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A cold, wet morning dawned as January 16 arrived. Rain lashed the castle windows, but the Transfiguration classroom remained dry and toasty warm owing to a number of warming charms that Celestia had strategically placed around the classroom.
Enlarged jars of bluebell flames stand proudly at each corner of the room, carefully enchanted with Unbreakable Charms and gaining a height of 4 feet. The blue light emanating from the flames dances merrily on the rows of evenly spaced single desks that dominate the space. Some of the standard torches provided in every Hogwarts classroom have been doused in order to keep the room from being too bright, though there are areas of the room where (regrettably) students are faced with a mixture of blue and yellow light. Celestia was not concerned about this, however; she had installed the massive bluebell flames as soon as the first snow fell before Christmas. The students were surely used to the lighting effects by now.
A plain card table, made remarkable only by the Impervius Charm placed upon it, stands shoved up against the wall on the left hand side of the classroom. Here, a steaming teapot and equally steamy pot of hot chocolate, along with all of the possible trappings that anyone could desire for either drink, sit invitingly. A large stack of Styrofoam cups are provided, and students should know by now that they are welcome to either (or both) drinks.
The only new feature of the room on this gloomy January morning is a sturdy oak table that stands against the wall opposite the door. Student desks in the first two rows of the classroom are squashed together rather closer than they normally would have been to make room for this odd new addition. Rattling cages, carefully draped with bits of plain brown cloth, are perched on the table's surface.
Celestia herself can be found sitting in her usual red, squashy armchair behind her desk at the front and center of the room. The normally clean surface of the teacher's desk is marred today by a large number of small, silver pins. With a casual jab of her wand, the door of the classroom swings open with its usual BANG! at precisely 9:45 AM.
OOC:Hi guys! Welcome to the first and only Transfiguration lesson of the term! A last minute schedule conflict came up for me with school, so I'm opening this lesson up super early for arrivals, but we will still be starting the official lesson onFebruary 16 at 12 AM CST (6 AM GMT).Thanks for your understanding! Don't forget that even though this is our first lesson together OOC, the students have been having Transfiguration lessons IC with Celestia since September. Please don't forget to read the Transfiguration rules before posting! Hope you all have a great time!
After a few more practices, Night finally had it right. "Mutatis Insigne," she said, and the pin transformed into her little poodle wearing a Hufflepuff scarf. "Perfect." Magic was certainly helpful for gifts and things. She could make a bunch of these pins with different designs if she wanted to.
Within another few minutes Night had made a Butternut pin with a Hufflepuff scarf to go along with the Rosita one.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
Pincushions? He wasn't really a sewer by any means and that's what those are mostly used for, right? Though, he supposed they could be used for decorative purposes too.
But first, they were making pins to attach to the pincushions. Ronan retrieved one of the pins and returned to his seat. The spell was easy enough for a sixth year such as himself, though he didn't really want to make a Quidditch themed pin. Not that he didn't support the team or anything, of course he did, it just wasn't something he was interested in. Instead, he focused on a Gryffindor shield. He flicked his wand in the demonstrated backward "L" "Mutatis Insigne!" and there it was. The pin had changed into one featuring the Gryffindor shield.
Now what?
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
Kye took a minute to drink some of her hot chocolate, which had definitely cooled enough by now, and then she looked around. A lot of people seemed to be on their way, but she observed to see if she noticed anyone in need of assistance. She would prefer to move on to the harder stuff, but that's what happened when you had so many age levels together.
Juni sure was excited about the lesson now. They were changing the properties of inanimate pins. Basically making their pins into whatever style of their choosing. More or less. She knew or had an idea of what she wanted hers to look like. The professor wanted them to do a quidditch theme pin. She could wear it to her next match.
The Ravenclaw got up and got one the of the pins from the front and headed back to her seat. Focus and mental imagery are essential! She was really going to have to focus on the shape of what she wanted. Mental imagery… She had the mental picture of what she wanted her to look like.
She picked out her wand, making a backwards L-shape, and sharp flick towards the pin at the end. ”Mutatis Insigne” Keeping her mind focused on the way she wanted the pin to look. The pin transformed into a blue and bronze beaters bat shape with Ravenclaw #5 on it in. It was just as she pictured it. It would be perfect to wear for matches.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
Rylee beamed widely at Professor Grimsbane the women's words meaning more to her than most simple replies. Some lessons were really hard to fully understand one she just couldn't keep her focus for that long. That's why she generally took loads of notes and than simplified them so that it was easier to understand.
So really it was no surprise to anyone when she got right back to taking down note. Lots and LOTS of notes. Only did she pause to pay attention to the instruction of the proper wand movement and incantation as well as the demonstration. A small straight metal pin into a larger decorative pin that one could wear. That could come in handy, more so than the need for a pin cushion anyhow.
"Mutatis Insigne... Mutatis Insigne...Mutatis Insigne," Rylee muttered over and over again even as she rose to her feet to collect one of the pins from the professors desk and return to her own. Plopping her bottom back onto her chair, little legs swinging back and forth she pulled her wand from it's holster. A sharp flick of her wand with a backwards L shape. Yeah... that was a little tough. Might as well try that a few times first.
