Practicing

[Fred McElroy]

Fred stared out over the lawn. He/She was wearing the girls’ uniform. His/Her blue ribbon was tied neatly around his/her neck in a bow at the back. The sun was shining. The air was warm. There was a light breeze. A few thick clouds drifted in the sky. It was nice. It was a good day to be outside. But, for Fred, it was an even better day for practice.

Fred took off his/her shoes and socks, and placed his/her Charms textbook on the ground beside him/her. Instead of practicing an actual spell, Fred decided to run him-/herself through the different wand flourishes. He/She wanted to get him-/herself more acclimated to performing the strange movements, and the wand’s size and weight. Fred wanted to be prepared when the time came to learn new spells that were beyond what he/she was currently capable of.

So, he/she practiced in silence. The wand Fred used was sixteen inches long. It is the longest kind that was fabricated at Ollivander’s. The wood that it was crafted out of, Lignum Vitae, is supposedly good for spells that protect and draw upon positive energy. This knowledge made Fred feel like a Jedi Knight. But, there was no denying, watching the young child practice, that in his/her hands the wand appeared to be a weapon. It was as though it were some sort of archaic sword that would hew through its wielder’s enemies with fantastic ease.

The look on Fred’s face was no better. It was grim and focused, expressing a dark single-mindedness that a normal eleven-year-old should not be capable of. But, here was Fred, anyway, practicing each movement. After first they were awkward. Then they were more mechanical. After practicing the same one for a bit, it came to him/her with a more organic flow that was expected. When Fred felt that he/she had the movements down properly he/she turned the page and started on the next one.

 

[Michael Anthony Carl Cullen]

Michael walked out onto the lawn feeling a little regenerated and willing to practice spells wqith his new wand. He seen a young boy about his age already practicing already and asked "Hey mind if I practice with you?"

 

[Fred McElroy]

The voice caught Fred off guard, in mid-swing he/she let out a short, high pitched scream. The wave of the wand and the sound of Fred’s voice cause something to happen. Magic condensed in a pool in front of Fred and the other student. It appeared as though Fred had created a hole into a cloudless night sky. There was nothing in except an infinite blackness and tiny points of light that resembled stars.

“Stay back,” Fred told the other student. “Anything could happen.” His/Her voice was a bit shaky.

Fred took a step forward to see if there was anything else inside. That’s when an extremely tiny hand reached out and grabbed the edge of the pool. It was smaller than the hand of a child, more like that of a baby. Fred stood there, paralyzed, not entirely sure what to do next.

After a moment the rest of creature’s body followed. It had the head of a human baby, it body was composed of many segmented baby torsos. The beast didn’t have any feet, it just moved along like a centipede on its arms. It crawled with great speed out of the pool of night. Then it stood up towering over the students in a posture that in the natural world would indicate it was ready to attack. But since this creature came from God-knows-where, what it was about to do next was anyone’s guess. Its posture may have very well meant it was ready to hug.

Fred stood there stunned. Too afraid to move. Too afraid to even react in the manner that instincts instruct the body to react. He/She just stood there, his/her mind racing, but his/her body unable to respond.

The creature opened up its mouth and let out a piercing cry, like some kind of monstrous insect. As the cry went on a seam appeared, running down the beast’s head face. The cry dissolved into a gurgle as the seam opened to reveal lively, squirming mass of tiny tentacles. At this point, anyone observing could be certain that the creature was not looking for a hug.

((As much as I love it when people make assumptions, Fred is currently dressed in a girls’ uniform. So, for all intensive purposes Fred looks unmistakably like a female. Don’t forget Fred could very well be short for Winifred. I know you’re in Gyriffindor, but don’t try any heroics. Just react. It’ll go away in the next post and, I promise you that it dealt with in a manner that won’t make you lose cool or anything. Thanks, don't mean to sound like a ****.))