Modules #1/#5 - "MIXING & MINGLING" - Fall 2021

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Welcome to the Module 01 and Module 05 "Mixing & Mingling" thread! This is about getting to interact with one another as classmates, particularly about themes from the lessons and your corresponding class work if that speaks to you. Those who post their Monologue/Manifestation or Media/Memories may provide helpful prompts for discussion points. While you're welcome to mix and mingle as much as you like, each of your first three 50+ word posts you will receive 5 points. When submitting your work, please let me know if you've posted once, twice, or three (or more) times so I can confirm participation. As a fun option, you may choose to Role-Play these interactions though are not required to. If you do, please take a look at this RPGuidelines page for some helpful tips.

What with the classroom being closed for the summer, Professor Aloyarc has spent the better part of the early evening with his two assistants preparing the space for members to arrive. It's been one full year of teaching this class, now returning along with a second part.

Silvana's first move was to open the windows and begin wiping down surfaces while Emily had stayed back in the Show Room to tidy up a few disheveled areas and Sindor moved the desks into a circular formation. The three then bustled around putting up a variety of different glowing and sparkly decorations.

For this first meeting of the term, it had been decided to get together over a nighttime introduction. Members of the class begin entering the room as the final touches are being added to a table covered in drinking glasses along with pitchers filled with all manner of sparkling juices and waters.

Sin grabs a stemmed glass, pouring himself a seltzer labeled 'blackberry-basil' as he greets new and familiar faces.

"Welcome, everyone! So excited to see you all here. This first set of powers delves into Faith for some of you, and Peace for others. These two energies are linked with New Beginnings and Community respectively, which fits in nicely here as we come to the start of our fall semester and are topics you're welcome to discuss here today. What's 'new' in your life these days? What's going on in your community?"

Sipping his bubbling beverage, which turns out to be quite tasty and refreshing, Sindor goes on to say "Why don't we go around and begin introducing ourselves. Feel free to chat and chime in as we go. This is a very relaxed environment! In fact, if anyone prefers a cushion on your chair, raise your hand and either Emily or Silvana can bring one over."

He clears his throat, then tells the group "My name is Sindor Aloyarc. You're welcome to call me Sin whether here in the classroom or when seeing me around the castle. I was 12 when I joined Hogwarts Online, went through my seven years of schooling, then took a twelve year hiatus before returning over the spring of 2020. It's been quite magical being back, and I'm honored to be a Professor of Ravenclaw after all these years. Also super stoked that Miss Mandeville and Miss Spencer have agreed to join in on teaching this class and getting to know you all. Please, if you have any questions whatsoever, we're all only a hop, skip, and a jump away at any time!"

Giving a great big smile, his blue eyes glittering in the soft lighting, Sin looks around. "Alrighty! Who wants to go next?"

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

Maxim enters the lovely room set up by one of his favorite professors and his assistants. He thinks they did a pretty good job when he spots the drinks table. Maxim moves to it and chooses a glass of sparkling water, nervous even in his seventh year at the prospect of being a member in a new class.

When Sindor calls to the students, Maxim’s hand shoots up in the air when pillows are mentioned. While he doesn’t want to use it for a chair, it will be perfect for a lotus position on the floor. For now, he tries to contort himself into it on the chair, but half fails. When he stills, Maxim keeps close attention to the rest of Sindor's words.

He groans quietly when Sindor urges the students to introduce themselves. That is one of Maxim’s least favorite things to do, but it is inevitable in almost every class. He figures if he wants to be done with this as soon as possible and go onto other topics, Maxim might as well go first.

“Guess, I’ll go,” Maxim cracks his neck and waves to the group at large. “Name’s Maxim Trevelyan, the oldie of the group. Ravenclaw’s resident troublemaker, somehow a Head Student and some people trusted me with three classes and assisting positions,” he grins as he quickly counts off all of his titles and positions.