When she was sure she was ready Rylee aimed her wand at the pin on her table. "Mutatis Insigne!" she cast while preforming the movement with her wand, clearly doing her best to picture the design in her mind that she wanted. With a shiver and a shake the small pin began to lengthen and enlarge in form until there was a Gryffindor pin with a small lion cub wearing her quidditch team jersey on it sat upon her desk. "I did it!" she giggled lifting the pin up proudly to inspect it better.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
Hedgehog into a pin cushion. That was a bit ironic, wasn't it? Once you filled it up with pins it would sort of... look like a hedgehog again, wouldn't it? Those were Natalie's thoughts until she realized she had spaced out and saw that there were lots of words on the board up front. Snapping back into the lesson, Natalie scribbled down the notes and the incantation of the new spell.
"Mutatis Insigne," she muttered to herself quietly, as she pulled her wand out. Then she practiced the wand movement quickly before getting herself a pin. She didn't care too much for Quidditch, really, but she supported her team because Cam played for them. That being said, she wasn't very good at intricate spells, so she'd be happy if her pin just turned a solid green color.
With a goal in mind, Natalie practiced the wand movement and the incantation a couple more times before trying it for real. "Mutatis Insigne," she said, her wand moving as a backwards L with a little flick at the end. And... yep, that was green. Not wanting to jinx herself and ruin it, Natalie set her wand down and was done. Good enough for her.
YesJess! | Captain Goggles | Mama Badger | Eva's Soul Sister | An OG™ | It's all in the Numbers
Skylar beamed when Professor Grimsbane said it was well stated; even though she wasn't providing them with coffee, despite the fact that Skylar KNEW some of her classmates drank it more than she did, the sixth year still had to appreciate the woman and her positive words of enforcement. Even if she so obviously was endorsing the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Ugh, that just meant that Skylar would have to work harder to prove that Slytherins were better. Sure they might have lost one match, but that didn't prove failure, did it? She'd been battling with those thoughts for months and had mostly come to terms with Marchand's words that it was more than winning or losing, but occasionally, the slytherin captain regressed back. Truth be told, shouldn't she as a professor, made the HOGWARTS insignia, rather than clear favoritism of a Gryffindor pin?
Right, focus though on the lesson. Pincushion? Were they...? No, no, she wouldn't be sticking the pin into a hedgehog. Which meant, that rattling noises, was hedgehogs that they would have to change into pincushions? But she was getting ahead of herself.
Selecting one of the thin metal pins, she bit her lip, concentrating on the incantation on hand, not Grimsbane blatant favoritism toward the house of red and gold. She was a sixth year; this was a fourth year spell. She was skilled in Transfiguration. She could do this. Also, she wanted her number four on her pin; maybe she'd duplicate it and give it out for her friends to wear in her match against Ravenclaw. Green, with a silver number four. That was what she was going to visualize on her piece of metal.
"Mutatis Insigne," she rehearsed, deciding this incantation just flowed, thanks to Latin classes. Backwards L-shape, wand movement, sharp flick. Focus on the design. "Mutatis Insigne" she said again, this time, incorporating her wand motion, and slowly the metal morphed and coloured itself green. Green with a faint silver four on it. Not too shabby.
__________________
Nice to meet you, where you been? ______________I could show you incredible things
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
After the events of the previous term, it should've been no surprise that Jessa would consider this class a defining moment on where the Professor stood for her. So far, she had no complaints but after Professor Stewart, she wouldn't be taking anyone's level of intelligence for granted, regardless of their achievements otherwise.
That being said, Jessa was pleasantly surprised with the turn of discussion. She offered up a polite enough apology for a Ravenclaw who hadn't at all been sorry for satiating her curiosity before straightening in her seat to pay proper attention. There would be no need to tune out the remainder of the lesson, Professor Grimsbane was saying all the right things and Jessa found herself nodding along. There was no need for note taking, not when she'd already gotten most of this down but it didn't make her any less attentive.
A part of her attention remained on the cage, still wondering but now with more of an idea of what was underneath. Pretty responsive for a transfigured creature and that was always a neat little surprise.
Once instructed to, the Prefect rose and headed to the desk to grab herself a pin. She'd grown far more patriotic when it came to her house than in the start when she'd first been sorted but now she was neither here nor there about this sort of thing.
"Mutatis Insigne." She uttered, pointing to the target and creating the backward shaped L needed for the wand movement. There was no surprise when it began to shift and change. The final result, the Ravenclaw themed pin was placed on her desk. Now to wait she supposed.
__________________
Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
Night had now made quite a few pins in various shapes and sizes, and now she was getting bored. Honestly, she kind of wanted to experiment with the conjured hedgehogs, despite the fact that she was only a first year, and that performing spells on animals made her a little squeamish.
She put up her hand. "Professor, when are we going to move onto the next activity?
And are younger students allowed to attempt the lesson? Because I think I'd like to try."
Celestia's attention was so focused on the crying child in front of her that she hadn't noticed the 15 minute mark passing. Almost everyone else seemed to be done -- not much of a surprise, though she was impressed with the number of first years who had successfully Transfigured their pins.
