Transfiguration Lesson: Do the Monster Mash

[MadMadamMalfoy]

It’s a sleepy October afternoon at Hogwarts, but not just any October afternoon. Today is the day before Halloween. If the holiday slipped your mind, one look into the transfiguration classroom will instantly remind you. The desks are arranged in their usual rows, but that’s the only thing normal about the classroom’s appearance. Posters of classic movie monsters adorn the walls ( 1 2 3 4 5 6), and there are several dummies of varying heights and skin tones lined up along the back of the room. A large trunk sits at the front where Professor Carton’s desk would normally be. What’s inside? Supplies for a costume party, perhaps?

Even the professor himself has gotten in on the act with a “costume” of sorts. A large brown dog with bluish-green eyes sits calmly beside the trunk, in the exact spot where Professor Carton would usually stand. If the hair and eye color don’t make it obvious that the dog is the professor in animagus form, its behavior will. The dog!professor watches the door for students, and with each new arrival, it jerks its head toward the chalkboard where the following message is written:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chalkboard

Please take your seats and wait for the lesson to begin.

OOC: Welcome to term 64’s transfiguration lesson! While this is our first lesson together OOC, your students would’ve had IC classes with Professor Carton for about 2 months now. We’ll begin in ABOUT 20-24 HOURS Class has started!

Lesson Progression:
Q1: How can one use transfiguration to disguise their appearance?
Q2: what are some advantages/disadvantages to changing one's physical characteristics with transfiguration? When is it useful? When would another method of disguise work better?
Spell Practice: Ristaris, Crinis Muto & Tirinum
Main Activity: Monster Makeover

[FearlessLeader19]

The spell worked for partial reversion too! Excellent! Char nodded his thanks to Carton then focused on the dummy again, concentrating on the height and build only. “Reverte.” This was followed by a tap and… awesome! The dummy’s stature returned to the original form. If only it were this easy to make the change into the correct height and build. Char knew he would have to keep at it.

And so he did, reverting the dummy to its starting point form {with the exception of its eyes and hair}many times. But finally, on his eighth try, the dummy body changed to perfection, exactly as the manner in which the Puff pictured it. Success!

Char was just in time since Carton called the practice to a halt. The boy collected the parchment slip and unfolded it: Vampire. Nice! He was confident that he could make these changes happen on a dummy but was not confident about trying all the spells on himself. With all of this worked out in his brain, Charlie reverted his dummy to its full original state.

Time to create his vampire-dummy!

Char would be creating his own Count Dracula. A Count with style that everyone would want to be. His Count would have long black hair, thick and perfectly styled. “Ris-TAR-is.” The wand was tapped with confidence and all the focus the young man could muster. Immediately the strands he had been picturing sprouted from the dummy’s head. It grew until it reached the dummy’s shoulders.

This vampire had better hair than he did.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Norman watched the students go about their work, eager to see what monster looks they would come up with. Right off the bat, he saw Ellis change his dummy’s height to well over seven feet… only one monster that could possibly be! “Nicely done, Mr. Ellis,” he said. He also had a pretty good idea which monster Yoon was creating based on the accessories alone. He gave an approving nod but refrained from commenting for now.

Elsewhere, he noticed Gaeltheos practicing on herself. The pale gray hair was an interesting choice. He could think of more than one monster that would fit, so he supposed he’d have to wait to guess. “Very good, Miss Gaeltheos,” he said. Another monster he was unable to guess so far? Bergstrand’s. That long dark hair could go with any of the five monster options! “You too, Mr. Bergstrand.”

Bluish-green eyes scanning the room, Norman noticed Ramsey talking to Nam. A potential partnership in the making? Before he could think much on it, Rasting’s transformation captured his attention. Between those eyes, that hair, and the height increase, he was pretty sure which monster inspired that look, but before he could offer any guess or praise, he saw the girl topple over. “Are you alright, Miss Rasting?” he asked, mildly concerned.

After a quick glance at his watch, he addressed the class once more, “Keep at it! You still have about twenty minutes.”

OOC: We’ll wrap things up in about 24-30 HOURS.

[FearlessLeader19]

“Thank you, professor,’’ Charlie replied with a huge grin. Yes, he was having the time of his life with this activity. Now that the dummy’s hair was all set, he moved onto the eyes. Bright green, said that little voice in his head. The Puff pictured deep green eyes as the wand was raised again. “Ristaris.’’ A tap on the dummy’s head later, the exact shade pictured in his mind. This spell in particular was an easy one for him it seemed.

Now came the challenging spell.

His Count Dracula was going to have a stocky build. “Tirinum.’’ Two taps to the head and nothing happened. Charlie turned up his face, the action solely for himself. “Tirinum.’’ Two more taps and the dummy sprang up, even taller than Charlie. Ugh. He reversed the spell and tried again. Twice more these steps were repeated until… finally the dummy shrank, its shoulders broadened and its body in general became more solid. Just as Charlie wanted.

