Practice makes perfect

[Jacob Lennox]

@Aurelia Vernon

Quite a lot of Jake's time was spent studying. It wasn't that he particularly liked the activity--well, depending on the subject--but that it felt necessary for him to be able to do as well as he needed to in his classes. He had a scholarship to keep, and a goal to achieve, after all. If he wanted to be an auror, he had to do well on his NEWTs. If he wanted to do well on his NEWTs, he had to avoid getting kicked out because he couldn't pay. Though Jake had never heard of anyone getting kicked out mid-year because they're grades weren't the best. They usually just didn't turn up the next year, which wasn't really an issue for him. Still, NEWT grades mattered, that was the point.

Today, Jacob found himself in one of the empty classrooms on the first floor, working on Transfiguration. Not homework, really, since he'd done that already, but just practicing spells. He was curerntly attempting to turn one of the chairs into a dog. So far all he'd managed to do was make it sprout white fur, though that was certainly a start. He'd left the classroom door ajar, though that might be a mistake if he succeeded. It wouldn't do to lose a newly transfigured pooch in the corridors. But considering how far he'd gotten so far, Jake wasn't sure it would end up being a problem.

  

[Aurelia Vernon]

Rorie wasn't much inclined to study. There was merely no point when she was destined to simply be some mans upper class wife. No, she rather spent most of her time dabbling in potions which were her one of her true passions aside from animals. Or experimenting on animals though she was always so very careful and had an antidote on hand always.

As she was walking along the first floor, Rorie thought she caught sight of a familiar person. Upon approaching the door left ajar, she was quite glad to see that her suspicions had been correct as she spotted Jake. "Whatever are you doing?" She asked in utmost curiosity, eyes spotting the furry chair. It looked rather silly if he was attempting to redecorate the castle or something.

  

[Jacob Lennox]

Jake turned away from his partially formed subject, towards the sound of a familiar voice. "I'm trying to practice," he answered, turning back to look down at the chair. "It's meant to be a dog, but it hasn't quite worked yet." He gave the thing poke with his wand, making it emit a noise that was something between a squeak and the sound a balloon made when you let the air out of it. That probably wasn't good.

Looking back at Aurelia, Jacob smiled sheepishly. There wasn't really another reaction to have, was there? He was generally pretty good at Transfiguration--it was just that he needed more practice to get some of the more complex things down. Dogs weren't terribly like chairs, Jake thought he could be forgiven for finding this challenge. "In fairness, I haven't been at it very long. The spell still needs a bit of work."

  

[Aurelia Vernon]

Practicing spellwork made much more sense than what she had originally thought. She couldn't help it; she giggled at the sound the poor thing made when Jacob poked at it.

"As with all things, practice makes perfect," Rorie agreed with a decisive nod.

  

[Jacob Lennox]

"Exactly what I was thinking," Jacob said, nodding. He looked down at the furry chair, feeling a little sorry for the thing. He wasn't sure it counted as alive yet, but still. It was emitting an awful sound, that was plenty bad enough.

Looking up again, Jake asked, "What were you up to?"

  

[Aurelia Vernon]

Now that was a question that Rorie was not inclined to answer. "Not studying, that's for sure," was the answer she chose to go with. "Are you going to change it back?" It probably wouldn't do to leave it as it was.

  

[Jacob Lennox]

Jake grimaced slightly down at the chair. "Yes, I think so," he said, raising his wand again. "Easier to start over completely, I think." With a flick of his wand and a muttered incantation, the chair was back to normal. At least he could do that part properly. As he raised his wand to try again, Jake glanced at Rorie. "I'm not distracting you from something, am I? I know you said you weren't studying, but."

  

[Aurelia Vernon]

Aurelia smiled as Jacob reversed his spell successfully. She could scarcely believe that this was his final year. "Oh, no, you aren't at all!" She assured with a smile. "I can hardly believe this is your last year with us."

  

[Jacob Lennox]

Jake shook his head, smiling at her statement. "I know. I can hardly believe it myself." The last seven years seemed to have flown by. Or at least they did right that second. He was fairly sure they'd seemed to drag every exam season. "I'm going to miss it." He paused, then added, with a grin, "Well, maybe not the homework part."