"Yes, of course you will, Miss Dixon," she told the Hufflepuff brusquely when she asked about moving on. Sighing slightly, she turned back to Emmalyn and said quietly, "Why don't you put your wand down for a few minutes and take some deep breaths, Emmalyn? We'll talk more about this in a few minutes, okay?" Celestia bit her lower lip anxiously; she hated having to say that to a student but it really wasn't fair to hold everyone else up. The professor forced herself to straighten up and marched back to the front of the classroom.
"Well done, everyone! Let's get started with our main activity now. Before we begin learning the details of the spell, I would like for you all to please tell me a factor or a variable that must be taken into account when transforming an animal into an inanimate object. For example, caster fatigue is certain to affect whether you can successfully complete this spell,"Celestia explained with a small smile. "Now, kindly get into small groups -- about 3 or 4 people to a group -- and push your desks together so that I can start passing out hedgehogs. Try to get a good mix of years into your groups, yes?" She hoped that that was clear enough for everyone, as she was still quite flustered and did not want to have to spell out that older students would likely need to help younger ones.
As soon as the class was on the move, Celestia hurried back over to Emmalyn. She knelt down in front of the girl's desk so that they could see each other face to face and finally answered her question: "I think that you are a very talented witch who should believe in herself a bit more. There's nothing wrong with your work except a lack of confidence. If you're concentrating on how the spell is not working or is going to fail, then it's more likely to do just that." She gave the Hufflepuff a warm smile and pulled a bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of her robe pocket. "Now, chocolate is an excellent remedy when you're feeling bad. You should eat some of this and try the spell again." Celestia plopped the chocolate bar down on Emmalyn's desk and simply looked at the Hufflepuff expectantly.
OOC: Good job, everyone! Thank you guys for participating so far!
So we are sort of combining question 2 and part of the main activity. The kids need to answer Celestia's question (what is a factor/variable that could affect the outcome of the spell or that they need to keep in mind while casting it), and get into groups of 3-4 people. The numbers don't have to be exact, and if you really want to work by yourself (or your student does), that's fine. Celestia might yell at them a bit IC, but she'll allow it because I know time zones are evil.
We are moving on to the main activity/spell casting in 24 hours, so at 12 AM CST on January 22. Y'all will have 3 days to complete the spell/main activity after that.
Remember that you're free to join in and/or catch up with the mini activity at any time! Just have your kid Transfigure a pin if you want to catch up, or you can just pretend that they've already done that if you're just joining in .
As soon as the class was on the move, Celestia hurried back over to Emmalyn. She knelt down in front of the girl's desk so that they could see each other face to face and finally answered her question: "I think that you are a very talented witch who should believe in herself a bit more. There's nothing wrong with your work except a lack of confidence. If you're concentrating on how the spell is not working or is going to fail, then it's more likely to do just that." She gave the Hufflepuff a warm smile and pulled a bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of her robe pocket. "Now, chocolate is an excellent remedy when you're feeling bad. You should eat some of this and try the spell again." Celestia plopped the chocolate bar down on Emmalyn's desk and simply looked at the Hufflepuff expectantly.
She sat her wand down on the desk in front of her and took several deep breaths. She had allowed herself to get far too worked up and she needed to focus on the task at hand. She listened to Professor Grimsbane explain the next part of the class and wondered if Night and Daisy could be part of her group. Sure, Night was a first year too, but she had already mastered turning the pin into a flag. Daisy wouldn’t be a problem since she was a third year.
Once Professor Grimsbane finished giving out her instructions, Emmalyn watched as she walked over and knelt down by her desk. “Thank you.” She replied to the professors kind words. The professor was right, Emmalyn knew she lacked confidence in her abilities and that was going to have to change. “I’ll try harder, really. I didn’t mean to cause such a fuss.” She smiled brightly at the chocolate bar. “Oh, thank you” she said as she reached out and picked up the bar of joy placed before her. “Chocolate does make everything better. Thank you again.”
After unwrapping her chocolate bar and taking a large bite, she looked to Daisy and Night, “Would you like to work together? “ She motioned to the chocolate bar “You are welcome to have some too.” She looked back to Night, “Your pins look really neat. You did a great job!”
After moving her desk into the proper position for group work, Emmalyn thought about the first question. What would affect the outcome? "Would it depend on how much you were trying to change the object? Like, an Elephant into a small tea kettle would be harder than turning a snake into a rope?"
Was there any way he could use his small size to make himself disappear out of that classroom? Would professor Grimsbane notice his absence?
Pushing the thoughts of turning hedgehogs into pincushions at the back of his head for now, he focused on the question, and raised his hand. "I'd say complete focus on the object we want to transfigure the animal, to avoid getting a hybrid, or more disastrous results." He visibly shuddered at the thought. What would the poor animals think if half of them was turned inanimate, and half was still very much alive?
When she mentioned the groups, however, he was hesitant. Partly because he was never one to approach people first, but mostly because he was reluctant to join this hedgehog torture session main activity in the first place.
Celestia's attention was so focused on the crying child in front of her that she hadn't noticed the 15 minute mark passing. Almost everyone else seemed to be done -- not much of a surprise, though she was impressed with the number of first years who had successfully Transfigured their pins.