“What’s new with me?” he asks himself as he thinks about the answer. “I’m in my seventh year, that’s a first,” Maxim answers drily. “But really, NEWTs, that’s a big one this year. I hope that my faith about successfully completing them isn’t misplaced.”

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana looks around, the classroom already looked neat, ready to be occupied by the students. She nods to Emily who is standing across the room, excited to meet the students. This is the second time she has been an assistant to Professor Sindor, although previously the two of them worked together in another class.

Silvana averts her eyes when she hears the door open, the students enter the classroom one by one. There are familiar faces, but a lot of new faces too.

Silvana leans to the wall when Professor Sindor begins to introduce himself and allows the others to introduce themselves. Maxim, their Head Student and the oldest student in this class, took the opportunity to introduce himself first.

"Who's next? Come on, don't be shy," Silvana says after Maxim finished his introduction. When she feels that no one wants to talk—perhaps they are shy—she walks over to the table.

"If no one wants to continue with the introductions, I'll start! My name is Silvana Mandeville, if my name is too long for you, feel free to call me Ana. I am a Third Year Ravenclaw and this year I was just promoted as Reserve Prefect for my house. I'm also a Student Teacher, this term I'm teaching three classes. As you already know, I am one of the assistants for this class! Hm, I don't know what else to say ... so why don't you take your turn now, everyone?" Silvana smiles at the students.

[Emerald Wolvenhowl]

The Classroom door opens with a loud creak and Emerald enters the room. She notices a student introducing themself to everyone, hearing the name Silvana being mentioned. An abrupt silence descends as all the students stare at Emerald, distracted by her interruption.

No matter how calm Emerald tries to appear it is clear to everyone that she is flustered. Unbeknown to them, she had somehow managed to mis-read her timetable and initially turned up at a Witchcraft History class before realizing her mistake. She quickly apologisgises to the Professor for being late, but instead of being cross he gives a big, friendly, smile that seems to say, 'I'm just glad you turned up.'

As Emerald heads towards the group, Maxim gives a friendly wave and points to a vacant seat next to him. She is glad to see him for she hasn't seen him in ages and makes herself comfy with a lovely lavender colour cushion provided by Emily. Silvana finishes off her introduction and we all applaude her for being made a Reserve Prefect for her Ravenclaw House. Professor Sindor thanks her for her contribution and asks the group if anyone else would like to say a quick hello. No one repsonds. . The Professor finally looks over at Emerald with a look of hope that she might say something.

"Er...Hi, everyone, my name is Emerald Wolvenhowl but some of you may know me as Em, a thrid year from Gryffindor. Like some of you, I will be starting this class with Module 5, and...er...well, whatever level you are all starting from this term I look forward to sharing the journey with you all."

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Will heads on over to the place where he knows Professor Aloyarc's classroom is located, and wonders: "how is Sin going to have set up the classroom for this term? There are usually good refreshments and comfortable seating..."
Pacing outside the hallway a few times, he waits as Head Student Maxim Trevelyan, along with fellow Hidden Powers 1 graduate Emerald Wolvenhowl, introduce themselves.

Finally Will enters the room himself, observes the beverage table, and pours himself a bubbly water from a pitcher labeled "Hint of Mint and Lime". Finding a comfortably cushioned seat near the back of the classroom, Will takes a seat - deciding to wait until a few others arrive before introducing himself.

[Emily Spencer]

After setting up the Show Room in what she hopes is a satisfactory manner, Emily moves to join the others. She heads straight to the refreshment table and promptly selects a goblet of sparkling water infused with a hint of lavender and mint. She smiles cheekily at Sin and gives him a rather jaunty salute, mouthing "Room's ready!" before she settles back against the wall, observing the room quietly.

Emily is careful to school her features into neutral pleasantness, not wishing to show the anxiety rolling around in the pit of her stomach. This is her first time assisting in such a setting, and she wants to not make a total mess of things. Catching sight of familiar faces relaxes her a bit and she waves to her fellow assistant, Silvana. The smile widens as she sees Will Lestrange among those gathered and she raises her goblet in greeting.

