On a 10+, gain +1 XP and choose 1: You succeed and impress a participant or witness. Gain a FRIEND or a FAVOR.

⚃⚄ 4, 5 +2 = 11.

You succeed and impress a participant or witness. Gain a FRIEND or a FAVOR (choice: become FRIEND with Chen)

"WAIT!" Mrs. Travers says, waving a hand at the two of you with a click and snapping her fingers with a sound like a furnace kicking on. You and the Minerval girl look over to your instructor hesitantly. The older lady walks over to the table the two of you are at, pulls up a chair and sits in it in an informal sideways posture, and rests her hand on her knee, keeping her wand at the ready. "Alright girls, you may cast when ready, just keep your little contest friendly." she says in a matronly tone. "Ohh, to be young and experience that thrill of competition again, mmmm-mm!" You give your teacher a bashful grin. She's so cool. Then you move your eyes back to Albert and whisper in his ear a moment. "Do not be getting a fat head from all of this now, it isn't as though I like you or anything. I just want to defend our house's honor on principle and not see a Leontes manipulated by that kind of woman." He just nods. "Crystal clear, darling."

You stare down Chen. She's another one of those unreasonably sexy students. Her straight black hair is parted in the middle and comes down to her mid-back in a silky waterfall. She has full lips with ruby-red lipstick and her thick-framed glasses only enhance her sexy schoolgirl allure. So far as you've heard, Minerval students are all at least bisexual, and she certainly seems to be responding to your gaze - when she pulls her cherrywood wand, Chen makes sure to squeeze her ample bosom between her elbows while looking right at you. The thought crosses your mind that maybe she was making a play for your attention as much as Albert's.... but then again, as intriguing and flattering as that possibility is, you still don't trust her, especially in a class environment where she might be angling to stick Leontes with some demerits using you as a vehicle.

"Your move, Chen." you say, waggling an eyebrow at her confidently. She just gives a cute little "Aaaaah~" and leans back patiently. "You seem like such a headstrong, aggressive girl, Fran, you should go first." she says in a low voice, giving you a polite nod.

"Vermiserpentio Polyesfluff!" you cry out, making a complicated conductor-like wave and twirl of your wand. Something poofs into existence above Chen's head with a thump. "FloriolaHHHHH!" she gets a spell off but bungles the final syllable. A shower of cherry blossom petals and sweet-scented mist sprays out from Chen's wand but rather than forming a delicate wreath, the petals just end up scattering everywhere at random. The reason for that is because a sizable serpent, the size of a python, has just dropped onto Chen's shoulders. She gasps and lunges back in her seat, almost falling over and tucking her elbows in close to her chest as she gives a girlish squeal.

Some of the students around you gasp in fright and lurch backwards as well. But Albert, sitting behind you, just starts chuckling incorrigibly. You give Chen a goofy smile and a wink as well. The asian Minerval blinks, adjusts her glasses, and finally dares to move, grabbing the thick serpent laying on her by the neck to toss it off... and hearing a funny little squeak as she squeezes it. Looking down, she notices that the oversized snake is actually a plush toy made of cloth and fluff, with little black marbles for eyes and a simple red ribbon poking out of its mouth for a tongue.

"Ah... ahahahahahha! Oh that's just..." Albert starts laughing into his hands. "Why... why does that spell even exist?? Hahahaa!" Some of the other students join in on the giggling as well. Suddenly feeling sorry for Chen, you decide not to rub it in, and pick up a few of the cherry petals, putting a couple in your mouth and making a show of tasting them. "Mmm! Well, yours certainly tastes better. I think I might have to get you to teach me that spell, Miss Chen. Shall we call it a tie?" you ask sweetly.

Chen blushes and, wanting to keep the appearance of cool, picks up the plush snake you conjured and gives it a hug, producing another funny squeak. "Only if you give me a long-lasting version of this little guy for my bed, Franziska, it's actually pretty adorable."

