Charms Final – Practical

The wizard watched his students stumble into class in various states of stress and discomfort due to the theory exam they had just completed. Alas for them, their misery was yet to end.

“Take your seats, witches and wizards, the practical portion of your exam is about to start. You have exactly one hour from the word “Go” to complete the task given so you had better pay attention.” The blond closed the door, ensuring that latecomers would not be able to enter.

“On each of your desks is what is commonly known as a pineapple. You may have heard of it, you may have even eaten it, but today… you will make it dance.” The wizard winked.

“The spell you will use to achieve this is technically a jinx. Tarantallegre originated in Italy and was originally cast on humans but since than, variations of the spell have emerged. Please be so kind as to listen to the pronunciation carefully, tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah, any mispronounced syllables and your pineapple won’t be getting its fifteen seconds of fame.”

Tristyn looked all the faces in the class. “Here are the rules, you only get one pineapple, if you blow it up, you fail this part of the exam. You make it move a little, you pass but don’t get many marks, you make it do an actual step or a series of dance steps – which you should have at least looked up after I was kind enough to give you a hint – you make me one happy chap and possibly get more marks.”

“As with everything in my class, creativity and originality will be rewarded. Making your pineapple jump up and down does not count as making it dance. This is worth 25 points so I suggest you give it your best shot. If by the end of the hour, your pineapple is not moving, you will fail. Points will be taken off for any damage done to the fruits as I really would like to return them to the House Elves in one piece.”

Drawing his wand in a flash, Tristyn pointed it towards the students. A shot of brilliant orange light erupted from it, seemingly aimed at them. He could see quite a few anxious faces but the spell flew straight to the back, hitting the clock an the wall beyond. “GO!”

**Attempts posted after the second of September will not be counted.
**This is a complicated charm; you cannot master it in two tries
**All attempts must be posted here, if I catch anyone talking, I will deduct points
**If you wish to help someone having difficulty with the charm, make sure not to get caught
**Detail, description and creativity go a long way

Samantha looked up in wide eyed panic as the Professor shot a spell at them, only to miss their heads by inches. She had no idea what he was playing at and she doubted she wanted to know.

Slipping her wand out from her sleeve, the dark haired witch turned to the pineapple on her desk. While it was true the girl had been reading up on dance moves, she knew trying the spell at the fruit straight away would yield little results so she resorted to practicing the incantation under her breath.

Harmony observed the pineapple in front of her, moving it so she could view it at different angles. So they had to make the pineapples...dance? Trying not to bruise them of course, and hopping up and down didn't count? Wasn't the bunny hop a dance? Nevertheless, she stared down the pineapple, wondering what dance to make it do. The tango? Ballroom style? Sighing, she settled for saying the incantation under her breath a few times to make sure she had the pronunciation down before she actually used the spell.

Indiana looked at the pineapple while practicing the wand movements and the incantation, synchronizing the combination down to perfection. But even so, he had a feeling that the Tarantallegre jinx wasn't going to be easy. It was strange that certain people believed that dancing was the cure towards being bitten by a tarantula, hence the jinx's earned name in causing the target to dance.

Taking a deep breath, he eyed the pineapple while computing multiple calculations in the approach to take with the jinx.

Mary came in behind Indiana and took a seat. She was very nervous and she had no idea how she'd done on the theory final. Sure, she had studied a lot lately, but still, the doubt was in her mind. She listened to the professor very carefully, wanting to do this right.
She was staring at the fruit in front of her, not knowing what to think.Just as she thought this school couldn't get any weirder, they tell her to make a pineapple dance.
tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah she was practising the incantation first to make sure she got it right.

Jasmeet was seated behind Harmony, listening to Professor Malfoy finish off the instructions. When he was finished, she looked down at the pineapple on the desk before her, and raised her brow. She had to make the plant dance, that couldn't be so hard. Right?

She mumbled the incantation under her breath, making sure that the pronunication was right, tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah, tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah, tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah.

Almost sure she had the incantation down, the girl decided to attempt to make her pineapple move. She took up her wand and pointed at the fruit but stopped midway.

If this went wrong, she would not be given another fruit. She would be docked points for damage to the fruit and it was very unlikely she would be successful in one go.

Struck by an idea, the girl pointed to the fruit and muttered "Wingardium Leviosa", levitating it gently to a corner. Taking a spare pink quill out of her bag, she placed it at the center of the desk.

Best to practice on the quill first, at least I won't fail if it blows up.

tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah

The pineapple before her looked rough and spiky. Oval-shaped, about 20-30cm long and 10-15cm wide, it had a tuft of short, sharp, grey-green leaves rising from its top.

She picked up her right hand, and placed it on the pineapple – touching its features. Its skin was rough, with scale-like segments; each scale had a sharp, pointed tip which curled upwards. Its color was yellow – just as Professor Malfoy had described it. When she was content, she moved her hand away from it, and muttered the incantation under her breath, her wand still laying on the table.

