Test Subject

[Clementine Pratt]

With exams coming up, Clementine decided she needed to study and practice for her classes. Except the only problem was that she felt she needed some hands-on practice; she wanted to practice the actual spells and perform them, not just do the wand movements and incantations separately. She decided to go down to the student lounge where the common room was much bigger than her houses, and sat down in the corner of the room cross-legged, practicing her own spells. But the problem was that she needed a target, since these were mostly defensive spells. After looking over her notes and making sure she knew all the proper requirements for performing them, she wanted to put them in action. Clementine stood up, brushing off any dirt from her dress, and looked around the room carefully. She decided to go to the first available person she saw and walked over to them without hesitation. "Excuse me," she said in her airy voice. "Do you think you could help me for a moment?" she asked politely.
​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus opened another book from the small pile laying on the table, putting the one he closed moments ago back on top of the others. Last year exams had been a total disaster because he chose to spent his time playing with his football outside instead, but this year he promised himself that he would keep anything related to fun back in the common room so that he could focus on the exams instead. Hogwarts was a lot of fun and his second year had proved that he was going to like it even more as the lessons were much more interesting, although with the lack of friends easily became more and more boring with each passing day. Luckily for the Gryffindor, he managed to keep himself busy over the last two years by practicing drumming and his ball skills, but now that he promised himself not to do either because of the exams Thaddeus couldn't help to feel utterly alone for the first time since that first night in the Gryffindor dormitory. He looked up from his textbook when he heard a girl's voice, his hair covering most of his face because it had grown quite a bit. Thaddeus smiled at the girl while brushing his hair out of his face. "Depends on what you need my help with." The boy said, though curious to know what he could do to help her out.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine laughed lightly at the boy's response and nodded as she said, "Fair enough." She clasped her hands behind her back standing with perfect posture and said, "I was just studying for my Defense Against the Dark Arts class and was wondering if you could help me practice some of the spells." The Hufflepuff tucked her hair behind her ear as soon as she had finished asking, smiling innocently, not exactly explaining that the boy would be her target practice. "And in return, you are totally welcome to practice on me as well," she said; it was only fair after all. It hadn't even occured to her that the boy might not be in her year or taking DADA this term. The girl was so small anyway she didn't think her spells would cause much damage anyway.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled nervously when girl told him that she needed someone she could practice spells with. He would have been OK with helping the girl study for her class but practicing spells? "I-I don't know.." he said, but glancing at the pile of books on the table made him change his mind, as spell practicing was practically studying as well - studying for a class he was going to have after Christmas break - and it was probably a lot less boring than staring at words, too. "I won't get hurt, right?" Thaddeus asked the girl. "Because I should get back to studying after that." he added while closing the book he was reading before the girl showed up. He chuckled when she said that he could practice on her as well and said, "Well I only know a few first year spells, but I guess I could practice those some more?" Thaddeus wasn't sure whether she was actually fine with him doing the same but it was at least a lot better than studying for History of Magic.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine was prepared to concede and allow the boy to continue reading his book since he seemed hesitant, but thankfully he hadn't said no completely. When he asked if he would get hurt, Clementine shrugged honestly. "I mean, they're only second year spells, how bad could they be right?" she said with a small giggle. "I think you'll still be in one piece to study after that," she laughed again. When he mentioned that he only knew a few first year spells, she realized she should probably ask a few questions about the boy to see if they could help each other out. "What house are you in? Are you a first year or second year?" she asked, trying not to sound too curious but sometimes she couldn't help herself. "I'm Clementine Pratt by the way," she added, realizing that probably should have come first, and stuck out her hand for him to shake.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus looked somewhat relieved when the girl told him that it probably would not hurt him because it were second year spells she was going to practice with him. He smiled at her giggle and pushed the chair backwards to stand up. If it wasn't going to hurt him and he could go back to studying then he didn't see why he would not help the girl out. He bent down to open his bag and grab his wand. Thaddeus looked back up at the girl when she started asking him questions. "I'm in Gryffindor," he said, "Second year." He stood up straight with his wand in his hand and gently took her hand with his free one and shook it, smiling while doing so. "I'm Teddy Miller." the boy told her and let go of her hand. Thaddeus didn't use his real name because he wanted Clementine to think that he was a cool kid rather than some nerdy boy with an awful first name. "Alright so which spell did you want to practice first?" Thaddeus then asked, curious to know the spells he was going to learn in his second semester.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled and said, "Teddy? I like that name!" so casually without any sort of filter. She led him back over to the corner of where she had been studying earlier and said, "Hmm Gryffindor second year...that means you haven't taken Defense Against the Dark Arts yet, right?" she asked, recalling that her lessons were currently taken with Ravenclaw house. She consulted her list of jinxes that they learned this semester and slowly said, "Hmm, the first one I want to practice is the knee-reversal jinx, then maybe the Ear-leeks jinx." The title of both jinxes automatically implied what the spells would do right away. She decided to leave the Stinging jinx for last until she was sure she could use 'Finite' correctly on other jinxes first. She smiled innocently on the boy hoping he wouldn't suddenly back out of helping her out once she started listing the jinxes she wanted to practice. ​