Seeing a lull in the introductions, she takes another sip of water and pushes away from the wall, moving toward the center of the room.

"Hello, everyone! I'm Emily Spencer, one of your assistants for this class. Sin was brave enough to take me on, so let's hope he doesn't end up regretting that. I do teach Poisons, and I'm fairly adept at Potions, so at least there shouldn't be any worries of me blowing the classroom to smithereens!"

She glances over at Will, taking note of the arched brow, and laughs, "Hush, you! I didn't blow up your classroom and you can't blame me because Annabelle went rogue and decided to sink it! It wasn't my fault, I swear!"

She clears her throat. "Ahem! Where was I? Oh yes..introducing myself. As I said, I'm Emily Spencer, a 3rd year Slytherin Prefect. You'll also find me lurking around the Moderating Offices of the Library and Book Club, so feel free to stop in and say hi. I'm teaching three classes this year, namely Tudors, Poisons, and Confronting Your Boggart. I also have a slight Baby Yoda fascination, so if you happen to see Professor Tarma Black running around in a hoodie with his picture on it, I suppose I'm to blame. I look forward to getting to know all of you this term and thanks again to Sin for inviting me to the team."

She steps back, reclaiming her position against the wall and sips her drink, waiting for the next person to speak.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Having seen one of his own Slytherin prefects introduce herself as a class assistant, Will decides that now is as good a time as any to introduce himself. "My name is Prof. Will Lestrange," he begins, "and I am currently the Deputy Head of House for Slytherin." Finishing his mint-lime sparkling water, Will continues: "I sat my NEWTs a little over a year ago, in the summer of 2020: specialising in Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration... but my true capstone project as a student was probably in reviving the Parseltongue language class so that students could learn the language of snakes." Looking back over at Emily, Will said "I do remember that Annabelle was one of our most enthusiastic Parseltongue students, even though things would have probably gone a bit easier if she had let us know ahead of time that she wanted to practice Parseltongue spellcasting!"

Making sure he has a good view of Sin and Ana as well as Emily, he finishes: "Last term I took Part 1 of this class last term and remember how the class always made me ask hard questions about myself... which allowed me to know myself better. I look forward to seeing what new discoveries I make about myself this term!"

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“I do love the anxious excitement feelings that come along with the first part of term!” Sin says, nodding and smiling encouragingly to Silvana and Emily, so pleased to watch them interacting with the incoming group, and to hear everyone begin introducing themselves.

Waving to Emerald, he continues, “It’s always fun for me looking back after exams and see the arc of interactions together. Now we’ve been through one full year of this class, plus with the addition of part two, I’m intrigued to look back at the end of the fall semester, as well as the end of the school year to compare and contrast some things. But!” Sindor chuckles, “At this time, we’ll focus on the present.”

“For those of you who are new to this class, the energy this month is reflected in your being here at HOL and showing up to this classroom at all. Showing up for yourselves! Your presence here is part of the grounding power that comes from taking steps in any direction even when you’re not entirely certain how it will go or work out in the end.”

In response to Maxim, “I must say I’m looking forward to hearing about your experience taking the NEWTs this year. Surely you’ll knock it out of the park in true Trevelyan fashion!”

Returning to address the group, “Those here for another go around have the ability to look back on their first term and embrace that faith a second go around, while also embracing the peace and acceptance of the themes, circumstances, and people around you. In some ways, this month’s power is a lot like groupings of collective faith, rather than as an individual.”

Professor Aloyarc turns to Will, “I enjoyed the part of your assignment where you commented on how the true meaning of peace is often found within and through circumstances that are anything but peaceful. Like bravery not traditionally being without fear, this indeed seems to be the true test! And that much more difficult to maintain a solid sense of it when dealing with others.”

Pausing to considering, “Quite difficult in fact at times to maintain peace when we’re just worrying about ourselves, frankly, let alone dealing with others in our community.” He smirks, “I suppose we should be grateful for the practice?”

