Okay…so it seemed like Professor Ichihara had probably thought she was saying they were definitely all real…and not, well, just questioning the lore behind them.

Raising her hand again, “Professor…what about the part I said earlier about the elemental laws of magic?” She asked, “the concept that we cannot create a soul?” She asked and then listened as the Professor went on to explain what they were doing that day.

Oooooh so her concept had been right? They couldn’t actually make a real soul well, a true soul. So they were making familiars with insentient familiars? She was curious of course as to what she wanted her sacrifice to be? Getting up he walked over to grab her section of clay before returning to her seat and deciding that she wanted to make this the strongest possible Insentient Familiar she could.

She was going to do it.

The Gryffindor that basically never cried was going to.

Okay maybe she wasn’t going to cry…but she was going to try this again with something that had more significance than than than hair. Walking back to the table she picked up a pair of scissors before heading back to her table.

Raising the scissors toward her hair she paused and felt it. The prickling sensation behind her eyelids “aww pooh” she cursed under her breath and looked around nervously the fear that someone anyone would see her being emotional was palpable….but she could always say she had thought about sick puppies or something not as heavy. She was going to do that exactly that. Lie to her classmates because she was not the type to cry for anything…should I cut my finger? she thought…maybe that would make things more explainable…pain…pain was better than the pain of loss? Why was it getting to her?

Looking at the scissors she just snorted. The same exact shade of blue as her mother’s eyes….it was weird wasn’t it? Missing her? It wasn’t like she’d seen her ever when she was alive. There she felt it a little emotion filled tear fleeing down her face swiping at it and immediately rubbing it onto her clay. Maaaybe the little eyelash was gonna help as well?

"I do Professor," Hady replied softly with a light nod of her head. She had done ALL of her reading and was now re-reading everything Nana had given to her at the start of the term. This was something she truly wanted and would someday accomplish. Hopefully with Frankie by her side to make the completion of this heartfelt task all the more special especially since the boyfriend had been with her though the training since the start.

Spotting the smile and wave in return from her younger name twin Hadleigh smiled and gave a small wave back. She would've said something to her but they were in the middle of a lesson and that wasn't possible at the moment. Maybe she'd get to see her after class or something.

Holy canaries! Hady had thought some of the other professors could talk! Nah-uh Professor Ichihara could. The women went on and on but really everything she was saying didn't seem to be enough! The entire topic and really every word wasn't enough for the fifth year who was so enticed in the topic that she hadn't taken her eyes off of Nana as she spoke but yet somehow was still managing to take down very detailed notes. The mention of an activity, getting to MAKE her OWN Insentient Familiar was something she was ready for.

Setting her quill down and getting to her feet the girl made her way to the front of the room and collected herself a bit of clay. Returning to her desk she sat down and just appeared to stare at the clay. She needed a bit of her DNA to do this. A small piece of herself. Spit wasn't going to happen cause well...eww gross. So no just no.

Hair was a very likely option and she could see some of her peers using that one. To her it wasn't personal enough. She wanted something more. Something deeper.

Which meant one thing. Tears. Not just any tears. Nothing forced and nothing that wasn't from the heart. How she could manage that in class wasn't going to be easy but she knew what to do. Focusing on nothing nor anyone around her she pulled her necklace out from beneath her robes. Pressing her thumb to it a tiny click could be heard as it snapped open to show the photos that were inside. As her eyes met those of the smiling people in the photos and her mind wandered back to that day so many years before her hazel eyes slowly filled with tears. Rather then compose herself or wipe them away like she normally would Hady allowed a few to slip down her face and drip from her chin straight onto her lump of clay which was held in her other hand. Tears from her straight onto the clay. One. Two. Three tears. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Exhaling a very tiny breath Hady clicked the locket shut and used her sleeve to wipe her face. Just so no one looked her way, noticed her tear stained face and asked questions all was well. Shaking the feeling of sadness away wasn't really an easy task and she found herself almost crying again as she gently rolled the lump of clay between her hands effectively making her tears and the clay one.

O_O.

This woman was smart. She was very, VERY smart, and Ariadne was having a hard time following along. She nodded every once in a while as the professor explained things, but it wasn't because she understood. She just wanted to look like she understood. The truth was, she was only picking up bits of information here and there, and then she was going to piece everything together. She was so deep in focusing on figuring things out, that when the professor clapped, she jumped and almost knocked her book to the floor.

