Lesson 1 - N.E.W.T. level

Rafael was caught between total mortification and carelessness. He hated Hogwarts with a burning passion but punctuality was important to him. He hadn’t gone out of way to be late but he assumed that he’d lost track of time at breakfast. He’d spent a fair bit of time eating his breakfast but he hadn’t eaten much of it. He’d been building some sort of castle out of bacon and bread soldiers and hadn’t exactly eaten it. He’d shovelled his eggs into his mouth and drank the orange juice he’d had to hunt for, despising the taste of Pumpkin Juice, and continued to sit there until people started moving. Then, the Gryffindor had taken the long route to the Transfiguration Classroom.

Upon opening the door a particular way to ensure it didn’t creak, Rafael found that the class was already semi-full and he was embarrassed because of it. He shouldn’t have been idle and he would have reprimanded his siblings if they’d done the same but he hadn’t expected to be that late. The Gryffindor swallowed and quietly closed the door behind him with a small click. He kept to the back of the class and took a desk semi-concealed by shadows. He sat himself down in the chair and put his bag under the table. Rafael hoped that the Professor hadn’t noticed his arrival. If the Professor didn’t notice then Rafael wouldn’t have to say anything or at least try to. He knew his idleness would come back and bite him on the bum but he hadn’t expected it to be so soon.

Amelia looked up from her book as the professor began the lesson, slightly thrown off, as she always had been, by the affectionate way the professor addressed the class. She was more accustomed to the sharp, to-the-point style of Professor Wilson and even the headmaster now that she had taken his class, but she supposed this more fatherly style appealed to other students that had grown up in an environment different than her own.

By the time the professor had finished his first sentence, Amelia had closed her textbook and placed it off to the side, but with his next few words, she immediately wished she had it back to hide behind. The professor, like the Wilson and Doyle before him, had taken it upon himself to make a direct statement about her to the class at large, which only made Amelia’s freckles disappear in a sea of deep red blush as she sunk lower in her seat. Why was it that she managed to effectively to remain anonymous and invisible to her peers, but her professors could not sense that same desire to remain unseen?

Of course, what professor McCoy had said was flattering, and Amelia knew he had meant it in that way, but that did not stop her from wishing he had said it in a more private setting, perhaps one that would not have drawn the attention of her classmates, and likely their ire as well. Amelia tried very hard not to be the know-it-all in class that was the consistent kiss-ass, and she worked not to flaunt her intelligence. She was quietly talented, if there was such a thing, but in each class she had attended thus far today her professors had broken that practice with blatant force.

It was because Amelia already had enough unwarranted attention on herself that when the professor finally reached the point of the lesson – after a warning on the difficulty and strictness of lesson conduction – Amelia kept quiet in her seat. The question was one she certainly knew the answer to, but she was not about to bring the attention her classmates back on herself, especially not when they had finally started to avert their eyes from her and back to the professor.

Brienne raised her hand, "An example of Cross-Species Transfiguration is the Animagus. The Animagus being when someone transforms themselves into a specific animal form. For example, my friend Daniel has the form of a Ring-tailed Cat, or Bassariscus astutus. He's pretty good at transforming, too". She stated all this with an air of confidence. She hoped that she was at least on the right track, and she did have some nervousness in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to out-do Amelia this year, just like she wanted to outdo a lot of other people.

Angelique rolled her eyes. If any more people pointed out Amelia's supposed brilliance to her, she would literally puke. Okay, not literally, but it did gall her. Looking at the other girl, she supposed she oughtn't be jealous; it was obvious Amelia didn't like the attention, but it was hard not to hate her. After all, it wasn't like she was even particularly brilliant. She just put all her time into studying, and never spoke to anyone except about spells. Anybody else in this class who did that would be just as good as her.

But Angelique barely had time to get over her internal rage at Amelia before Brienne said something truly stupid and she had the perfect opportunity to prove that there was more than one person in this classroom who knew what she was doing.

"Animagus transformation is a completely different branch of magic, Brienne," she said. "Animagus transformation requires months and sometimes years of training and most importantly, the spellcaster becomes part of the spell."

She turned her attention back to Professor McCoy and answered the question herself.

"Cross species transfiguration usually takes the form of a switching spell," she said. "The main difference between it and an ordinary switching spell is that you have to take the species' anatomy into account. For example, if you try to switch a worm into a rabbit, you have to also transfigure the worm's internal structure into the rabbit's support system and organs, otherwise you can end up with something very unpleasant."

Jack smirked at Professor McCoy's introduction, finding it entertaining that he was worried about Elijah pulling stunts and pranks. He obviously was not too familiar with her, though she was sure that was going to change. She would probably be spending a lot of time with the professors in detention.

She glanced up as someone took up one of the seats next to her in the back and saw that it was Rafael, who she had meant once before. She gave him an amused expression, her eyebrows up to tease him with her eyes for being late. She had no care for being timely, but she had the feeling he probably did. She smirked and turned to look forward.

Brienne had answered the professor's question but Angelique was quick to correct her. Jack jerked her back slightly and said matter of factly, "Wow, intense about Transfiguration." She smiled and shrugged to herself, beginning to trace shapes onto her desk with her index finger.

Chase listened quietly as the rest of the class started up, and she glanced at Elijah, who the teacher had made a comment about pranking in class, and then around at the Ravenclaw girl he had pointed out earlier. She was in every one of her classes, and seemed to know a fair deal, but wasn't that what Ravenclaw's do? Make sure everyone knows they know the best, must be hard not to pass classes if you're in Ravenclaw house, there would always be someone there to help you work through spells and homework. Even if you didn't get it and everyone else did. Chase could just imagine how quiet it would be though.

Chase turned her attention to the professor when he started talking about Cross species transfiguration. She started to jot notes down on a piece of parchment, glancing up at the speakers when they answered the question. But Chase found her mind wandering to other subjects. She imagined herself sitting in a white room, with someone who resembled a cat, and had obviously gotten in the way of a bad transfiguration spell. Possibly trying to become an animagus, but didn't know the fundamentals of it all. Chase was attempting to learn in her free time now a days, seeing as she had so much she didn't want to concentrate on.

Chase jerked herself back into reality and glanced behind her when she heard Jack speak. She tried not to glare at the total and complete rudeness that had been directed at the other Slytherin girl, just because she had argued against what someone else had said. Technically weren't both of them correct? Animagus and changing one animal into another. It sounded like it would be to her. Chase turned around to look at the teacher and see if they had a comment on what the students had said.

''Miss Pyrites is correct, the Animagi are a completely different form of Transfiguration, but it was still a close example. The correct definition is as Miss Pyrites stated. Most of them do not require a spell, which makes it one of the most difficult branches of magic existing, taking a lot of your effort, intelligence and concentration, especially when you are beginners. It is very hard to Transform a worm into a rabbit, but we are still going do it, like, for example, transforming an owl into a beaver or an eel, but it should be fun.'', he said.

''Now, a question for your your little brain cells... or two. First, can you transfigure human beings into other human beings? Can the most advanced Transfiguration Master transform you into Elvis Presley or Martin Luther King? And, can a human be transfigured into another species or vice-versa?'', he asked, in a friendly manner.