"Yes, of course you will, Miss Dixon," she told the Hufflepuff brusquely when she asked about moving on. Sighing slightly, she turned back to Emmalyn and said quietly, "Why don't you put your wand down for a few minutes and take some deep breaths, Emmalyn? We'll talk more about this in a few minutes, okay?" Celestia bit her lower lip anxiously; she hated having to say that to a student but it really wasn't fair to hold everyone else up. The professor forced herself to straighten up and marched back to the front of the classroom.
"Well done, everyone! Let's get started with our main activity now. Before we begin learning the details of the spell, I would like for you all to please tell me a factor or a variable that must be taken into account when transforming an animal into an inanimate object. For example, caster fatigue is certain to affect whether you can successfully complete this spell,"Celestia explained with a small smile. "Now, kindly get into small groups -- about 3 or 4 people to a group -- and push your desks together so that I can start passing out hedgehogs. Try to get a good mix of years into your groups, yes?" She hoped that that was clear enough for everyone, as she was still quite flustered and did not want to have to spell out that older students would likely need to help younger ones.
As soon as the class was on the move, Celestia hurried back over to Emmalyn. She knelt down in front of the girl's desk so that they could see each other face to face and finally answered her question: "I think that you are a very talented witch who should believe in herself a bit more. There's nothing wrong with your work except a lack of confidence. If you're concentrating on how the spell is not working or is going to fail, then it's more likely to do just that." She gave the Hufflepuff a warm smile and pulled a bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of her robe pocket. "Now, chocolate is an excellent remedy when you're feeling bad. You should eat some of this and try the spell again." Celestia plopped the chocolate bar down on Emmalyn's desk and simply looked at the Hufflepuff expectantly.
OOC: Good job, everyone! Thank you guys for participating so far!
So we are sort of combining question 2 and part of the main activity. The kids need to answer Celestia's question (what is a factor/variable that could affect the outcome of the spell or that they need to keep in mind while casting it), and get into groups of 3-4 people. The numbers don't have to be exact, and if you really want to work by yourself (or your student does), that's fine. Celestia might yell at them a bit IC, but she'll allow it because I know time zones are evil.
We are moving on to the main activity/spell casting in 24 hours, so at 12 AM CST on January 22. Y'all will have 3 days to complete the spell/main activity after that.
Remember that you're free to join in and/or catch up with the mini activity at any time! Just have your kid Transfigure a pin if you want to catch up, or you can just pretend that they've already done that if you're just joining in .
Ooc: Kind of a catchup cos' my school schedule is evil.
Aha, something that Skyler could answer. She raised her hand. "Sometimes you might only turn half of the animal into an object?" she asked.
----
After that was done, she scanned her eyes around. Does anyone have a free group?
Hmm... "Would the animal's condition be a variable? I mean, besides if it was real or conjured, like the animal's size? Or maybe what kind of animal, for example a bird versus a reptile?" Was this what Professor Grimsbane had meant at all? And groups? Alrighty... it wasn't her favorite part of a class period, but sometimes you had to. She noticed a young Slytherin looking for a group, and decided to ask.
"Hey... want to start a group?" she asked with a warm(?) smile. And looking "Daehyun, what about you?" Of course she didn't quite realize that he wasn't quite happy with this task. Hopefully if the two of them joined though, another older kid would join... Kye looked around, slight hopes on someone who would join them.
Emmalyn {Night and Daisy} cause y'all needs some green with that yellow ;)
YesJess! | Captain Goggles | Mama Badger | Eva's Soul Sister | An OG™ | It's all in the Numbers
Oh and it was time to move on, so Skylar reckoned her faint four would have to do, at least for now. She could maybe work on strengthening her design focus later, but now they were moving on. Variables that must be taken into account? Focus, obviously, which was mentioned to various degrees already, but the sixth year was sure that there was something else.
As she pondered this question, she glanced around the room for a group to join. Honestly, her go-to group would have been her snake sisterhood. Her dorm girlies. But then there was a small part of her telling her that she should probably join a group of younger students, considering Professor Grimsbane mentioned even the pin spell was advanced, so she could only imagine the next transfiguration spell they would be working on today.
"May I join you?" She asked, to Emmalyn and Daisy, mostly, since she'd met them before. Though a careful inspection of the pins in front of each of them, maybe they didn't need an older student's help.
Back to the question on hand though, "Would experience and comfort level with spells maybe be a factor? Because even if you're experienced with spells, but have never done this particular spell, then you might be okay with the transformation because of the fact that you're just comfortable with incantations and wand movements, in general."
__________________
Nice to meet you, where you been? ______________I could show you incredible things
Toothless - Napoleon of Crime - Gryffinclaw - Owl Emissary - Pirate Auror - DoctorDonna
Cassie was paying strict attention all right, even though most of what was being discussed seemed at first to be directed to the younger students in the classroom. She was certainly above the third AND fourth year range so she was letting others contribute to the lesson while she took the occasional note. The mention of quidditch caught her attention, dragging it fully back. House pins…cute. Shouldn’t be too hard to work on in the time allotted. Retrieving a couple of pins from the offered collection before returning to her seat to work.
“Mutatis Insigne…” she spoke, briefly practicing the incantation before lifting her wand and adding the wand movement to it. Backwards L with a flick towards one of her pins as she focused on an eagle design that came to mind. It took a few tries before the first one appeared in closed position.” Mutatis Insigne!” For her second attempt, she tried it a little different, working on a more solid cast and upswept wings. This too gradually appeared in her work just as the call for partners went around the room. Guess they were moving on for what was to come.