OOPS. She got everything together, though, and tuned in to hear the details about the activity. Thank MERLIN they were doing an activity now! Ariadne didn't think she'd be able to piece together anymore lecture for now. The activity seemed FUN, though! Ariadne liked sculpting things with modeling clay, even if she wasn't very good at it. On the word go, Ariadne sprang from her seat and headed toward the modeling clay. It looked AWESOME. Really awesome. It was all put together in a neat little egg shape just BEGGING for somebody to mash it to a pancake then sculpt it again. She collected a lump of it then headed back to her seat.

She was still curious about what had happened with Charlotte. Guys, this was Charlotte Kettleburn, the loudest and bubbliest girl in her class and right now she was... awful. Was she crying all night long? Ugh, this was why Ava didn't like not being in a same dorm as her again, not knowing what had happened to her friend. Noelle wasn't back yet, Dora had to leave and now Char was crying.

Well, let's back to the lesson. Shall we?

The young lioness listened to the Professor's explanation about this activity. Okay, she understood now. First, she took some clay and brought it to her desk. And then her DNA.. Ava decided to use her hair because there's NO WAY she's gonna cry in front of the people here. It's embarrassing. She borrowed the scissors and cut some of her hair.

Although the Head Boy had not spoken throughout the lesson so far, he had been writting down in his note book. Taking in as much information he could in case it would become useful later in his NEWT’s.

When it was time for the activity, Yoongi scribbled down the last couple of words and placed his quill down on the desk. The whole idea of creating an significance of a true familiar sounded both fascinating and odd to him. He couldn’t place why but perhaps it was due to the fact that they had use part of their own DNA in the clay. He wanted to go with spit, because it was the easiest but then heard that it was the least effective and he did want to get some results.

Crying was out of the question. Especially a heartfelt tear. As he couldn’t even think of something to cry about except for the stress he had been feeling lately and he didn’t want to cry in front of a whole classroom. So Yoongi decided to use his hair as DNA. Only, he wasn’t going to cut it like the Professor had said. No way.

The Head Boy stood up from his seat, walked over to the front of the class to grab a piece of clay and returned to his own desk.

Wow so theyre gonna animate clay using their DNA. Is that cool or is that COOL??

But what shape will he make? What part of his DNA will he use? Can he cry on cue?

Likely a negative on that last part. Theres a reason why the Hat only offered him Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

While he debated the deep, world defining mysteries of this transfiguration class, he got up and took a pile of clay that the Professor gestured at.

Plopping back onto his seat, he stared at the clay and stared some more.... OH! He has an idea.

But question first "Professor? Can we combine two DNA sources-- like spit and hair? Will it make the DNA bond stronger that way?" Because crying on cue with genuine tears? He's not quite WADA material yknow.

This was turning out to be an interesting class! Azura was glad the Professor had at least agreed with her spirit idea though! Maybe it wasn't so lame after all? Her thoughts though would have to wait as she now has something to do!

The nearly 12 year old Ravenclaw scooted from her seat and made her way up to the front and grabbed some dark blue clay. She held it in her hands as she walked back to her seat, kneading it gently.

Now, what to put in it? Not spit of course, she wanted the magic to be strong, and she could go with her hair, but as she sat down, and looked down at her clay, she could already feel tears welling up in her eyes. Jasper would have loved this! Art in class!

Her feelings of loneliness started to bubble to the surface and tears started to well up in her purple eyes.. She missed Jasper so much! She missed everyone it seemed! She felt so alone most of the time!

She stared blindly down at the clay as her tears blurred her vision and then they ran down her face and dripped into the clay.

A soft sniffle came from her as she started to mix her tears with the dark blue substance.. Biting her lip a little as she tried to stop crying!! The tears just wanted to keep coming it seemed.

They had to... Jaemin blinked slowly at the professor's instructions, not moving from his seat just yet. This was one of those things where he wasn't quite sure what to do. Because they had to put something in the clay, and while Jay was totally with that, he didn't want to use spit since she had said it was weak. Why even do the activity if it wasn't gonna be as good as everyone else's then?!

But he also wasn't sure if he could cut his own hair off, because he was very small and fluffy and it might end up looking weird, and then what was he supposed to do? And he wasn't sure if he could muster tears that would be considered 'heartfelt'. What did that even mean? That it was something he felt really really sad about?

The small Slytherin frowned a little in thought as he left his seat to retrieve the clay. He'd... he'd try to do the tears thing, if he could, and if that failed, he'd try to do the hair thing. If he couldn't make himself do that, it would have to be spit. Which he didn't wanna do, but if he must, he must!!!