"tuh-RAHN-tuh-LEHG-rah"

Mary was still practising the incantation under her breath, she really wanted to get it right. As professor Malfoy had said, this was their only chance, she must not blow it. Literaly.
"Tarantallegre.Tarantallegre.Tarantallegre.Tarantallegre."
Once the girl was completely sure she was saying it right, she picked up her wand and aimed at the pineapple.
"Tarantallegre."
The fruit didn't move. Mary decided to try again. It moved a little. She beamed excitedly at it, though she was not satisfied with that. If she wants to get the House Cup to Slytherin, she's gotta try harder than that.
"Tarantallegre!" the pineapple moved a little to the right again.
Maybe I have to picture the dance in details... she thought and wondered what dance should her pineapple do.
Cha-cha? No, she didn't know it well enough.
Tango? Too complicated.
Salsa? She's never even seen it before!
A waltz? Possibly...

The witch pointed her wand at the pink quill. "Tarantallegre," she whispered, to no one's surprise, nothing happened. The quill remained limp on her desk. Just as well she hadn't expected the spell to yield results in the first try. On the bright side, the quill seemed unharmed.

Taking aim a second time, the girl whispered a little more forcefully.

"Tarantallegre!"

Reina crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. She looked around the room and noticed how nervous her classmates seemed at the making their pineapples dance. Was Sam actually practicing on her quill first? Reina sighed. She took out her wand. "Tarantallegre." She whispered. "Tarantallegre."

Well, maybe Sam was onto something with the quill thing, but either way, she was just going to do the Charm and so be it. She picked up the pineapple carefully and turned it over in her hands. She looked closely as the brownish yellow skin, touched the inch and a half long spikes, ran her finger over the green stalk erupting from the top. It was beginning to look like Medusa's head, but Rei was careful to shake that image, she didn't need to accidentally turn the pineapple into a snake, though she wondered if Malfoy would be impressed enough to give her sympathy points if she made the snake dance. She grinned in amusement, setting the pineapple down.

Rei closed her eyes. She pictured the pineapple in her mind, every detail she could remember when she held it in her hands a few seconds ago. It's feel, it's color, the tangy scent that was barely visible, her mouth watered a little when she remembered the taste of fresh pineapple.

Once she had the picture clear in her mind, she thought about dancing. Her parents danced, one of the few activities they did together. Her father taught her to dance, it was one of the proper lessons a pureblood witch learned from a young age. She tried to picture the proper steps she took. The wizard led, the witch followed. She pictured her steps, and then she pictured the pineapple. Two steps back, one forward, he takes my waist, two steps back, one forward, he lifts me off the ground, two steps back, one to the side, one forward.

Reina opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She picked up her wand again, pointing it toward the pineapple. "Tarantallegre!"

"Tarantallegre!" Indiana chanted with his wand pointed at the pineapple. The spiky fruit slightly shuddered a bit before it stopped and remained motionless. No jump, no fancy foot work even though the fruit didn't have feet.

'Hmm...well that's start at least.' the youth thought to himself before thinking about how to make the pineapple dance. Indiana was glad that May or Nonette weren't here since they would've peppered him with different types of ballroom dancing.

Theresa looked down at the pinapple and quickly picked up her wand. She thought of the spell and sighed, she wondered what her friend meant when about dancing. Tarantallegre, Tarantallegre, Tarantallegre she thought, hoping to get it right. She pointed her wand at the pinapple and thought about the pinapple dancing.

Alex studied the pineapple incredously. I mean what the -? How are we supposed to make it dance? It has no legs, no waist, no skeleton system of any sort? Then.....? I guess that is where the magic comes in. Its sorta like making a wheelchair bound person dance? Wait! No! that was disturbing! she grimaced as her brain made a vivid picture of a person who had no visible legs, dancing.

Sighing, she decided to get her incantation right for the time being, "Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre! Tarantallegre!" she muttered over and over again.

The quill twitched slightly but didn't do anything more in the movement. Frowning, the witch tried a third time, keeping an anxious eye on the clock. She still had forty five minutes.

Again, the quill made a half hearted attempt to stand up but landed on the desk. The Slytherin started perplexed at the object, trying to figure out what the problem was. She had pronounced right, she had aimed well... so why wasn't it yielding any results?

Reina watched as her pineapple twitched violently before going still. She shook her head. This wasn't going to be pretty. She reconjured the pineapple in her mind, and tried to imagine how it would look dancing. Footwork was a great deal of the means of dancing, but without feet she'd have to concentrate more on the movement of the body. The twills, the bend, Rei sighed, so much to think about. She opened her eyes.

"Tarantallegre." She muttered, pointing her wand at the pineapple. The pineapple jumped off the table, spun around one, and dropped back onto the desk. Reina shook her head, proping her chin on her free hand.