[P.S. Sorry, I'm just trying to figure out what font color looks best on both themes because I never use the default layout! ]

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus' smile grew when Clementine told him that she liked his name. ''Thank you.'' the boy said shyly and followed her to the corner of the student lounge. ''No, not yet.'' Thaddeus replied. ''But I heard that this year's much more fun than last year.'' He hoped that it was true because last year most of his classes were pretty boring, which was probably because they needed to know the basic stuff first before learning advanced magic. He listened as Clementime named some of the spells she wanted to practice, and suddenly realised that he was going to be used as a dummy. ''I-I'm sorry but the knee-reversal jinx?'' Thaddeus, who was both confused and grossed out looked from the girl in front of him to his knees and back up at the girl. ''Y-Y-You are going to do what?'' Thaddeus had never heard of the knee-reversal jinx before, but it didn't sound like something he was going to enjoy much. Clementine's innocent smile calmed the boy a bit, though he was still afraid that the spells she would practice on him would hurt. ''Just be careful, OK?'' he said.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine's smile faltered slightly when the boy began to hesitate in helping her out as soon as she said what spells she was going to try. She frowned and said, "Well yeah, how else am I supposed to practice?" as if it was the only logical explanation for performing the spells on him. However she quickly perked up again when he told her to be careful which meant he wasn't going to back out after all. "I've been practicing my 'Finite' spell too so the jinxes should only last for a little while!" she assured him. "And like I said before, you can practice on me too, it's only fair after all," she said with a small shrug. She wouldn't look forward to that part but if she was going to be practicing on him then he should be able to do the same to her. "Okay, are you ready?" she asked him, pulling out her wand. She held it in her hands delicately before saying the incantation for the Knee-reversal jinx and flicking her wand. But nothing happened. Clementine pouted and tried it again once more, flicking her wand more forcefully, but Teddy was still standing there with perfectly fine knees. "Hmpt," she said simply, consulting her notes again to make sure she had done it right. ​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus tilted his head and looked slightly confused. ''How am I supposed to practice on you if I don't know any spells?'' he said, wondering if Clementine was going to teach him the spells she learned in the Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. It would certainly be nice to have some sort of head start seeing that he thought he would be punished by professor Styx if he did any of the spells he would be learning in next semester wrong. So maybe Clementine practicing on him wouldn't be so bad after all, he would at least have an easier time writing an essay about the effects of the jinxes. When the girl asked if he was ready Thaddeus shrugged. ''I guess so?'' How was he supposed to be ready for his knees to reverse position? The Gryffindor looked at Clementine, closing his eyes when she pointed her wand at him, scared that it was going to hurt him real bad. After her second try Thaddeus opened his right eye to see if anything had happened because it didn't feel like his knees had reversed position at all. ''W-Why is it not working?'' he asked when looking back up at the girl again.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine paused and pondered his dilemma when he pointed out the problem. "You can practice the same spells as me and you'll have a headstart on them next semester!" she suggested. She even had her notes for him so he could learn them quickly, but considering how she was having difficulty with the first spell she didn't know how quickly he would catch on without proper teaching from a professor. She watched as he had his eyes closed and then slowly opened them when her spell failed twice. "I don't know!" she pouted lightly. Without warning, she tried the spell again, saying the incantation and flicking her wand and suddenly Teddy's knees were reversed making it hard for him to walk. Clementine put her hands up over her mouth as she gasped, half proud of herself and half guilty for letting him use it. She quickly said, "Finite!" and pointed her wand at him so his knees went back to normal again.