“Anyone still need a partner?” she asked, looking around the room for sight of any response.
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
Jessa paid little attention to the crying girl, seeing clearly that the Professor was handling it. The only thing was...she was lowkey worried they'd scrap the lesson as Professors tended to have a habit of doing when a little disruption happened. Yeah, she was still bitter about the ONE time they'd ever have gotten to dissect dead mandrakes. An opportunity, once lost, could often not be regained.
Thankfully the lesson was moving forward...even if it did now require group work. Jessa pulled a face, not necessarily a fan of group work if she was being honest. Most times, it was a hella lot easier just getting things done herself and it left a lower margin for error. The idea of mixing the years as much as possible was equally unappealing. While the Ravenclaw didn't mind helping the younger kids, it would no doubt slow progress.
Naturally, she shifted her desk closer to Nat's, trying not to disturb whatever remained under the covered cage. "Partners?"
It was then that she heard her house mate asking for partners. Jessa waved her over, gesturing to the open spot while she gave up a response to the woman's question. "The power behind the caster's spell is something to be considered too. I guess it comes with what Skylar said about experience but you've gotten know how to gauge it right. Too little and it might go wrong. Too much and it might definitely go wrong. It's as exact a science as potions."
__________________
Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
Sardines ♥ BHB ♥ Dallie ♥ Grumpy ♥ MY SUN AND STARS ♥ i love julia
As for the professor's question, Natalie wasn't entirely sure what would be a "variable" they'd have to consider going into this spell. It made sense that the caster's skill level and energy would have to matter, but other than that she wasn't sure.
Natalie looked up when Jessa moved her desk towards hers and smiled with a nod. "Partners," she agreed happily, knowing that she would usually succeed with Jessa around. She was smart and talented and sure to get spells right, so she was glad to have her around. As for Cassie, she didn't know... but she was cool with it.
Oh and it was time to move on, so Skylar reckoned her faint four would have to do, at least for now. She could maybe work on strengthening her design focus later, but now they were moving on. Variables that must be taken into account? Focus, obviously, which was mentioned to various degrees already, but the sixth year was sure that there was something else.
As she pondered this question, she glanced around the room for a group to join. Honestly, her go-to group would have been her snake sisterhood. Her dorm girlies. But then there was a small part of her telling her that she should probably join a group of younger students, considering Professor Grimsbane mentioned even the pin spell was advanced, so she could only imagine the next transfiguration spell they would be working on today.
"May I join you?" She asked, to Emmalyn and Daisy, mostly, since she'd met them before. Though a careful inspection of the pins in front of each of them, maybe they didn't need an older student's help.
Back to the question on hand though, "Would experience and comfort level with spells maybe be a factor? Because even if you're experienced with spells, but have never done this particular spell, then you might be okay with the transformation because of the fact that you're just comfortable with incantations and wand movements, in general."
Just as she was about to attempt another try at transfiguring her pin into a flag, she noticed the girl that liked to ponder why Hogwarts had gates approaching. "Sure, you are welcome to work with us." She glanced at the other girls, hoping they would agree and assuming they wouldn't mind having the help of a sixth year.
"Have you done anything like this before, Skylar?" She asked, mostly to delay having to preform another spell. The last thing she wanted to do was have another failed attempt in front of one of the cool older girls. She poked her pin with the tip of her wand, making it spin in circles on the desk. The tip spun faster than the head, making it appear as if flat head was fixed to the desk as the point orbited around. Just before it stopped spinning, she thumped it with wand again.
As she watched the pin spinning on her desk, she imagined a flag flying, waving in the breeze. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 'On the count of three' she said in her head. 'One, two, three'"Mutatis Insigne!" Emmalyn commanded with her wand in a downward backwards L shape with a flick at the end. She let her eyes open just a slit and, much to her surprise, her pin had a little yellow growth. Not quite a flag, but it had changed! It was almost flag like and the colors were obviously Hufflepuff colors.
Aha, something that Skyler could answer. She raised her hand. "Sometimes you might only turn half of the animal into an object?" she asked.
----
After that was done, she scanned her eyes around. Does anyone have a free group?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dokimoto
Hmm... "Would the animal's condition be a variable? I mean, besides if it was real or conjured, like the animal's size? Or maybe what kind of animal, for example a bird versus a reptile?" Was this what Professor Grimsbane had meant at all? And groups? Alrighty... it wasn't her favorite part of a class period, but sometimes you had to. She noticed a young Slytherin looking for a group, and decided to ask.
"Hey... want to start a group?" she asked with a warm(?) smile. And looking "Daehyun, what about you?" Of course she didn't quite realize that he wasn't quite happy with this task. Hopefully if the two of them joined though, another older kid would join... Kye looked around, slight hopes on someone who would join them.
Upon hearing his name, Daehyun was pulled out of his thoughts - more like, thinking of a way out of that classroom - when a girl approached him. Seeing that she's already recruited another, he might as well join and be close to completing a group... and he wanted to help, he really did... he was just...
... ugh.