With the aid of ‘Densaugeo’, he elongated the two upper incisors until they came in line with the lower lip. There was no way anyone would have any doubt as to what monster he had just put together!

[Emzily]

The effects from her last spell cast had caused her hair to also have this rough and dry texture which honestly was upsetting Remy a little bit, but anything for the cause. She was eager to master the next one, because she hadn’t tried changing her eye colour before and it was very exciting, probably one that she would use continuously in the future if she managed it. Another tap to the head, Remy clearly said, “Ristaruh-s,” she knew immediately that her pronunciation was way off so she didn’t even need to check.

After one quick glance at the blackboard again, Remy repeated, “Ristaris.” Tap. She checked in a mirror confidently, and grinned widely as she saw her eye colour had transformed to completely white. “Woah.” She looked up to find someone to show, but turns out there wasn’t anyone.

Lasty, Remy wasn't sure she was fussed about changing her height or build, but decided to go for a bit more height just to check the spell off. “Tirinum.” She tapped her head twice, and the extra practise beforehand had paid off as she felt her body rise up a little. Only a little, though. Satisfied by her wandwork, Remy headed to the trunk of props and costumes to find something zombie-approved.

[astrocat]

Brandon did not want to make himself a vampire very much (or use newly-learned spells on himself), so he practiced on the dummy. He was glad to have the vampire parchment, because he was the most familiar with them and knew what he wanted to do. Tall and very thin, black hair, red eyes.... he wished he could make it look pallid, like how he pictured vampires, but he didn't know how. Also, he needed a cloak. And fangs. And a name. But first he should do the actual magic, right? First, he wanted to do the height and build. He tapped twice. "Tirinum." The dummy became tallish and quite thin, but he thought it wasn't tall enough. "Tirinum!" It became extra tall, taller than him and even taller that the professor. It was so tall that it scared him a little. Perfect... okay, now the hair. Maybe he should have done that first, as he had to wrestle with him dummy to make it low enough to tap on the head. It took a few minutes and looked ridiculous, but he managed to lean the dummy so he could reach. "Crinis Muto." The hair lengthened a little, and turned black instead of the original blond. Also it looked thinner and flatter, and... vampire-y. He even managed to change the hairline on his fifth adjustment of the spell. Finally, the eyes. He wasn't sure if vampires really had red eyes of not but he wanted this one to. He felt like ristaris was the simplest spell of the three, so it only took one tap and one incantation to turn the dummy's eyes a glowy and scary red. "Ristaris."

Brandon may have gone a little overboard and scared himself with his own vampire design. He... he tried not to look up at it or look at its eyes. Um, he'd be doing the costume now. He went over to collect some costumes (a cloak and a suit), but on his way back he was SUDDENLY and HORRIBLY crushed by a falling person. "Ahhhh!" He couldn't help but shriek as he was knocked down by someone very tall and then immediately squished as they fell on top of him. Help!!!

[Lottiepot]

Fynley had NOT thought about the predicament he had just put himself in by changing the height of his dummy first. Despite he himself being almost six feet tall at fifteen, his 7 foot dummy was now towering above him making it just that little bit more difficult to tap the head to change all the other features. It was a good job that he wasn’t short like some of these other students and that his wand was of a fairly long length or he’d have no chance.

It was time to move on to the eyes next. The good thing about getting Frankenstein’s Monster was that the creatures was supposed to be a mash up of different body parts and therefore it didn’t matter if spells went a little awry in the process. “Ristaris” he spoke, tapping the head once and picturing the intended outcome in his head. The eyes transformed in front of him, one morphing to a bright green and the other to a deep brown. The hair came next which once again could be left entirely up to the imagination. The cartoon type Frankenstein’s Monster image was stuck in his head so that was the look he was going for. “Crinis Muto” he tapped the dummy again and stood back as the hair transformed from a lighter brown to a deeper black and shortened to a squared off crop on the top of the head.

If he was really going for that cartoonish look he would’ve asked how to make the skin turn greyer or greenish but he figured it wasn’t likely to get him any extra credit and to be honest he preferred to just scrape his way through lessons rather than nerd out. He supposed there might be something clothes wise in the trunk to complete the look so up he trudged looking for some disheveled looking trousers and shirt and potentially some of those bolts to attach to the side of the head.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

The students’ monster looks were really coming together! With the addition of the white eyes and slight height increase, Norman instantly recognized Galetheos as a zombie, even without the addition of props and costumes. “Great zombie look, Miss Galtheos,” he said, his eyes following her to the trunk up front. He wondered which accessories she’d use to complete the look!