Now Ariadne was faced with the task of figuring out which part of her to add to the modeling clay. Spit would be the absolute easiest, and she had planned to go that route until the professor brought up how weak the results would be. This left a piece of her hair or real, emotional tears. The best would be the tears, but there was nothing Ariadne was THAT sad about right now, and even if there was, she wasn't sure she could just randomly produce tears without them coming out on their own.

Her hair it would be.

Ariadne didn't really want to cut her hair, but she had no other choice. She'd had a really bad experience with cutting her own hair when she was younger, and she'd ended up with no bangs. It had taken her mom a whole evening to get her hair to grow back, and even then, she'd threatened Ariadne with the thought of making her wait it out as punishment. Ariadne was older now, though, and she could probably cut hair a whole lot easier. Plus, she just snip some off the ends rather than her bangs (which she didn't even have now anyway).

Ariadne took in a deep breath then slooooooowly removed a small lock of her hair. Although she probably shouldn't have, she kept her eyes closed the whole time. It was over and done with now, though. She breathed easier as she dropped the lock into the modeling clay.

Haddie got up and made her way to the front to grab a lump of clay. Tears were the strongest, but had to be real tears. Easy enough, right? Haddie wasn't about to settle on a weaker clay familiar thingy, when she could achieve a stronger one...

Okay. Haddie could do this. She was in a good mood, because well, she loved Transfiguration. Loved it enough to actually get up for it and not stumble in like a half dead zombie like she would have for any other class, except maybe charms. So, she just needed to cry. For real.

What was the last thing made her cry... well Rachel stabbing her in the back would have, if she wasn't so angry at her ex-BFF. Natalie! The way her twin had been treating her. Focus on that, Haddie.

Haddie took a deep breath and closed her eyes and she thought about her sister. The way she'd reacted to Haddie getting accepted to Hogwarts without her, storming off without so much as a goodbye on Platform 9 3/4, how she'd given the two way mirror to Mom so Haddie couldn't even try and talk to her through it anymore. Her eyes were starting to water now, and rather than turn away wipe away the unshed tears, Haddie let them build. She let herself focus on her fear of losing Natalie, of them never patching things up and refusing to speak to each other for the rest of their lives like Dad and his own twin.

Why did people always have to turn their backs on Haddie? First Natalie and now Rachel, the only two real best friends forever she'd had. Best friends were supposed to stick by each other, and have their back, not betray on one another; not toss that away for a crush, or because one got something the other didn't. Was it only a matter of time before Mel and everyone turned their backs on her too? Old insecurities bubbled up now, all the worse as she didn't even have Natalie anymore. She was going to be alone her whole life. Like she would have been without Nat up until now. And that terrified her more than anything else in the world... Oh, she was crying! Good.

Haddie wiped a few tears from her cheek and pressed them into the clay. Then she turned away from the class to compose herself, and try to wipe away the tears without being seen. She was strong, she reminded herself. She would make it through that. She'd adapt and survive and be the most awesome crazy cat lady on the planet! Yes, she would.

Carefully carrying the lump of clay back to his desk, Jaemin sat down and stared very hard at it. He could make it into any shape that he wanted... but first he had to put his DNA stuff in it. Which meant trying to make tears happen, first, and then moving on to other options if he couldn't get it to work.

The last time he'd cried had been Divination class, but it was only because he threw up. Jaemin was not prepared for a repeat performance, and he was not prepared to think about that class in any capacity anymore. He never wanted anything to do with it again, thank you. The diminutive Slytherin put his hands down on the desk and rested his chin on them, staring at the lump of clay.

How to cry... how to cry...

He glanced around, looking at all the other people in the room. His eyes landed on Ariadne, and on the house crest that marked her as someone from the same house as Jaemin. Slytherin. Snakes.

Snakes?

Ohhhh. Ohhh noooooo. He was thinking about snakes now, about how they had to slither everywhere and wrap around things and bite things, all because...

"They don't have any arms," he whispered to himself. HOW TRAGIC. No arms meant no hugs and no Herbology and no magic and no anything that required arms. Jaemin squeezed his eyes closed. THE TRAGEDY OF IT ALL. It was enough to make a grown man small boy cry.

Ariadne's lock of hair was now mixed in with her modeling clay, and there was no turning back now. At first, she had a weird expression on her face at the thought of her hair in the modeling clay. She didn't know WHY, but she kind of had a feeling it was the feel of the course hair mixed in with the smooth modeling clay. She kept mashing the clay in between her hands, though, and pretty soon, she couldn't even feel the hair anymore. It was in there. It was just so mixed in that it couldn't be differentiated from the modeling clay.

So what was she going to make with it? A familiar...

