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Post by katsurouakiyama on Mar 24, 2011 14:23:46 GMT 1
This was tricky.
It wasn't that Kat was completely inapt at magic (even if the Hufflepuff seemed to suffer from the prejudice that their heart was greater than their talent), it was the language that bothered him. Some might think that magic was a universal thing, and in a way, it was. Magic, in essence, operated on the same levels of energy in almost all witches and wizards, but it was practised very differently in different countries when it came to the physical.
Japan, originally, did not work with wands as much as Britain seemed to do, favouring air kalligraphy over wand movements and spoken words. That had been in ancient times, though, in the medieval years, and by now oral spellwork was also used, but the culture shock was still immense for Kat. Oral spellwork, sure, but British spells were, mostly, based on Latin or (as they also had spells that could be lead back to a medieval past) Celtic languages - languages, in short, that Kat was not so very familiar with.
That meant.. he knew how to do the assignment they were supposed to complete before the end of class (namely charming a table to set itself for breakfast), but he was only familiar with the Japanese spell, not at all the British one, and he kept mispronouncing it.
So far, his table had fallen over, gotten harmonica-legs, a tablecloth had wrapped itself around the chairs, but he couldn't manage it, and it was frustrating him - because he knew he could do it and now he looked like a bumbling idiot.
MacGonagall stopped next to his table. "Are you managing, mr. Akiyama?" Kat, frowning intensely, annoyed with himself. "Yes, yes!" he snapped slightly, casting the Japanese spell and managing in one go. "Only not in British." MacGonagall seemed to be able to overlook his snappish use of language, especially as Katsurou had been perfectly polite to her ever since he'd arrived - even she could see it was frustration talking, and not Katsurou.
"Maybe we ought to pair you up with someone," she suggested, looking around the classroom for a moment. It didn't seem like a bad idea to Kat, especially as he'd heard that the class was taught in pairs in lower years and that the individual approach was only applied in Advanced Charms.
He was distracted from his musings when MacGonagall beckoned over another student. "You, come here a moment, please."
[Open to everyone, w00p? You don't have to be the person to walk over necessarily, you can also be another random class mate, anything goes! :3]
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Post by Annelise Westerhof on Mar 24, 2011 23:50:56 GMT 1
Annelise may not be good at many subjects, but Transfiguration wasn't one that she found overly difficult. Then again, she wasn't top of the class either. It took Annelise a few tries - and help from Remus - in order to get the spell work. Unfortunately, McGonagall took that exact opportunity to look over. Annelise always had the suspicion that she wasn't too crazy about the partnering-up to take place with those of separate Houses. It was almost like she was worried that if the one partner had issues, they couldn't have their partner in their common room to try to help them. However, as Remus was technically sitting with his friends and Annelise was working on the table in front of her, it appeared almost as if she was working by herself.
Annelise found herself being beckoned over before she even realized that she had successfully completed the spell. She frowned, as she was being forced to go over to a boy she had rarely spoken to before, and really, she had to admit she didn't even know his name. She smiled to Remus while she mouthed the word 'thanks' before doing as she was told. She wandered over innocently.
"Yes, Professor?" Annelise said, simply. She glanced at the boy, trying hard to remember his name. She knew she had put his name in her journal of people, events and attitudes, but since the name was obviously of Oriental descent, she couldn't remember what exactly it was, nor how to pronounce it. She tried her best to remember in case it came up, and she didn't want to seem rude.
"Mr Akiyama is having a difficult time with the proper translation of the spell, and I was hoping that you could assist him," McGonagall stated. When Annelise returned a blank look, McGonagall continued with, "If you please."
McGonagall then took to walk around Annelise, leaving her along with the boy. Annelise racked her brain for the first name, but nothing was coming to mind. Instead, she worked with, "I'm Annelise."
She accompanied this statement with a small wave, and immediately felt stupid. For all she knew, he may very well have known who she was. She had assumed if she had introduced herself, he would do the same. Annelise was unsure of whether to sit or stand so she took to standing. She didn't allow him much time to reply, as she almost instantly began to try to help him.
"Um, well, I'm not sure exactly what you're having issues with," Annelise said. She looked over her shoulder back at Remus and frowned. Usually he was the tutor. Not once had she ever been told to help someone else out. "The spell is..." she paused to do the necessary wand movements, "Paro ipsum!"
Luckily, it actually worked. Annelise smiled, happy that her spell worked yet again. She looked back at the boy. "Maybe you try this time?"
Annelise was honestly not sure what else to do.
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Post by katsurouakiyama on Mar 25, 2011 8:20:19 GMT 1
Remus thought Annelise had been doing pretty well, yet was a little surprised when MacGonagall asked her to come over and assist one of her housemates. On the other hand, being on the teaching-end of the situation would probably boost her confidence, he thought, and as he focused on his own table he tried to ignore the slight sting of jealousy he felt at her helping another boy - a better-looking one at that.