Ellis’s Frankenstein Monster had come along quite nicely too, now sporting a flat-top haircut and mismatched eyes. “Excellent Frankenstein Monster, Mr. Ellis,” Norman said, his eyes momentarily darting in the direction of the trunk. He hoped the boy would find what he was looking for in there!

Elsewhere, Bergstrand’s dummy now clearly resembled a vampire, a creative take on one. “Nice take on your vampire, Mr. Bergstrand,” Norman said. “The green eyes and stocky build are interesting choices.” He wondered if there was any particular reason behind those choices, but before he could ask, a shriek distracted him.

Bluish-green eyes darting in the direction of the sound, Norman noticed that Fox had likewise produced a nice-looking vampire, but more importantly, he saw that the boy had become a casualty of Rasting’s fall. “Are you okay?” he asked, offering a hand to help either or both of the fallen students.


After some more time had passed, Norman checked his watch again to see that class time was running out. “That’s time!” he announced to the class. “In honor of Halloween, there will be no homework today. You may borrow any of the props and costumes in the trunk of the holiday, but they must be returned no later than Monday morning. Class dismissed!”

OOC: Thanks for coming! It’s been fun! I’ll leave the thread open another 18-24 HOURS for those who want to finish up and/or post their student leaving.

[FearlessLeader19]

“Thank you, professor! Appreciate you appreciating Count Small here.” Because the dummy was now a short one, ya know. Char gave Carton a smile then did a double take in the man’s direction as though really seeing him for the very first time. He shot his dummy a look then his eyes were back on Carton. “Er… I think I might have subconsciously made Count Small look a bit like you.” Except in the height and build department. “Sorry?”

Then there was a sudden chaos in the room and the lesson was also dismissed. Char thought it was best to get out of everyone’s way should there be any injuries so he patted Count Small on the head then collected his belongings. He’d head for the door to wait on Keigh now. Also, see you, professor!

[sweetpinkpixie]

If her head had not already been spinning from her cosmetic transfiguration, it would have been performing backflips and pirouettes upon discovering who her creative ambition had crushed.

No amount of tea ceremony would remedy this, surely.

There was no time to assure the professor that she was okay, at least physically so, and for perhaps the first time in her Hogwarts career the Ravenclaw looked properly horrified. Ironically it had nothing to do with the blonde's transfiguration efforts to turn himself into a vampire and everything to do with rain on a sunny day. Eyes wide and cheeks sucked in so her lips puckered, Mitsuki attempted to roll (flop) off Brandon Fox and was immediately reaching her elongated fingers into her pockets for pinches of salt to slip into her shoes and sprinkle atop her head. She then quickly grabbed some fresh parchment from the top of her desk nearby and thrust it towards the Hufflepuff while on her knees (and still wobbly as kneeling with such fresh long limbs was more difficult than one may expect) and her features looking towards the ground.

"My apologies, Brandon Fox, for inconveniencing you and causing injury. Please accept this offering of docility and not curse me."

She would likely accept that hand in a moment, professor, but this was a slightly more urgent matter to attend to.

[astrocat]

Brandon sighed heavily from his spot on the ground. He was sure that he looked stupid and at some point everyone would start laughing at him. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened to him. "I'm fine," he announced. Well, things hurt, but his dad had always said there was no injury that couldn't be resolved by icing it and walking it off. Except for hitting your head, which Brandon had not. So he sat right up and gathered his costume things off the floor.

He accepted the fresh parchment from Mitsuki. Why was she giving him parchment? He already had parchment, and he didn't think he needed more. But the manner in which she shoved it at him implied that the world would end if he didn't take it, so he tried his best to hold onto it despite the abruptness with which it was thrust at him. "Um- Um- okay, I won't curse you," he promised, eyes wide and anxious. "I wasn't planning to." So... so there was really no problem... he was sure that Mitsuki had only fallen on accident. "Are you okay?" Physically? Mentally? Generally?

He stared at the professor's hand. Nobody had ever offered him a hand up before. And his brain just about short circuited. He was still trapped with the idea that accepting help was weak. But... it was Professor Carton, and therefore he was sure it wasn't a trick, so he accepted the hand to stand up. "Thanks, Professor dad. Um, Professor Carton." Um... you know what? Since it was the end of class, it was time to leave! He dumped his costume things back in the chest, packed up his things, and left very hurriedly. No homework! Nice!

[MadMadamMalfoy]

To be honest, Norman hadn’t noticed any resemblance between himself and Bergstrand’s vampire, but now that the boy mentioned it… The hair was a bit darker than his own and the eyes a brighter shade of green, but he could kind of see it. Maybe if he gained weight and lost height. He couldn’t resist a slight chuckle. “It’s alright, Mr. Bergstrand, I’ll take that as a compliment. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

It looked like Rasting and Fox were alright, which he was relieved to see, and… Norman blinked. Did Fox just call him-? No, surely he’d misheard! Before he could think twice about it, the boy was gone. How odd!