AN OWL! Ariadne didn't have a pet, and she didn't really want one right now, but she really wanted a delivery owl. It MAY become a pet to her later on, but she wanted one to help her deliver things she needed to send out and receive things sent to her. She'd heard they were really loyal, too! Ariadne flattened her ball of clay into a pancake shape fashion, and then she began to peel away parts here and there. She used the tip of a quill that had no ink on it to help her shape the figure. It had pointy ears, wings, and even a few loops in the clay that gave the impression of feathers.

When she was done, she stepped back and looked at her owl. It wasn't perfect, but she thought people could at least tell what it was!

OOC: Please pretend Ariadne's creation doesn't look quite as good as the image I linked. lol

Those happy thoughts really did help Rachel. She didn't trust to look up around the room for two reasons: 1. She would likely see Haddie and 2. If there were any other students crying, she would surely dissolve into tears again. Sometimes she hated being such a softie but she couldn't help it.

She began to mold the clay, pinching and shaping it carefully while she occasionally sniffed. Perhaps it was because she was feeling so sad but this took longer than she anticipated. Rachel had opted to do a bird. It was an eagle to be precise but it posed quite a challenge.

The head of it was the first to be made but the Claw didn't really like how it was shaped so she started all over again. The second attempt was just as bad. However, the third one was was reasonable so she moved on to shaping the body. That was fairly easier as were the talons.

Rachel was satisfied with her work as she surveyed it. It wasn't perfect but it would work.

See, Oliver might say that she sucked, but Esme knew that he didn't really mean it. After sticking her tongue out at him she WAS going to tell him about the 'sleeping beauty' thing, but class had started. Maybe she could tell him after the lesson?

For now, however, she was too busy trying to keep up with the conversation going on around her. This wasn't the easiest thing to do, but she was taking notes and that was a good thing to do, right? At least she was trying with the whole learning thing and that was the most important thing.

Collecting her bit of clay, Esme thought of what she could add to it. Saliva was out of the question because not only was it the weakest of the three, but it was also gross. Why would anyone spit into clay and work with it? Bleh. Hair wasn't a bad option, though she wasn't as protective of her hair as Juno. But tears... Tears were the best. She could do the whole crying thing, and already knew what to think about.

Her thoughts turned to her sister and what the hag had told her. Professor Draper had said that the words were nonsense, but that didn't keep Esme from being afraid. She thought about Juno being cursed and dying, and felt the tears well up before starting to fall onto her clay.

Okay, happy thoughts Azura, happy thoughts!

The young Ravenclaw tried to give herself a pep talk as she worked her clay. She didn't need to soak the clay with her tears and sobbing uncontrollably in the classroom wasn't exactly what she wanted to do right now! That could be for later! For the common room!

She bit her lip as a few more tears dripped down onto her clay and she sniffled slightly.

Happy thoughts!

Going invisible and trying to high five Haddie! That was happy! So was hugging Torie! Getting the cushioning charm on the second try! Getting the invisibility spell on the first time! Meeting Effie! And her balcony chat with Jace!

She stared to dwell on those thoughts and soon her purple eyes were clear of tears! And she looked down at her clay and smiled..

A Red Panda! Of course that is what it would be! Or well.. Sort of one at least.. It would do.

Text Cut: Hady

Hady didn't make a sound or offer up any answers to any of the questions. At least not right away. Her attention was peaked the very second the tapestries were reviled showing the Kitsune. Knowing what they were was one thing to her but listening to what all her peers and Professor Incihara's take on what these creatures could very likely be had her mind in a whirl and she was currently taking down notes. Many, many notes. Some answers really caught her attention more so then others like Mason's and Haddie's. Two first years with really in depth replies. Two younger girls she knew but was still surprised with how well they spoke. She glanced their way giving them both a grin.

Mason gave Hady a smile and nodded as she heard the older girl's answer.

Souls were just weird. And the curses and controlling-spells as well. It was seemingly possible to create life and a spirit, but who could actually know?

Text Cut: Professor Nana

“An interesting theory, but keep in mind that ghosts as we know them are very much stuck to one form and cannot change to another. Also, keep in mind Transfiguration next time, but as I said, very interesting, Miss Stevens.” Nana gave the young girl a small smile, one that shifted as the young girl carried on, bringing up a point which made the older witch’s eyebrows rise quite a bit. “Yes, the Imperius Curse does turn one into another’s puppet, but you are correct, no form of magic can give true life.” She paused. “Some very dark words from one so young.” Another child to perhaps keep an eye on.

Huh.