Clementine stared for a moment before she said, "Oops," flashing him the brightest, most innocent smile she could muster. She looked around thinking perhaps she should have practiced in the dueling chamber. But then she looked around at the couches with throw pillows all around the lounge and said, "Maybe we should lay some cushions down...just in case." She ran and grabbed some pillows and laid them around in a perfect circle and said, "There! Ready to go again?" She expected the boy to back out now that she had hit him with a jinx but she hoped he wouldn't, she still needed to practice the stinging jinx. "Or, you can practice on me next?" she offered. If he had a chance to hit her with the knee-reversal jinx right after then it would feel more fair than hitting him with a bunch of jinxes all at once. ​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus nodded to let Clementine know that he was up for practicing the same spells as she was because he really wanted to have that head start. ''As long as I'm not going to hurt you I'm all in.'' the Gryffindor said with a smile on his face. He didn't like the idea of hurting Clementine because he only just met her and actually liked to be in her presence because it made him forget about the loneliness the boy was feeling moments before she asked him to practice spells with her. Without any warning the girl across from him tried the spell again, successfully doing so because he felt a weird feeling in his knees all the sudden. Thaddeus looked down at his knees, ''Woah!'' was his reaction to seeing them being reversed, but before he could get a better look Clementine had turned them back normal again.

''That. Was. Awesome!'' Thaddeus said excitedly when he looked back up at the Hufflepuff again, clearly impressed by the magic she had just preformed on his knees, forgetting all about how afraid he had been moments ago. His second year was definitely going to be a lot better now that he knew what they would be learning. Because her last spell had been impressive Thaddeus was eager to see what else he would be learning in Defence Against the Dark Arts next semester. ''Ready!'' he replied, ignoring her offer as he was way too excited to see which spell she would practice on him next.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine actually giggled at Teddy's reaction, not expecting him to be so eager for her to continue. But she was glad for it nonetheless. "Okay then if you're sure..." she said with a slight warning to her voice. The knee-reversal jinx was the one of the least harmful on the list so she had a feeling Teddy would not be so eager to continue once she hit him with the other hexes she had to practice, but for now she was going to continue with the not so harmless ones. Clementine smoothed her dress down once before she picked up her wand again, ready to go. This time she said a different incantation for the Ear-leeks Jinx, which caused the target to have leeks sprout out of their ears. Her spell was successful on the first try and she put a hand up to conceal her grin but she couldn't hide it as she laughed at the sight of the Gryffindor boy. After she had finished laughing she said the 'Finite' spell so the leeks would disappear from his ears.