[Emily Spencer]

Emily listened attentively as first Will and then Sin added their own thoughts to the conversation. She could not suppress a quiet laugh as Will talked about Annabelle, whose enthusiasm over Parseltongue had resulted in the classroom being sent straight to Atlantis. Another quiet chuckle as Emily remembered her own time in Professor Lestrange's Parseltongue class. Merlin, but she never thought to pass that one! If it hadn't been for kind-hearted friends who proved much smarter than she was, she may have well had to repeat it again this year.

Shaking her head with a rueful grin, Emily forced herself to quit woolgathering and return to the present conversation. She nodded in agreement when Will spoke of how the class had made him look deeper into himself. Even in her short time as a class assistant, she knew exactly what he meant. Though admittedly the process had made her a bit uneasy at first, she begrudgingly admitted that she liked this 'turning inward' more than she had imagined she would.

Emily smiled over at Sin.

"You know, the same thing struck me as I was reading Will's assignment. His thoughts on peace really spoke to me as I find they somewhat mirror my own. Coming through adversity with the ability to remain hopeful and not sink into bitterness or self-pity is my own personal definition of peace."

She glanced over at Will then, offering him another silent toast with raised goblet.

"It would seem, Professor Lestrange, that we are perhaps more alike than I first imagined. We really should talk more!"

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

As Will listens to Sin and Emily, an owl flies into the classroom with the insignia of the Head Office. Will smiles as he opens it and reads it - while reflecting on what has been said.

Looking back at Sin, Will replies: “You’re right: being able to maintain a power when surrounded by its opposite is a real challenge! As resilient as I am, I couldn’t imagine myself maintaining peace or calm in the situations Peer Gynt has faced in his play. That would just be too much!”

Will then toasts his empty glass to Emily: “You’re absolutely right - and I think this is going to be a great term!”

At this point, Will moves to refill his glass: one of the pitchers is labeled “Essence of White Chocolate and Raspberry” and he really wants to know how well chocolaty flavours can work being incorporated into a water.

[Emerald Wolvenhowl]

The most prominent thing I have taken away from this lesson is the realisation that focusing on the mantra ( I am peace I am serenity) and focusing on trying to evoke feelings of calm and serenity really helped to distract my mind from anxiety as I had to concentrate a little bit harder in order to repeat the mantra and feel it too. Trying to feel serene also seemed to help to re-affirm my mantra. Happy days:)

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

While other students, teachers and assistants are talking, Maxim exchanges his glass of sparkling water for a mug of hot coca. He carefully blows on it, while listening attentively to the introductions and the thoughts exchanges happening in the room. Maxim hardly has anything concrete to contribute as he has not finished his assignment yet.

He has read the first lesson and it makes him think about faith a lot. It seems that a lot of things Maxim does lately involve faith a lot. But with it, comes a lot of doubt. In himself, his abilities, even outside factors, such as his family and friends.

“How do you reconcile the energy, like Faith, when you are in the middle of its opposite?” Maxim asks, touching upon something that was already mentioned by Emily and Will, working with an energy amidst its opposite power. “I often feel as if I am hindered by the opposite so much, it negatively impacts everything in my life.”

While Maxim doubts there is a concrete answer for this issue, he looks forward to any ideas Sindor, or others, may have.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“Completely hear that,” Sin nods along as Mr. Trevelyan shares his thoughts. “Faith can often feel to me like having the ground come up to meet you with each new step. As though you’re continuing to walk off a cliff, then being met with firm ground.”

Sindor glances around the room, “I don’t know about any of you, but in a situation like that, I don’t care how many times I was met with solid footing, in the back of my head I’d still keep thinking to myself, ‘This is it. This next one is the one where I actually fall.’”