Mason hadn't even know that ghost could only stick to one form. That would explain why the Bloody Baron was still so ugly even after his life had ended. Personally, Mason would have chosen a completely different form. Like something scary, not some old dude in a wig and ruffled trousers.

Mason nodded as the older witch continued. She had completely forgotten about the Transfiguration-aspect of magic, even though she was literally sitting in Transfiguration Class. Sometimes her mind just wandered off when she was discussing things on such a deep level.

Mason gave the professor a wide grin at her last words, "Wisdom oft comes from the mouths of babes, Professor." As for the dark aspect . . . the depth of life had always been a little dark to Mason, even if she was still just a child.

Professor Nana seemed like a wise women. Maybe she could help Mason in the answers she had been looking for, or at least the she could point her in the right direction. . .

Maybe I should ask her after class, or maybe meet her in her office?

SPOILER!!: Lesson and Activity

A true smile, the kind that twinkled the eyes and gave beautiful women laugh lines, spread across Nana’s face. “Miss Denaker, Mister Reed and Miss Stone all alluded to in their answers, the true soul cannot be replicated, but spirit can be borrowed, or even shared.” She had made her way back to her desk. Taking up her wand, Nana reached back and tapped the tapestry, causing it and the others to be still once more. “Mister Reed was quite correct in his questioning. Many experts say that Familiars choose their partner, a witch or wizard with exceptional skill that the Familiar deems worthy of the bond. It is something that cannot be recreated, or replicated, it is special. Singular.”

“As discussed, these creatures may very well have been Animagi, some other now extinct magical creature, or even an illusion brought to life by a witch or wizard to scare or distract Mugglekind. None of these answers are incorrect, and that is the true beauty of theory and discussion, something that goes hand in hand with Transfiguration in my opinion.” She paused, lips pursing as she carefully thought over her next words. “Another option for the Kitsune’s origin comes from Familiar Magic.” No, not familiar as in something you might know well, this was altogether a very different matter. “Familiar is the term used in Transfiguration to describe an animal that shares a bond so strong with it’s owner that it no longer is an ordinary pet, but more a partner. True familiars are said to be tied to their partners by a string of fate, a soul connection that binds and brings Wizard and animal together. Many Historians claim that the Kitsune myths were the product of a Muggle crossing paths with a wizard who had with him a Fox Familiar. It’s a far-fetched idea, but one that in recent years has gained credibility.”

“A Fox Familiar would not only be able to do it’s partner’s bidding, but could also give aid in certain spells, and even protect their partner from danger… “ Were they still listening? She had a little ways to go now. “To a lesser extent, you can create a tethered bond to an object, gift it a bit of your own spirit or magical essence, but the object will not think for itself or be able to exist on it’s own. The suits of Armor here in the castle are Insentient Familiars, many have speculated that Quick-Quotes Quills are a bent version of the Familiar spellwork, but the manufacturers are not the kind to divulge company secrets.” Nana could hardly blame them, it was a rather ingenious little tweak.

“A few of you mentioned Inferi in your answers. There are similarities between Familiar magic and Inferi, but there is much more complexity in the second, and a great deal more danger. insentient Familiars, like Inferi need a physical form to settle their magic into.” Nana glanced around, she had worried about broaching the subject of Inferi, but after hearing the word slip from student mouths she had decided it would do after all. “In the case of Insentient Familiars something of the caster must be added to the object in some way to strengthen the bond between caster and familiar. Hair, spit and true tears are the most commonly used options.” She paused, eyeing the class, considering her next words with delicate care speaking again. “In darker forms, blood is also used but I strongly urge against the practice as it can lead to dire circumstances should it go awry.”

“Insentient Familiars and Natural Familiars are as different as a living being and a comic book character. It is possible in your life times that you will never come upon a true familiar or find your own, but you can, as we’ve learned today, something that will give you an idea of what that bond is like and something that you may harness in the future how you see fit.”




Activity:

Clapping her hands together, Nana stood from where she had been sitting on her desk. “Now. I believe that’s enough discussion for the day. If you are all ready, we will move on to today’s activity. Creating an Insentient Familiar to better understand the significance of a true Familiar.”

Nana nodded to a small table beside her desk where little groups of Molding Clay that rested in wait there. “Each of you will take one lump back to your desk, you are to mold it to whatever shape your heart might desire, so long as the shape is not indecent.” - She gave a particular glance to the young men in the room - “The first step, however is to take something with your own DNA and place it into the clay. Imbuing it with a bit of your physical self so that when you cast your spell it will stick.”