He was still not okay with them transfiguring hedgehogs into pincushions. Even if professor Grimsbane claimed they're not real, he still stuck with his own beliefs.
Nodding at the Slytherin girl, he stuttered out, "Y-yeah, of course. Thank you." For, you know, taking in a helpless firstie. But he could still help with the pins?
"Great!" Kye said, smiling at the nervous looking first year. Yea... that was probably exactly how Kye looked her first few years. She was very happy to report that her goal of being more social and outgoing was going much better than she originally thought! Last year she would have probably just done the whole lesson alone unless someone asked her to join. She looked around, seeing if there were any other older students that wanted to help even out the group. It wasn't an issue either way, but it could be easier.
"Great!" Kye said, smiling at the nervous looking first year. Yea... that was probably exactly how Kye looked her first few years. She was very happy to report that her goal of being more social and outgoing was going much better than she originally thought! Last year she would have probably just done the whole lesson alone unless someone asked her to join. She looked around, seeing if there were any other older students that wanted to help even out the group. It wasn't an issue either way, but it could be easier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by debpetrisor
SPOILER!!: Skyler and Kye ^^
Upon hearing his name, Daehyun was pulled out of his thoughts - more like, thinking of a way out of that classroom - when a girl approached him. Seeing that she's already recruited another, he might as well join and be close to completing a group... and he wanted to help, he really did... he was just...
... ugh.
He was still not okay with them transfiguring hedgehogs into pincushions. Even if professor Grimsbane claimed they're not real, he still stuck with his own beliefs.
Nodding at the Slytherin girl, he stuttered out, "Y-yeah, of course. Thank you." For, you know, taking in a helpless firstie. But he could still help with the pins?
Skyler smiled and nodded. She had finnally had a group!
"Okay," she smiled at her groupmates. "Uuuh, what was the spell we were learning again??"
Yeah. She kind of forgot.
😕😕
It was definitely time to move on; Celestia could sense a restlessness coming from the class that could only mean one thing -- they were ready to get on with the new spell. She attracted the class’s attention by aiming her wand at the covered cages on the sturdy oak table at last, causing the cloth draping the cages to fly off and land in a rather messy heap beside the cages that they had once covered. A number of hedgehogs were moving around the cages, though compared to two of their number in the nicer cage up against the wall, they weren’t moving much at all. The two hedgehogs in the back were in constant motion, whether that motion was scurrying around their (much roomier) cage, or simply the small movements that are common to all animals, such as scratching at an unseen itch. Celestia was pleased to see that these two very much alive creatures did not appear to be distressed; she had been afraid that she’d have to administer more potion.
”These are the hedgehogs that you will be attempting to turn into pincushions,”Celestia paused to give the class a very stern look, ”You will notice that the two animals in the cage up against the wall are rather different from their fellows; these two are ‘real’, natural hedgehogs and we will not be working with them directly today. I have been studying them for a few weeks to attempt to instill as much of their instincts and mannerisms into my conjurations as possible, so as to give you a good idea of what it would be like to perform the spell on the actual animals. However, it is difficult to replicate everything about them; you will notice that the conjured animals may lack some of their instincts, for example, or breathe less frequently. For that reason, I have brought these two along so that you may observe them while you are waiting for your turn to cast the spell.” She thought that it would be helpful for the students to do that, as they would be working with the real thing during their standardized exams.
”Fifth years and older may schedule a time with me after class to gain some supervised practice of this spell in the practice room with the actual creatures to prepare for OWLs and NEWTs. I must ask all of you to take care during this lesson not to disturb the creatures. They have been fed a small amount of Calming Draught so that the noises of the room do not disturb them, but I doubt this will help if you go up and poke them. Any student who does so will receive detention or worse.” Celestia gazed around the room with a particularly stern glare for certain students who had a tendency to cause trouble.
The professor turned her attention firmly back to the class and continued on, ”Now we shall discuss the actual spell. As many of you have articulated, there are a large number of factors that you must keep in mind while attempting this spell, and a large mental visualization component is involved. It is not enough to simply say the incantation. You must visualize the process of the spell; the animal changing shape and properties until it resembles a pincushion. The pincushion’s appearance is also unique to the caster. You decide how large the cushion will be, and whether it has a design or is a plain color. You decide the weight of the new object.”
Celestia thought that she had made her point clear enough. She tapped the blackboard absently and words spread like spiderwebs from her wand tip, until the board was covered with the basic information about the spell.
SPOILER!!: ”Blackboard”
Spell objective: Turn hedgehogs into pincushions
Incantation: Ericiusfors
Wand movement: Sweeping downward motion that ends with the caster’s wand pointing directly at the hedgehog. This point should become the center of the new pincushion.
Factors to consider: Hedgehog’s weight, level of viciousness (low), wand power, concentration, mental visualization
”You will notice that I have listed the factors directly applicable to the Transfiguration equation that we studied earlier in the term. There are, of course, a number of other factors that can affect the outcome of the spell, which you all have already mentioned,” Celestia explained. She didn’t see much point in going over the spell factors again, really. She was sure that her students understood that part of the spell.