Looking back to Maxim, “While I try to avoid using the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason,’ because it can feel incredibly diminishing and dismissive to the struggles people go through, I do believe ‘everything gets put to a purpose.’ Arguably an almost identical intention at the end of the day — and still can be a cruel philosophy during difficult circumstances — but the more times I’ve looked back and seen the story fit itself together, in spite of how confusing it may have been or how faithless I felt, the faith was always there with me somehow even when I didn’t recognize it. Like its own entity, in a way, pushing things along. Which has helped me over time to trust the concept of faith while going through the process.”

He smiles, “Even when it still so often feels like I’m about to plummet over the edge.”

[Emerald Wolvenhowl]

Emerald is very quiet. She is absolutely absorbed by the class discussion and admires her classmates and teacher even more than she did before. She raises her hand to speak and the Prof nods at her encouraging to go ahead. "Faith is always a difficult one for me too. Sometimes it is so hard to find and hold on to and yet it's so easy to lose. I sometimes wonder if that is because I prefer order to disorder. What I mean is, when it comes to life in general I always want to have a linear, coherent narrative of events, just like I do with my wand; I know what is happening, I know what I need to do and what spell to use to bring about a solution, I aim my wand knowing exactly what the outcome will be and then the situation is resolved in the way i wanted it to be. Unfortunately, Muggle life isn't like that very often. I start off with faith but then I find it difficult to keep it especially when I find myself facing the unknown, not knowing what is going to happen, when it's going to occur and what the outcome of it all will be. I hope some of that makes sense", asks Emerald, with a puzzled look on her, for she thinks she has just confused herself as well as everyone else. Oh well, at least now she can continue to enjoy listening to everyone else's ideas because everyone is fabulous.

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana listens to all the students with interest. It's great to hear what they say, which she has often experience as well. She looks around the class and says, "Sometimes I start something with confidence, and put a lot of faith in myself that I can do it, especially things I'm not really good with. But there will come a time when I meet a path that makes me think again about my decision and start having doubts about it. Then I would spend many times thinking, 'What if this happened?' 'What if I meet an obstacle in the middle of the road that I can't pass?' and many other 'What ifs'. Sometimes when it happens, I'll be on the verge of being confused and even regret that I have started it. Then, I end up reminding myself again and again that I can do it." Silvana laughs a little, sometimes she thinks it's silly but she can't help to have that feeling.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“I’ve been through a lot of situations over the years,” Sindor responds to Emerald and Silvana, “Where I’ve not gone ahead with something or backed out on something when the exit was easy enough, and not being able to control the situation or feeling anxious about my ability to deliver up to my preferred standards is what truly got in the way.”

Playing with the flame of a nearby candle, “I’ve gotten better with time when it comes to not holding myself back, and not bailing on something out of fear.” Sin double takes, “To be clear, I think there’s always a good time and place to bail on something or somebody no matter where you are at in the process. But I am grateful to have pushed through some of that fear on occasion over time, enough so that I have memories to pull from which remind me that I did overcome those obstacles. That I can be proud of myself for the work I do, even when it’s messy or otherwise imperfect, and even if I was scared the whole time.”

Professor Aloyarc rubs his eyes, “Honestly? Its weird looking back at things that used to seem terrifying or exciting to me, which now seem so mundane or even boring, which have really helped me to keep moving forward and not hold myself back from trying. Though of course I still do hold myself back here and there, and I still do get scared a lot of the time about being or doing enough.”

“Oh!” He thinks out loud, “Driving is a good example: I have a fair amount of anxiety about driving other people’s vehicles, or driving other people around especially if they’re anxious passengers, but generally speaking I don’t experience anxiety as a driver anymore. When I first started learning, I was terrified!! Looking back it seems silly to me, but at the time it was very, very real. I appreciate the idea that something like learning to operate machinery is understandably scary for some people, but that over time it becomes more like ‘Yeah, of course I can do that!’”

Pausing, he looks around the class and adds, “It’s really important for us to acknowledge our accomplishments from the past. Everything from learning to walk or drive, to striking up conversations and finishing a class. All these tiny milestones can get lost and forgotten over time, but in reality they’re nothing short of being a pile of miracles.”