“As I stated, there are three options. Spit, a lock of your hair, or heartfelt tears. The spell works best when it is combined with an emotional sacrifice. Spit is the weakest of the three for it is the easiest of them to part with, a lock of hair for some is nothing to part with… While for others it is quite a sacrifice indeed. Last, and strongest are tears. They cannot be crocodile tears, they must absolutely be born of true emotion otherwise they will prove as useless as water. It is up to you to decide what to use, keep in mind that this will effect your overall performance. Whatever material you choose to work with must be placed within the clay first before you begin the molding process.”

“For those in need. I have scissors available near the table that holds our molding clay. I suggest that younger students be care. No running with them.” That was something of a joke, class.

“Any and all questions are welcome as you work.” Get to it, class

Well that was an interesting lecture. And impossible to ignore.

The idea of the Familiar Bond-thingy was actually really beautiful in some way. Truly binding a human and an animal's spirit was something that seemed extraordinarily special.

This class was obviously of to a good start, and Mason could tell that it was going to be an amazing year.

Mason slid out of her desk and made her way to where the clay lay on a desk beside the professor's. Mason looked at the little lumps of clay and took one of the lumps in her hand, making her way back to her desk.

DNA huh?

Mason didn't really have the sudden urge to rip out her hair or spit into the clay. Tears were apparently the most powerful, but also the most personal. Blood was obviously out of the question.

Staring down at the sad little lump, Mason thought back to all the times she had sat huddled against her door, sobbing her eyes out as her parents had one of their many fights. This had obviously been when she was younger, when she was still naïve to the dislike her parents harboured for one another.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine herself as that scared little girl again. She tried to imagine herself pressing her knees to her face as she sat in the dark, covering her ears as she heard the booming voices and the shattering of whatever it was her mother had decided to throw at her father this time.

Mason's throat burned as she felt the tears gather behind her eyes.

The moment at the Wall, between 9 and 10. When her dad had hugged her and told her how proud he was of her, how her mum had clutched her whispered how much she loved her.

It was the good memory that let the tears slip free. They rolled down her cheeks and gathered at her chin, like a small little stream.

The droplet fell from her chin and splashed into the clay, dampening the little lump. Mason sniffed and whipped at her face with her sleeve.

I can't believe I just cried I class. Merlin, I really am losing my edge. . .

Mason kneaded the clay, mixing her tears in with the ball. She decided that she was going to make a crow, she had read in an old book once that dark wings brought dark words. And since that was exactly what Professor Nana had said she had spoken, that was what she was going to make.

Notes, notes and more notes. Janelle kept writing until her fingers began to cramp. So much information was being given and she did not want to miss any of the important stuff. Taking a moment to shake out her hands and stretch her fingers, Janelle was glad to know that they were moving on to the main activity. Putting her quill down, she listened carefully (not that she wasn't listening carefully before) to what they would be doing.

Making an insentient familiar sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun.......until the professor mentioned their choices for adding DNA to the clay. Janelle was most definitely not going to spit on her clay. Just, no. She was not one who cried easily and she certainly didn't fancy having her tears on display in Transfiguration class. The most logical choice was a lock of hair. The problem with that was that Janelle was extremely attached to her hair. She had cut it before and regretted it immediately. Call her vain, whatever. She had a kind of Samson-like thing going on with her hair. For her to cut it again, even a little bit, would truly be a sacrifice.

The thought of cutting her hair almost brought on the needed tears. Almost. Deciding to postpone the inevitable, Janelle went up to get her clay. Slowly, she walked back to her desk and sat down. Janelle squeezed the clay repeatedly in her hand. She had to make a decision, although the decision was really already made.

With a sigh and great reluctance, Janelle went up and grabbed a pair of scissors. She chose a piece of hair in the back of her head, way, way underneath. Hopefully it would not be noticeable. Unaware that she was holding her breath, Janelle held the lock of hair in her hand. She lifted the scissors and before she could change her mind, she snipped off the piece of hair. Janelle felt as if she had cut off a more vital part of her body, like an apendage at the very least. Trying not to think about it, she flattened the clay and put the lock of hair on top. Then she folded the clay over and made it into a ball. The hard part was done.

Ellery snapped out of her daze when the activity was called. She knew eXACTLY what animal she was modeling her "familiar" after, and she was not going to chicken out. She was going to CRY on the clay.

She went and got a handful from the front, then went back to her seat. Thinking sad things…Olly dying, Colin dying…she wibbled a little bit, but no tears were coming. Failure…her fathers being disappointed in her…her eyes started to water, but still no tears. FINE. She stared upwards and didn't blink, her eyes welling with water, but when she blinked, again, no tears spilled.