Mrs. Travers applauds with a clanking sound and gives a celebratory whistle. "Very well done ladies, both of you! Excellent form and volume on those spells! You see, students; competition is the spice of life and the best fuel for your magic! Here, Miss Chen - since there's an odd number of students, why don't you trio-up with Sandy and Millicent over there?" she pointed to a couple of Beavertail girls who were typically inseperable. "I'll assign the three of you something that plays to your strengths. Now... into your groups and get busy, ladies and gentlemen!"

Although that silly stuffed animal spell took more out of you than you thought, you still perform excellently during the practice portion of the class. Albert showers you with compliments about your magical technique all the while, showing himself to be quite a smooth talker in his own right. But as much as his hard-won attention makes you blush, you find yourself giving little waves back and forth with Chen across the room, as well.

Him having a bit of trouble getting live animals to appear gives you a time-tested opening that all students tend to look for when practicing with someone you fancy; while Albert sits down, you stand behind him and put your chest against his back, putting your arms up against his to guide his motions as you show him the finer details of the casting motion. He seems to like it, but then again, he is a mercurial sort... you aren't completely certain how he feels. The good news is that he has a talent for conjuration too, and the two of you perform well enough on your practical demonstration that Mrs. Travers awards your house some merits. Chen does quite well with her new partners too, and even seems to be hitting it off with one of them. As a 'thank you for the help', you cast one last little minor spell and conjure a little wooden heart and hand it off to him.

As the class comes to a close, your heart swells with pride again. "Social awkwardness 1 point, Franziska two points... no, three." you whisper to yourself. Chen wanders over as students start to clear out at period's end and shakes your hand... she says that she's been wanting to get to know some more Leontes students and she'd love if you could attend a little girls-only picnic she and a couple other Minervals are organizing in a couple of days. You think for a moment, then nod enthusiastically - she really is charming, and you couldn't really imagine saying no. She puts her hands behind her back and bends down to give you a little kiss on the cheek, making you blush and cock your head bashfully. "Ah," Chen says, the other two Leontes girls starting to lead her off, talking about after-school plans. "I'm sure you've got plans too for this evening," she looks over at the silly boy who started all this with a wink and sticks the tip of her tongue out cutely. "So, see you Thurs. Don't get in too much trouble in the meantime, Miss Snake-charmer, teeheee!"

You walk out, and as soon as you're out the door, Albert chivalrously offers to carry your books back to the dorm for you. "I know I said so already," he says excitably, "but that was some stonking brilliant witchery there, Franziska. How did I never make your acquaintance last year?" You smile up at him. "Oh, I just transferred in...." he raises his eyebrows with interest. "Oh ho ho," he says with a flirty roll of his voice, "a classy foreign lady, of course! Hope you don't take it the wrong way but your accent is really cute." He puts a hand on the back of his neck. "Um... a couple of my mates were tryin' to get me to tag along to some book club or another this evening, but... feh! They can wait, eh? You want to, ah, go have a friendly game of wizard's chess or something before supper rolls around?"

Playing it cool, you look over to your side and purse your lips as if mentally checking a busy schedule. "I suppose I might be able to fit that in," you say coyly, offering him your hand. Like most male students he's about a head taller than you. Of average build, he's not exactly a fantasy prince or anything - his ears and nose are just a bit too large for his face and give him a slightly goofy, awkward look. But he's charming in his own way, you think you wouldn't mind making some time with him. Especially since all your interaction with pretty little Chen has got you hot and bothered.

"Well," you say to him, "Too late to back out now - you can't really deny this is a date you are taking me out on, yeah?" He raises his eyebrows and chuckles with good humor. "Pfah! Blundered right into the snare didn't I? Well, I suppose the gentlemanly thing to do is follow through - where'd you like to go?"

You have 3 XP.

Likely options:

• The Garden of Delights, always a popular choice.
• The Leontes house spell-practice rooms, to show off some more.
• Boating on the Chilly Tarn for some nice scenery.
• Take him to the dining hall and try and introduce him to some of your first-year acquaintances before sharing a meal.