Clementine consulted her list of jinxes that they had learned about in DADA again and furrowed her brow. There was one more she wanted to practice before the Stinging Jinx. "Okay next one!" she declared, putting her notes down. She walked up to Teddy and positioned the cushions around him carefully in case he fell, although she didn't vocalize that. Then she walked back to her position across from him and asked, "Ready?" The Hufflepuff readied her wand again and then said, "Sorry in advance for this," then immediately said the incantation for the Trip Jinx afterward which should cause him to fall over.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled at the girl and nodded to show that he was ready for the spells to come, thinking that they would be just like the first one, harmless and fun. Clementine pointed her wand at him once again and though she managed to do the spell right at her first try, Thaddeus didn't know what she had done untill he felt leeks sprouting from his ears. He looked back up at the girl in front of him when she was laughing, wondering what was so funny about it because it was beginning to feel really uncomfortable. ''I liked the first one better,'' he said in all honesty when she made them vanish from his ears. ''Luckily no one else saw it.'' Thaddeus said with a small smile on his face to let Clementine know that he was still going to help her practice the spells. His eyes followed the girl as she put the cushions closer around him, tilting his head and wondering which spell she would do next. He nodded his head once more when she asked him if he was ready for another spell and was about to speak when he suddenly fell to the ground. ''I definitely don't like that one,'' he said rubbing his behind because it hurt from the fall.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine felt bad for subjecting Teddy to be her test dummy but she couldn't help but laugh at his reactions anyway. However, when he fell, the Hufflepuff went over to him and helped him back up. "I'm so, so sorry!" she said, feeling horrible even though she knew what would happen. "At least I know how to do it, so I don't have to do it again?" she said trying to find the silver lining. Once she had helped him out, Clementine asked, "Are you okay?" just to make sure. "You can totally practice on me now, it's only fair," she insisted. She went over to grab her list of spells and incantations, and handed them to him, "Here you can even take your pick and practice whatever you want," she said, smiling brightly at him. "I promise I won't get mad," she insisted with a small giggle.​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus smiled brightly when she approached him and helped him back up. ''It's OK, really,'' the boy said, although hoped that she would not have to practice that spell on him again anytime soon. ''I didn't break anything so it's fine.'' he told Clementine with a chuckle, reassuring the girl that he was fine. She insisted that it was his time to practice a spell on her now so Thaddeus nodded his head, not quite sure if he wanted to as he almost failed most of his classes last year and had barely paid attention on the counter spell when it was explained to them. Going down the list she handed him, Thaddeus crossed away the spells he thought she had practiced on him already in his mind, leaving only one left to practice. He put his index finger on the Stinging Jinx and looked back up at the Hufflepuff besides him. ''You haven't done this one yet,'' the Gryffindor said, ''Can I practice that one?'' Although he didn't know the spell at all, he had a feeling that it wasn't going to tickle either one of them by reading the name.

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine was relieved that Teddy wasn't too hurt and wasn't upset with her. She was glad he had decided to try a spell on her because she was beginning to feel bad for trying so many in a row on him. She waited patiently as the Gryffindor looked over the list and then looked over at which one he pointed at. Clementine was a bit surprised, and worried, but chuckled and said, "Sure," trying not to sound too uneasy. She had been holding off on trying that one on him because it seemed the most painful, but he had gone straight for it. It was only fair though and she wanted to be true to her word, so the Hufflepuff girl nodded once more and said, "Okay that's the incantation, and that's how you stop it," pointing at two different words respectively. She smiled at him brightly, having full confidence that he could do it even if he hadn't taken Defense Against the Dark Arts yet, and then went to stand opposite of him. She tucked her hair behind her ears and stood with her hands clasped in front of her and said, "Ready when you are!" bracing herself for impact.
​

 

[Thaddeus Miller]

Thaddeus looked up at Clementine to see if she was fine with him practicing that particular spell on her because it had been the last on her list for a reason. He smiled when she pointed the incantation and counter spell, and watched as she went to she spot he had been standing moments ago. Thaddeus tightened his grip on the wand in his hand and pointed it at Clementine, his hand shaking as he held it up. ''O-okay here we go,'' the boy said anxiously, hoping that he would be successful at his first try because he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her. He spoke the incantation out loud and with a flick of his wand knocked both the girl opposite of him and himself down to the ground. Realising that he had obviously failed the spell because the only stinging he felt was at the same spot on his behind Thaddeus asked, ''Are you OK?'' while getting up and walking towards Clementine. ''I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do that.''

 

[Clementine Pratt]

Clementine smiled nervously but nodded encouragingly when Teddy was preparing to perform the spell. Just as he had done the first time she had tried a jinx on him, Clementine shut her eyes closed tight out of instinct when she heard him say the incantation. Suddenly she was hit with something that pushed her back and made her fall. She mostly fell on the cushions she had placed earlier, but the impact of it caught her by surprise. "Ouuuch," she said softly as she sat on the floor, but she wasn't upset at all. She looked down at herself and realized she wasn't feeling the stinging sensation that was supposed to happen and then realized Teddy had probably not performed the spell correctly. She looked across and saw that he had fallen over too and began to laugh lightly at the whole scene. Her eyes crinkled up at him as he walked over and apologized and said, "It's okay!" She held up a hand to him, asking for help up, and carefully smoothed down her dress as she stood up. She sighed and smiled at him and said, "So, did you want to try that again?" with a small laugh.​