Quote:
Originally Posted by
Felixir 
Blink.
Blinkblink.
"I'm not anxious,"Tobias found himself saying, looking up at Cutty with a nonplussed expression which then turned to amusement. The foot on the leg that Cutty had more or less held down had stopped, but the other one was still going, as were his tapping fingers. Tobias simply didn't stay still.
But still, homework. That was the point of this meeting, after all. Toby kept himself quiet and listened to what Cutty was saying, but inwardly he kept his mind on the simple rowboats that pulled first years across the lake on their first night at Hogwarts. He'd managed that boat in the lesson, after all. He'd start with that, and maybe work his way up. At least until he could successfully cast the spell even after taking a long break.
Tobias took his block of wood back from Cutty and observed as the boy transfigured another boat. He, of course, didn't realise that Cutty was unhappy with his boat, because Toby thought it looked pretty good. "Nice one."
Aaaaaaand back to his own.
Deciding to repeat the method he used in class, Tobias sat facing the lake and closed his eyes. It was a lot easier to visualise now that they were here, right in front of the water that the boats went across. He held in his mind a picture of what the boats looked like, just as he had in class, focusing on just a single one at the moment; the one he'd ridden in on his first night.
It only took a few moments to get the image firmly in his head, and once it was there, Tobias suddenly snapped his eyes back open and looked at the block of wood again.
"Lignum Navicula!" he cast at once, tapping the wood with his wand.
Almost at once, he knew the spell was going to work out well. The rippling in the block was quicker and more insistent than before, and Toby figured his confidence in the magic was being mirrored by the actions of the spell. Before long, he was left with an all but perfect replica of the rowboat from that first night. Right down to the peculiar nicks all down the left edge. He held it up at eye level.
"This is the one I was practicing in class," he explained, glancing over a Cutty for a second as he turned the boat over in his hands to look at all of it. It was good. Would probably even float. But too simple. He wanted to make a boat that had some kind of shelter in it, and maybe even a mast for a sail. Something impressive. Of course, if he couldn't manage that, then the rowboat would still be sufficient in an emergency.
But this was time for improving.
"Reverto."
Tobias turned it back into a block of wood, ready to try and step it up a gear.
Cutty's lip curled when he saw the amused expression Tobias was wearing as if mirroring the boy's amusement, but it made him look a bit disgusted as he added an information-gathering look up and then down on Toby.
He shouldn't have done that.
It only made his life more difficult.
He dismissed it with shut eyes and a shaking of the head, pretending as though he were shaking off the subject. Alright, then. On to Transfiguration. "
I'm not entirely happy with that. I think I want something deeper. Reverto!" He said, stealing back the form from the wood. Cutty looked over at Toby's new boat with a smile at first, thinking it's form owing to his own advice. The smile, though quickly morphed into a mocking sort of laughter made worse by his pointing. But he was hardly laughing at Tobias. In fact, he wasn't laughing at Tobias at all. Seeing the first year boat reminded him of Fern Quimbley and how she'd bitten it getting into the boat and ended up with water all over herself.
And those were good times, apparently.
"
Tobias! That. Is. Brilliant." He said snatching the boat out of the Hufflepuffs hands to have a good look at it, his monkey laugh dying down by now into little breaths. Cutty was looking quite impressed, a bright, genuine, but crooked smile replaced the afore given expressions upon his face as he examined the Puff's work. "
You even got the scratches down. You pictured this carefully, didn't you? Nice work, mate!" He handed the boat back planning to keep-way when Tobias would go for it, but ultimately releasing it to him on the third or maybe fourth reach. Just for funsies.
"
Well, if you're not nervous, then, what's wrong with you?" His glance darted from Toby's face to the hand fidgeting, and then to his renewed wood hunk. "
Lignum Navicula!" The end of Cutty's wand hit the wood and manipulated the form once again, trading it in for the sleek, but detailed design of ancient Greek boatmakers.