Getting up and dressed around Miss Wormwood while she works feels a bit like walking on eggshells, considering the end of last night's encounter. She's sitting at her desk, her head and all her snakes turned away from you, dressed once again in a fresh, crisp, white outfit, moving almost not at all except for a single hand working away with a quill. You figure it would be best to leave her be, to come back and thank her once things have settled down, but as you stand ready to leave the Infirmary, you realize you have no idea where anything in the castle is. You don't even know what your schedule is; you were supposed to receive it on your first morning in the school. You spend a moment hemming and hawing, staring out the doorway into the long sprawling hallways of Boarbristle, before turning to ask for help.... and find a slip of paper being held in front of you, ready to take.
"Ah, thank you, Miss Wormwood...." you say, nodding politely towards her. She still seems to be a bit cold towards you, but she sighs and takes your gratitude in stride.
"Run along, Mr. Mothwing-Marshall. Your first class is down the first set of stairs on the right, and then through the third door to the left. It starts very shortly."
You nod again. "Right! Thank you, again, Miss Wormwood." The nurse regards you once more before waving you along, and you quickly vacate the Infirmary.
You follow her instructions, repeating them in your head as you glance at the seemingly ancient decor of your new school-- First stairs on the right, third door on the left, first stairs on the right, third on the left-- and manage to stumble into the door just as the woman standing at the front of the class is clearing her throat. You glance around sheepishly, eyes passing across the other first year Beavertails, including Nadia, who lights up seeing you and nods to an empty seat next to her. With the teacher giving you a bit of an impatient look, you quickly scurry over and take your seat.
"Well, now that everyone is here..." she begins, "Welcome to your first class at Boarbristle!" She's a tall, slight woman, straight blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, a pair of blue glasses with circular lenses framing a sharp face with a warm, yet wry smile, the same as her rich blue robes frame her body. You notice she seems to have an affinity for jewelry, with a number of rings on either hand and a stunning sapphire necklace dangling just under her collarbones. "I am Ms. Aurelia Sterling, and I will be your Enchantments teacher this year." Smiling as she talks, she begins walking up and down the rows between the aisles.
"Now, enchantment is the art of attaching a magical effect to an object. Expending the energy of casting a spell once, to allow for a continuous effect that requires no further energy to provoke. This can be anything from dusters that clean on their own, to making brooms capable of flight, to wearable items," and here she holds up one hand and turns it over, displaying her rings, "that provide a multitude of minor effects so long as they are worn."
"Psst, Eric. Hey!" Nadia nudges you as Ms. Sterling has her back turned a couple rows away, continuing her lecture. "How are you feeling after last night?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," you whisper, "Miss Wor-- uh, the nurse, really helped me out, feel just good as new!" You turn away a bit, hoping Nadia doesn't note your blush.
"Oh, great! If it makes you feel any better, our prefect got chewed out over what happened; the House Head called him outside as the rest of us were headed off to bed, you should have heard it!" You grin a bit, despite the shiver at the memory; it was nice to get a little bit of vindication. However, seeing out of the corner of your eye the professor turning around, you turn your attention back to her.
"....and of course, many cursed items also come with the negative enchantment of not being removable without strong magic. But we'll cover that later in the term." She clapped her hands together, surveying the room. "But! That's enough of me blathering on. What's say we start off with a quick practical exercise?"
At the sound of her hands meeting, a pair of bowls float out from behind Ms. Sterling's desk, stopping at each individual desk. Filling each bowl are rings; nothing fancy, like the one's adorning Ms. Sterling's fingers, but plain metal bands with transparent colorless gems set on top. You pick one out of the bowl, and watch it float past your seat.
"In your texts," Ms. Sterling begins, and you blanch, realizing that you're missing much of your school supplies, until Nadia shifts hers to the edge of her seat so you can read on, "you should be able to find a list of beginner-level enchantments for objects such as this, as well as the fundamentals of attaching magical affects of material objects. If you have any difficulties, feel free to ask for assistance!"
You're a little uneasy about the instructors hands-off method for this lesson, but nonetheless you start pouring over the instructions, offering a quick smile and another thanks to Nadia for lending her book for a moment. Being from a half-magical family, you feel slightly at a disadvantage when it comes to some of the other students. You grasp the basic ideas- "focus on the visual of 'filling' a hollow space with your enchantment", you mutter as you read from the book- and choose one that looks easy enough; something that will let you change the color of the gem on command. Going over the steps in your head once more, you raise your wand to the ring and prepare to cast the enchantment.
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