Kat smiled at Annelise a little, raising a hand in greeting, and trying to stop being frustrated with himself. He'd seen her around the common room a few times, but they hadn't exactly been introduced. Still - never a bad time to make new friends, right?
Still, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed as the teacher told her what the problem was. Translation-issues. That sounded rather stupid. He knew he wasn't stupid, but this sure made him feel like it. The girl McGonagall had beckoned over seemed a little confused by the whole ordeal, but she seemed nice enough.
"I'm Annelise." Katsurou smiled. Introductions were always a good way to start. He extended a hand. "I'm Katsurou - just call me Kat," he replied with a smile.
"Um, well, I'm not sure exactly what you're having issues with.." She seemed to hesitate and glanced over her shoulder but Kat wasn't sure at what or who exactly. He didn't think too much of it, though, because she moved to demonstrate the spell and it worked pretty well. "Maybe you try this time?" He nodded a little, trying to copy her wand movements, but so focused on them that he put the verbal stress in the spell all wrong.
The table rotated forty-five degrees and cups appeared on the chair's seats. He chuckled nervously. "Sorry.. I know the Japanese charm, but McGonagall made it rather clear that that would not be accepted in the exam. Don't know why, but I suppose I'll just have to learn yours.."
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Post by Annelise Westerhof on Mar 27, 2011 16:24:00 GMT 1
Annelise couldn't deny that this boy seemed friendly enough - he waved when she came over and even smiled. He definitely resembled a Hufflepuff-stereotype... but then again, so did she. She couldn't help but grin back, happy that he wasn't one of those guys who were just going to be short with her. It seemed like Hogwarts was filled with that type. It seemed like the rude guys were in every House - and yes, including the odd Hufflepuff. It was almost like they thought that it was cool to be rude, and thought it would make them attractive to girls. Annelise didn't see it. She knew what she liked, and what she liked was nice guys. She yet again looked over shoulder fondly at Remus without even meaning to. All she knew was that she was happy that they were back on friendly terms and that they were speaking and spending time together.
"Kat," Annelise repeated. Yes, her mind automatically jumped back to her notebook. She knew she didn't have much about him in there. Lately, she had even begun to forget about her notebook as she was so wrapped up in her personal affairs. "Well, that's easy enough," she admitted, happily.
Annelise watched as Kat did it, and then cups appeared on the chairs and such.
"Well, it wasn't that bad," Annelise claimed with a smile, hoping that she would make him feel a little bad. "I mean, at least it did something."
Annelise cleared the table (much to her own pleasure - she had only been able to properly clear it a handful of times before) and then turned back to Kat expectantly.
"Well, I think maybe you put too much pronunciation on the 'ipsum.' It's more defined on 'paro.' It's like... PARO ipSUM.... do you know what I mean?" she could feel herself getting flustered, as she had never been very good at playing the 'tutor.' She was also hoping that she wasn't coming off as bossy, or anything of the sort. She didn't want to say 'try again' as she felt like that would be pushy, and instead looked at him expectantly.
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Post by katsurouakiyama on Mar 30, 2011 19:57:27 GMT 1
Ending up in Hufflepuff house was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to Kat. He was a friendly person by nature, it was his primary personality trait - the sorting hat had chosen wisely. Katsurou wasn't incredibly studious (studious enough to pass his classes well enough, but it wasn't his top priority), he wasn't terribly courageous or reckless, and if there was anything he hated it was getting ahead by kicking others down.
He was glad he was paired up with someone from his house, because he hadn't met everyone yet, and the downside about enrolling in sixth year was that there were already cliques and groups - it wasn't easy to get in established groups of friends, even if Hufflepuffs tended to be more open than most other students.
"Well, it wasn't that bad, I mean, at least it did something." She smiled at him and Kat, who often found that smiles were contagious, smiled back, despite his failure. "I suppose, but it's still not sufficient to pass the class," he replied with an apologetic smile.
He was glad she had an idea of what he'd done wrong - because he didn't! Kat couldn't quite hear it, not used enough to English spellcasting just yet. "PARA ipSUM," he repeated after her, muttering it under his breath a few times. "PARA ipSUM, PARA ipSUM, PARA ipSUM.."
He continued to mutter it, then suddenly raised his voice and added the wand movements required. The table moved back from the sheer shock for a moment, but ended up as Kat meant it to. Well.. almost. The table was set, alright, but some of the cups were on their sides, some of the cutlery out of place. The spell had worked, but was still just a tad uncontrolled. Kat didn't care though - he was just glad he'd done it at all.
Turning towards Annelise, he hugged her without really thinking. What did you expect? Firstly, this was the first English more complex charm he'd managed to do marginally successfully, plus he was a dancer, he was a physical sort of person.