”Now, kindly put on your dragon hide gloves and have one member from each group come up and get a hedgehog. Everyone in the third year and up must attempt this spell at least once. N.E.W.T. students, I expect this spell to be cast nonverbally. First and second years, you may attempt this spell as well if you would like, but you are not required to. You will be responsible for collecting more pins from my desk and changing them into something more decorative using the spell we have already learned. Each group should have some sort of theme going for their pincushions that the younger students may focus on. Older years may also help with this task as they await their turn to work on the hedgehog.” Celestia hoped that those instructions were clear enough, but she thought of something else at the last minute and held up her hand to stop the barrage of students standing up to get their animals.
”I hope that I do not need to tell you that under no circumstances should you stick a pin into a hedgehog before it has been changed into a pincushion. It will not, of course, hurt them, but as you are all going to be taking an O.W.L. in this subject some day, you should know that doing so will gain you an automatic grade of T if you attempt to stick an actual hedgehog -- or harm one in any way -- during an exam. A last thing to keep in mind is that while these conjured animals may attempt to run away, they are far more docile than their natural counterparts. A common problem that students have with this spell is the pincushion curling up in fright whenever anyone tries to approach it with a pin; this is the result of not enough focus on the caster’s part. Simply Untransfigure it and try again. The group that produces the most detailed pincushion by the end of the period will receive a prize. Good luck, and have fun!” Celestia took a deep breath as she dismissed the class to their main activity at last. She had enough conjured hedgehogs for every student in the class, actually, but she felt that students learned better in groups. Even if they had multiple hedgehogs per group, she hoped that observing others and receiving advice from each other helped them master the spell.
OOC: I’m so sorry that this is so late! I had some unexpected RL things come up last night and wasn’t able to post. I’ll be posting individual responses to y’all’s answers to Celestia’s question later tonight, but I wanted to get this up ASAP so you guys can get started! Feel free to jump in to the lesson and/or catch up with the mini and main activities at any time. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and please mention the professor in your post title if you’re specifically trying to get Celestia’s attention IC. You guys have 72 hours to complete the activity. That means it will end on February 25 at 5 PM CST.
SPOILER!!: ”OOC main activity directions”
Goal: to produce the most detailed pincushion using the spell on the blackboard. The group that has the most intricate pincushion will win a prize; this is not an art competition, though the students can go that way if they want. Perhaps they produce a super small pincushion that in no way resembles the shape of a hedgehog, for example. House points will not be the prize for this, as it’s not a House competition either . Everyone in the group can have their own hedgehog if they would like, and then the group will choose one to be judged for the prize.
1st and 2nd years: may attempt the hedgehog spell but don’t have to. They should all work on changing more pins using the mini activity spell. Each group should have a decorative theme for their pincushions so that the younger students know how to make their new pins look.
3rd years and up: must attempt the hedgehog spell, and may attempt to do it nonverbally if they can. 6th and 7th years are required to cast the spell nonverbally.
It was definitely time to move on; Celestia could sense a restlessness coming from the class that could only mean one thing -- they were ready to get on with the new spell. She attracted the class’s attention by aiming her wand at the covered cages on the sturdy oak table at last, causing the cloth draping the cages to fly off and land in a rather messy heap beside the cages that they had once covered. A number of hedgehogs were moving around the cages, though compared to two of their number in the nicer cage up against the wall, they weren’t moving much at all. The two hedgehogs in the back were in constant motion, whether that motion was scurrying around their (much roomier) cage, or simply the small movements that are common to all animals, such as scratching at an unseen itch. Celestia was pleased to see that these two very much alive creatures did not appear to be distressed; she had been afraid that she’d have to administer more potion.
”These are the hedgehogs that you will be attempting to turn into pincushions,”Celestia paused to give the class a very stern look, ”You will notice that the two animals in the cage up against the wall are rather different from their fellows; these two are ‘real’, natural hedgehogs and we will not be working with them directly today. I have been studying them for a few weeks to attempt to instill as much of their instincts and mannerisms into my conjurations as possible, so as to give you a good idea of what it would be like to perform the spell on the actual animals. However, it is difficult to replicate everything about them; you will notice that the conjured animals may lack some of their instincts, for example, or breathe less frequently. For that reason, I have brought these two along so that you may observe them while you are waiting for your turn to cast the spell.” She thought that it would be helpful for the students to do that, as they would be working with the real thing during their standardized exams.
”Fifth years and older may schedule a time with me after class to gain some supervised practice of this spell in the practice room with the actual creatures to prepare for OWLs and NEWTs. I must ask all of you to take care during this lesson not to disturb the creatures. They have been fed a small amount of Calming Draught so that the noises of the room do not disturb them, but I doubt this will help if you go up and poke them. Any student who does so will receive detention or worse.” Celestia gazed around the room with a particularly stern glare for certain students who had a tendency to cause trouble.
The professor turned her attention firmly back to the class and continued on, ”Now we shall discuss the actual spell. As many of you have articulated, there are a large number of factors that you must keep in mind while attempting this spell, and a large mental visualization component is involved. It is not enough to simply say the incantation. You must visualize the process of the spell; the animal changing shape and properties until it resembles a pincushion. The pincushion’s appearance is also unique to the caster. You decide how large the cushion will be, and whether it has a design or is a plain color. You decide the weight of the new object.”
