazily bringing her down, down, down to the trampoline. Sauvage heaved a big sigh, grateful that she no longer had to play with her friend's safety for the sake of a grade. She quickly ran back to the mess of students who awaited their turns.

Sauvage Chevaux / Hufflepuff