She took her right hand and slapped her face as hard as she could.

"Ah," she said with a wince, then tilted her head to droop over the clay. A tear dripped off her chin into the clay, but then, frighteningly, a red droplet joined it.

Oh, Merlin. Did she break her nose??? No, it was just a nosebleed, but… Oh, dear.

"Professor? I have a nosebleed." She kept her head tilted forward, letting a little more blood drip onto the clay because…well, that would make the bond SUPER strong, yeah?

Jay very slowly recovered from being distraught over armless snakes. It was just so sad. Why had nobody done anything for them, to make them have arms? They made life so much easier. But, he reasoned with himself after a long moment, they seemed to be getting by pretty well the way they were. And it wasn't impossible to hug without arms, as snakes were rather flexible... they could always just wrap around you to hug.

Hopefully not too hard though. That was how some of them killed their prey, after all...

Jaemin wiped the few tears from his eyes and patted them into the clay, then started kneading it. Had to work them in there, before he could make his little familiar thingy! He squished it this way and that for a while before he started shaping it into the shape he wanted.

He had gotten a hedgehog as a pet when he'd wanted a niffler. His mom and dad had told him that he couldn't have one, because they were dangerous to the 'structural integrity' of homes and other buildings. So he couldn't have a real niffler... but he could certainly have a little clay one. The small boy poked his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and went to work making the most detailed little niffler he could possibly make.

Haddie was fine again. No more tears threatening to fall, but the whole thing had left her rather somber. Why was blood so bad and dark? It would have been so much easier to just draw blood and move on.

She knew just what she was going to make. Her favorite animal. A lioness. First she rolled the clay out, making it into the lioness' body. She spent a good 10 minutes on the head alone. Once she got it where she was happy with it, Haddie moved on, making legs that looked somewhat the way the should, but were at least all the same length so it stood perfectly. Lastly, the tail. Oddly the tail was the most difficult. It broke 3 times before she finally got it molded and posed right.

Making the little clay lioness was a good distraction and the results, which were actually better than she expected cheered her up. It was actually identifiable as a lioness! Yay Haddie. She admired it for a moment before looking up at the Professor. "What's next?" That's right, Haddie was back to her regular self.

Holy Guacamole that was a lot of words. Norah struggled to keep up as Professor Ichihara went on and on and on and on about all the things in the entire universe. They were COOL things, no doubt about that, but they were awfully hard to spell. That was rude. Her parchment, cramped with of scribbled handwriting running sideways down the page, had its fair share of crossed out words and little insertions on account of those dumb hard words, but by the time the professor announced the activity, the sixth year was quite pleased with her handiwork. It wasn't every day that she did so much writing she couldn't even raise her hand, after all. The fact that she really didn't understand all of what was going on, nor was capable of pronouncing most of the relevant words, was a whole nother story.

With a small smile at the Professor just so she KNEW she was appreciating the lesson, Norah retrieved a ball of clay and set it down on her desk. That was the easy part. She wasn't all that attached to her hair, considering every time she brushed it she had to sacrifice some anyways because it always insisted on being such a disaster. She wasn't entirely sure if crying in front of the entire world was something she wanted to do either, though. Maybe Sophie Brown would've been brave enough for that, but this Hufflepuff was a bit further from embodying the ex Head Girl's spirit as she would've liked at this point. She didn't want a WEAK clay shape, though. What fun would that be? After all the fun it'd probably be to make it in the first place, Norah wasn't inclined to let the fun END THERE. It'd be a dreadful waste. So. Crying it was. She let out a long breath, then shut her eyes and tried to think about all the sad things in the entire universe. Stepped-on flowers. That time Marcel got a paper cut. STEPPED-ON FLOWERS.

The next part didn't require any thought. Janelle knew what familiar she was going to create. Breaking off several small pieces of clay, she took the remaining large piece and worked it between her hands until it felt just right. Then Janelle began to shape and mold the lump of clay into the body of a dog. At least she hoped that it looked like a dog. Well it did to her and that was all that really mattered.

Janelle wished that she had something she could use to put some texture into her dog's coat. She would have to think about that for a while. In the meantime, Janelle went to work on the dog's head. Thinking that was the most important part, she worked slowly and carefully, giving him what she considered to be a happy face. Next she took two small pieces of clay, shaping them into two pointed ears. Then onto the dog's head they went. The ears required a bit of tweaking, but Janelle finally got them to look the way she wanted.