[Emerald Wolvenhowl]

Emerald raises her hand to speak. " I can relate to those points you have raised, Prof, and one in particular really stands out; as you say, it is so easy to forget the small milestones and I forget them all of the time.
Emerald looks annoyed at herself.
"Sometimes I get myself so caught up on what I haven't achieved or the struggles I have encountered that It isn't always just the case of forgetting the little milestones. Sometimes it's also a case of failing to recognise or acknowledge that something was a milestone in the first place.
Sometimes life can steal our confidence and pull our attention away from the positive stuff." Emerald sighs, brightens up and says, " thank goodness for this class and the positive affirmations we have thought about, it can all make such a big difference to our attitude and mindset and be a beacon of light. "
Emerald then scribbles in her notebook:
To do....
¶Use phrases and triggers everyday.
¶Make a point of deliberately looking for milestones.
¶ Keep a positive milestone journal, making note of all the positive steps made whether baby steps, smalls steps or big steps.
¶Review journal regularly to remind myself of what I have achieved and that if I have done them once before then I can do them again
¶

[Brianna Caedmon]

Checking her watch and trying not to grimace at how late she is, Brianna slips into the classroom. She knows Sin well enough now not to be too worried about how late she's running, but can't help feeling a little annoyed nonetheless. Sitting in green the hood of her Slytherin robes is the cause of her lateness: a fluffy black cat called Orion who is considerably larger and heavier than he was this time last year, but who still refuses to let her go anywhere without him, even if that means he has to cause so much havoc when she tries that she gets called back to the Slytherin dorms to pick him up.

Orion peers out from behind her with wide, innocent eyes.

She walks over to the table and pours herself a drink from a glass labelled "Essence of Raspberry and White Chocolate". She sees she's it looks like at least one other person has tried some, and she wonders if perhaps they were also wondering how on earth water is supposed to taste like chocolate.

The class seem to be engrossed in a discussion so she quietly takes a seat. Looking around she sees a few familiar faces including her fellow Slytherins, Emily and Will. She remembers she particularly enjoyed Will's Parseltongue class last year, and wonders if perhaps she'll have a chance to practice this year.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Sin sees Brianna poke her way in while Miss Wolvenhowl is talking. He smiles over, super stoked to be reconnecting.

Responding to Emerald, "I'm so glad you've found that kind of practiced helpful in your life! It's such an ongoing journey, really. I myself remember moving out on my own and adjusting to the fact that my mother, who is a highly positive person, wasn't around me every day anymore to be the voice in my ear lifting me up all the time. It was a bit of a surprise and certainly an adjustment to realize I would have to start working on having the voice in my own head be less pessimistic and self damaging!"

While he talks, Sindor cannot help but head over to the feline friend who's joined in the group. "Oh my WORD!" He squees. "Orion's gotten SO much bigger." He massages the cat's neck.

"Also!" He calls out to the group, "This coming module we will be meeting down by the Groundskeeper's cottage for an evening fire, and some yummy candy treats. Bring along your favorites if you like! I'll be dressing up in costume should anyone wish to join in!"

[Prof. Maxim Trevelyan]

“I get what you mean,” Maxim sighs, taking a sip of his drink. “Well, I have to say that I find your edition of the phrase better sounding,” he pauses then adds. “...and with more meaning.”

Maxim makes a few mental notes about what Sindor said on the matter that he could include in other parts of his work or even in future ones.

“My cousin once said that you are not afraid of heights but afraid of falling, I think that describes my fears,” Maxim explains and twirls his drink around. “I dot not have many problems with the act of jumping or what might await me at the bottom, but the time spent falling where you might regret your choice of action.”

He shakes his head and stands up from the chair. “Thanks, Prof. Aloyarc, you are the best,” Maxim grins and makes his way back to the refreshments table for a top up.