Celestia thought that she had made her point clear enough. She tapped the blackboard absently and words spread like spiderwebs from her wand tip, until the board was covered with the basic information about the spell.
SPOILER!!: ”Blackboard”
Spell objective: Turn hedgehogs into pincushions
Incantation: Ericiusfors
Wand movement: Sweeping downward motion that ends with the caster’s wand pointing directly at the hedgehog. This point should become the center of the new pincushion.
Factors to consider: Hedgehog’s weight, level of viciousness (low), wand power, concentration, mental visualization
”You will notice that I have listed the factors directly applicable to the Transfiguration equation that we studied earlier in the term. There are, of course, a number of other factors that can affect the outcome of the spell, which you all have already mentioned,” Celestia explained. She didn’t see much point in going over the spell factors again, really. She was sure that her students understood that part of the spell.
”Now, kindly put on your dragon hide gloves and have one member from each group come up and get a hedgehog. Everyone in the third year and up must attempt this spell at least once. N.E.W.T. students, I expect this spell to be cast nonverbally. First and second years, you may attempt this spell as well if you would like, but you are not required to. You will be responsible for collecting more pins from my desk and changing them into something more decorative using the spell we have already learned. Each group should have some sort of theme going for their pincushions that the younger students may focus on. Older years may also help with this task as they await their turn to work on the hedgehog.” Celestia hoped that those instructions were clear enough, but she thought of something else at the last minute and held up her hand to stop the barrage of students standing up to get their animals.
”I hope that I do not need to tell you that under no circumstances should you stick a pin into a hedgehog before it has been changed into a pincushion. It will not, of course, hurt them, but as you are all going to be taking an O.W.L. in this subject some day, you should know that doing so will gain you an automatic grade of T if you attempt to stick an actual hedgehog -- or harm one in any way -- during an exam. A last thing to keep in mind is that while these conjured animals may attempt to run away, they are far more docile than their natural counterparts. A common problem that students have with this spell is the pincushion curling up in fright whenever anyone tries to approach it with a pin; this is the result of not enough focus on the caster’s part. Simply Untransfigure it and try again. The group that produces the most detailed pincushion by the end of the period will receive a prize. Good luck, and have fun!” Celestia took a deep breath as she dismissed the class to their main activity at last. She had enough conjured hedgehogs for every student in the class, actually, but she felt that students learned better in groups. Even if they had multiple hedgehogs per group, she hoped that observing others and receiving advice from each other helped them master the spell.
OOC: I’m so sorry that this is so late! I had some unexpected RL things come up last night and wasn’t able to post. I’ll be posting individual responses to y’all’s answers to Celestia’s question later tonight, but I wanted to get this up ASAP so you guys can get started! Feel free to jump in to the lesson and/or catch up with the mini and main activities at any time. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and please mention the professor in your post title if you’re specifically trying to get Celestia’s attention IC. You guys have 72 hours to complete the activity. That means it will end on February 25 at 5 PM CST.
SPOILER!!: ”OOC main activity directions”
Goal: to produce the most detailed pincushion using the spell on the blackboard. The group that has the most intricate pincushion will win a prize; this is not an art competition, though the students can go that way if they want. Perhaps they produce a super small pincushion that in no way resembles the shape of a hedgehog, for example. House points will not be the prize for this, as it’s not a House competition either . Everyone in the group can have their own hedgehog if they would like, and then the group will choose one to be judged for the prize.
1st and 2nd years: may attempt the hedgehog spell but don’t have to. They should all work on changing more pins using the mini activity spell. Each group should have a decorative theme for their pincushions so that the younger students know how to make their new pins look.
3rd years and up: must attempt the hedgehog spell, and may attempt to do it nonverbally if they can. 6th and 7th years are required to cast the spell nonverbally.
Allllright. So first years will have the options to focous on the pins? Skyler liked that. She was failing, epically at turning her pin into anything at all. She sighed with great frustration. She tried it again.
"Mutatis Insigne!" She said moving her wand as told.
She frowned. Nope. Nothing. She sighed and threw the pin frustration getting the best of her. Oops??
-----
SPOILER!!: Ooc post
Anyone feel free to claim it. I mean if you want your charie to get hit by the flying pin. 😕
After listening attentively to professor Grimsbane, and holding in so many protests along the way that he wanted to congratulate himself, Daehyun looked at the two girls he'd be working with, before grabbing his worn dragon hide gloves from his bag and saying, "I'll go get the hedgehog." It wouldn't be a first, him holding a hedgehog, and back home he wasn't even using gloves, opting instead to earn their trust and not get pricked, but he supposed the poor little fellas were scared and confused, and he didn't want to get in trouble with professor Grimsbane either.
Just then, he saw Skyler's failed attempt of transfiguring a pin. "Can you please grab a few more pins? I'll help you with that, and we can both work on the pins." For once, he was glad he was young and helpless. And he really hoped by the time he was a fifth year and had to take his OWLs and do that on a real hedgehog, they'll have thought of something different.
As he moved towards the cages, he picked one at random, slowly and careful not to frighten it, as well as its cagemates, and muttered nonsensical things of confort to the small creature that had curled into a ball of spikes in the palms of his hands. Still holding the hedgehog protectively in his hands, he looked at Kye as he sat back down as if he said Now what?, reluctant to let go.