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Post by Annelise Westerhof on Apr 8, 2011 22:21:00 GMT 1
Annelise was fairly relieved when Kat smiled back at her. It was amazing how many people there really were at Hogwarts who just weren’t nice at all anymore. They all seemed to think that being moody and miserable was a lot more fun than actually trying to make friends. Not only this, even the nice people seemed to only be nice to their friends... it was almost like they were completely content in being in their own little group of friends and never ever reaching out to others. Luckily, Annelise wasn’t like that. Then again, she didn’t really have friends to start with. She had been best friends with her younger brother (who was murdered in her last school year), and the closest thing she had to a friend was Remus, who was more than a friend really. It wasn’t even like she was friends with Remus’ friend: she couldn’t help but feel jealous about Lena, and his other friends weren’t really her ‘type.’ Not that she was one to judge. Admittedly, however, Peter did sort of weird her out. He was nice and all, there was just something about the way he looked at people.
“Well, no, I don’t think just because it did something will earn you the credit for this class,” Annelise admitted, sympathetically. She knew exactly how Kat felt, because in too many classes before, Annelise had been the one who struggled. Unfortunately, it wasn’t due to language barriers. She didn’t vocalize any of this, however, knowing it probably wouldn’t make Kat any more comfortable with her trying to help him.
Annelise watched as Kat attempted the pronunciation a few times before trying. When he did attempt it, she honestly didn’t think it was going to work again. She wasn’t trying to be pessimistic, but he still had a bit of an accent to his voice, and therefore she wasn’t exactly sure of how it was going to work. Luckily, however, the table ended up mostly right. In fact, he seemed to get the hang of his faster than she had. Next thing she knew, Kat’s arms were wrapped around her in a hug, which caught her off-guard. She didn’t really know what happened before he pulled away, and she could feel a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Great job!” she exclaimed, enthusiastically at his spellwork. She looked at the table for a few moments and laughed slightly, and continued with, “I think you got the basics of it actually faster than most people did...”
She wasn’t going to tell him that, but she did anyways for the simple reason that he looked so proud of what he had done. She couldn’t help but feel proud herself, but because she had ‘taught’ him, but merely because his genuine happiness was certainly contagious, especially for a cheery person like Annelise.
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Post by katsurouakiyama on Apr 10, 2011 19:04:16 GMT 1
Kat was making an effort to be nice to people. Hogwarts needed more niceness in general, but as he had only just enrolled, he was putting some more effort into making friends. Not that he needed to pretend to be extra nice around Annelise, he found. She seemed a pleasant, easy going girl.
“Well, no, I don’t think just because it did something will earn you the credit for this class.” He nodded a little, but then shrugged and grinned. "But there is time before the exams, I'm sure I'll manage with your help." Kat seemed to have more faith in Annelise than she did in herself.
To be honest, Kat was a little surprised he managed, as well. The sounds were so unfamiliar to him and to be honest, he was sure he would not easily achieve this again. The sounds were fresh in his head now, but they would fade and he would forget and if he didn't find something to help him with that he was never going to pass his exams.
For now, though, he was happy with this small victory. He had sort of done it once, and that meant he could do it again.
“Great job! I think you got the basics of it actually faster than most people did...” Kat grinned, but shrugged when she said he'd gotten the basics so quickly. "Not really. Maybe it is because I've already done it in Japanese," he said. "I'm not that skilled, usually." It was true, Kat worked hard (well, hard enough - fun was important too) to do well, but he was average rather than above average, really.
"Or maybe you're just a very good teacher, right?" he suggested, winking at her.
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Post by Annelise Westerhof on Apr 11, 2011 2:59:45 GMT 1
Annelise smiled when Kat said he could probably pass with her help. It felt nice to feel even somewhat needed. Usually others had to help her, and when it was reversed it was just weird. It felt strange that Kat was relying on her for educational help. It sort of seemed wrong, really, but it did make Annelise feel useful nonetheless. It wasn't something that she felt on a regular basis.
"Well, I can help you whenever you need it," Annelise promised, happily. "Time and place and I'll give you a hand."
She meant it, too. She knew she wasn't a pro by any means when it came to Transfiguation, but she liked thinking that Kat needed her help, even if he actually didn't. It wasn't like she was going to do something like show him the Room of Requirement that Remus had shown her, but she was sure she could help him in the Hufflepuff common room, or at least in class.
When he claimed that he wasn't usually that skilled, she chuckled in a friendly manner.
"I'm sure you get along fine in your normal language," Annelise claimed. When he suggested that perhaps she was a really good teacher, she laughed yet again. "Actually, no one's ever asked me for help before."
It was true, too. Any time any of her fellow classmates or friends had difficulty in their subject, even if they were partnered with her, they wouldn't ask her to try to show them. Instead, they would try to find someone who was stereotypically good at the course and outgoing, like Sirius Black or James Potter. She looked around the class and noticed everyone was still working, so she tried to focus back on what they were doing.
"Erm, did you want to try again?"
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