Her little, as yet unamed dog needed some legs. One by one, Janelle crafted four little legs for her new best friend. She made sure not to make them too thin because she wanted to make sure that they would not break off easily. Then Janelle gave her doggie a nice pointy, perky tail. There. He was perfect. Well imperfectly perfect and that was the best kind of perfect. Janelle was quite satisfied with her familiar, but being Janelle.......she wondered. Was there anything else she could do to make him better? Nah, she was good.

Blaise could easily have been excited about a class like this. Modelling clay. Making whatever shapes they wanted. Getting creative. The whole nine yards--but then the Professor mentioned they'd be casting a spell on the clay afterwards and suddenly the urge to walk through the door and hope the Professor was much like the former and current Charms Professor in not caring whether he left or not was very strong.

The 12 year old looked to the door, then back to the Professor. Would she tell Airey if he left? Would Professor Airey get mad at him? The boy might have wondered how angry the man could really get but suddenly images of the death glares at the feast came swarming back and before he knew it, he was out of his seat grabbing clay like everyone else.

Definitely mad.

He couldn't think of anything indecent he'd sculpt--except maybe Professor Stupid Head Julien's face then step on it but THEN he'd get in trouble so the boy would have to settle for something else...after figuring what he would sacrifice.

Honestly................given that his wand was up in his dorm, locked away in his trunk, his results didn't stand a chance of being good in the first place. So...really...it didn't matter what he sacrificed and that prompted him to spit in his clay and move on with his life. It wouldn't make a difference. It wouldn't work anyway.

Pulling herself back from the depths of sadness was something essential right now. There was noway the fifth year would continue to sit here and cry during a lesson whether is was for a good reason or not. Even if no knew took notice crying wasn't something she did. Ever. So with one last shaky exhale of breath Hady firmly forced all other thoughts that weren't the lump of clay in her hands far back into her mind. There was a better time and place for those thoughts and now was no it.

As the clay began to soften between the palms of her hands a very small grin tugged at the edges of her lips. It was relaxing really. And for quite some time she had no idea what she was even making as she pulled off little bits of clay setting them off to the side to use later.

As it took the shape of a strange looking ball she carefully began to make a tiny face a bit higher the the center. Picking up the bits of clay that were placed aside earlier tiny feet and paws were sculpted which she then stuck onto its body.

Pulling out a regular muggle pencil from her bag Hady used this to very carefully add all the detail. Lots of it. The many many many little spiney hairs that were it's type of fur. When she was finally done she held in her hand her familiar. One she most certainly didn't expect bit felt it was hers. Her heart had always lay with butterflies but this was not one. Not even close.

Held in her hand was a small very much not at all perfect but still adorable hedgehog. (Clearly not that good xD) Could she name it? Every familiar had a name, right?

Sam was very attentive in this Transfiguration lesson. Not that he wasn't normally an attentive pupil, but he was especially interested today. And although it was his professor's very fetching looks that had originally captured his attention, the subject matter was now maintaining it equally as well.

And he had good input, right? Sam nodded to her as she tied his answer in with Dodo birds and muggles being under the impression that they were extinct. And once she had addressed all the next comments that came, she went on with her explanation. All of the professors at Hogwarts were very intelligent, as least in their own expertise, but Sam was quickly gathering that Professor Ichihara was not only extremely pretty, but also extremely intelligent. That was a very powerful combination, he thought.

Now, the practical portion of the lesson! His blue eyes followed her gesture to the clay. They had to contribute a piece of their own DNA. Made sense. Out of curiosity, he would have liked to hear her expand upon the consequences of adding blood instead of one of the other three, but he didn't ask about it now. Plus, if he asked her later, he would have an excuse to talk to her individually. Thinking ahead, you know.

After retrieving a lump of clay from the table and bringing it back to his desk, Sam poked and played with it a little as he wondered what sort of shape he wanted to mold it into. His mind swirled with possibilities. He liked stories about medieval times. Knights, dragons. He was a skilled swimmer and loved being in water. After a bit of thinking, he had decided.

But before any real molding happened, he needed to add that DNA element. Heartfelt tears were entirely out of the question. Mature eleven-year-old boys like himself did not cry in the middle of a class, with all his classmates surrounding him! Absurd. Hence, that left either the option of spit or hair. Now, she had said that spit yielded the weakest result, yes? And Sam really did want this familiar to work well. So, that pretty much decided for him. He would add in his own hair. "Erm.." From what part of his head should he cut the hair? Where might it look most unnoticeable? The back? Yeah, probably the back. Using Professor Ichihara's provided scissors, Sam awkwardly reached to the back of his hair, tugged on his smooth brown hair, and snipped.