Tristyn watched the students like a hawk from his position at the class. He was on the look out for those attempting to cheat, but more importantly, he was trying to asses the progress of one witch in particular.

He could see students muttering the spell under their breaths, practicing it on their fruits and sighing in frustration as they met failure. The last sight cheered him up considerably. He briefly wondered if anyone had ever told her she looked exactly like her mother when she was annoyed.

Mary was trying to remember how exactly her parents used to dance the waltz. Picturing the footsteps in her mind, the girl closed her eyes and concentrated. When she could actually picture the pineapple waltzing around in her head, she opened her eyes and if anyone would look close enough, they would see the sparkle amongst the chocolate brown color.
Still thinking of how the pineapple would look if it would started to waltz, she aimed her wand at it.
"Tarantallegre!" she said out loud, but not too loud, she didn't want to disturb her classmates.
The fruit moved a little bit to the front, but then sat still. To Mary, it seemed as if it was mocking her.
She frowned at the fruit and closed her eyes in concetration once again.

Harmony crossed her arms. She knew ballet, quite well actually, but she didn't know if it would really count for a dance here. She tried to imagine all the times she sat bored at mansions for parties. Maybe she picked up some dancing skills there. It would also be easier if the pineapple managed to sprout legs and arms. She rubbed at her forehead, a headache coming on.

"Tarantallegre," she said, pointing at the pineapple.

Nothing.

"Tarantallagre!"

The pineapple moved slightly across the desk, but other than that, nothing more. She sighed, deciding to focus on the dance steps she wanted the pineapple to perform.

"Tarantallegre" Theresa said as she pointed her wand at the pineapple. She tried it again when nothing happened but it didn't move at all. She tried to imagine the pineapple dancing in her mind. She pictured a waltz and a person doing the moves.
Reverse turns, Whisks, Outside spins... now the person resembled the pineapple in front of her.
"Tarantallegre" she said and smiled when the pineapple shacked. It wasn't much but it turned like a beginning of a spin, at least it was a start.

'Intent. The jinx is needing intent.' Indiana thought as he attempted the spell once more.

"Tarantallegre!" he chanted once more while pointing his wand at the pineapple, channeling the thought of tap dancing into the spell. The spiky fruit began to slightly jump for about three seconds before ceasing all motion.

Indiana sighed, staring at the pineapple while glancing at the clock behind him. He noticed the other students getting their pineapples to slowly began perform a variety of dance moves.

It was then that an idea came to his mind.

Alice worked on her under her breath pronunciation before she attempted to even try the spell as well as practice her wand movements afterwards. Hopefully she did not cause the pineapple damage and could get the spell soon enough. Her father quite liked this spell and she remembered him trying to keep hats and glued on eyes to stay on the fruit while he made them dance. She took in all the angles of her pineapple wondering if she should try a ballroom style dance such as a waltz. She knew a few tap dances as well which could be easier, a fact she never really shared is she loved watching dancing and learning the steps. She quietly raised her wand moving it in precise motions she had seen saying the spell in a commanding voice with only a bit of nervousness, "Tarantallegre!", she watched as her pineapple move slightly getting a bit off balance as if it was going to spin before returning upright.

Harmony shrugged to herself as she stopped her inner ramblings. She couldn't remember much of the dances she had happened to look up while in the library, so ballet it was. It was something she did, after all, and she did it well.

"Tarantallegre!" She said, pointing at the pineapple and trying to remember some of her ballet steps.

The pineapple spun a bit, but it wasn't really tilted to be classified on 'one leg.' She sighed as the pineapple stood there once more.

You'll do that Pirouette, whether you like it or not, she thought, glaring at her pineapple.

Alice grinned remembering a dance move her father had taught her and took out a small hankerchief placing it under her pineapple to cushion it. She did not want points taken off for bruises or damage to the pineapple. She imagined standing on her fathers feet as he lead her backwards and twirled her thinking the move was simple enough. Now she just had to get the pineapple to do it. She took a deep breath pointing her wand still a bit unsure of herself she said commandingly, "Tarantallegre!". She watched as the pineapple pivoted back a 'step' in a seemingly waltz like move. She frowned a bit not completely succeeding, but at least she knew what she was trying to do now.

Raven frowned at his pineapple. He never particularly cared for the yellow fruit. Biting his lip he stifled a laugh as he could picture Dixie's frantic face. If she blew up her pineapple that was it. And she had a penance for doing that.
Muttering under his breath and doing the wand movements until he felt comfortable with it. Then sighing, to get his nerves together, he did a trick his mum showed him. He shut his eyes and breathed a bit, then when he was calm, opened them. Nodding, he approached the fruit. So, they had to make it dance huh? Pointing his wand at the fruit and doing the wand movement he uttered, "Tarantallegre."
He frowned when nothing happened. Why wasn't it working? Growling, he wondered if it was because he still wasn't focusing right? Looking around the room, he felt a bit relieved to see that he wasn't the only one. There were some who had gotten it already though.