Sanaa Sutekh surveyed her domain. Her classroom was a decent size with windows running along two walls, as the room was situated in a corner of the building. On the other two walls were large moving pictures of several transfigurations, and hanging from the ceiling were tens of cages, all containing various animals she would be needing for the lessons. There were also a few more animals in cages underneath the windows. Her desk was situated at the farthest end of the classroom from the door, and on it sat her most prized possession: a portrait of her late husband, Sacmis.
Sanaa had met her husband on one of her regular journeys to Egypt to a Transfiguration Conference on new developments in her field. Sacmis has been giving a presentation on the process of becoming an Animagus. After his lecture she had approached him, as she was halfway through her Animagus training and wished for his guidance. She had come away with a dinner date and his latest textbook. They had been married for ten years, and he had passed away the previous summer. It had been his final wish for her to take a position at a magic school and teach her favourite subject, which is why she had found herself replying to the ad for a new Transfiguration Professor at Sonora Academy.
Sanaa came out of her thoughts as a scuffling of shoes on flagstones caught her attention. She realised that lessons had been due to start a few minutes previously, so she pulled her wand out of a pocket in her dark blue robes and waved her wand at the door and opened it. She watched the students enter the classroom and sit at the desks she had provided, which were in two rows in a semicircle around her desk. Once she was certain she had every student from the first and second years she waved her wand and shut the classroom door.
“Good morning class. My name is Professor Sutekh and I am your new Transfiguration Professor, hopefully for the next few years.” Professor Sutekh walked around from behind her desk and sat on the front part of it as she tucked her short brown hair behind her left ear. “I know that most Transfiguration Professors start off with the usual set up of turning a matchstick into a needle or a beetle into a button. I am forty-two years old and in the thirty-one years I have been allowed to practise magic I have never used this magic outside of the classroom. I am therefore going to start with something completely different which will also be useful.”
Professor Sutekh picked up a stone from beside her seat on the desk and held it up for the class to see.
“I am going to teach you a basic spell which makes life so much easier and simpler, especially if you find yourself caught out in the wild. The first spell I am going to show you is how to change a basic stone into a cup. I have used this transfiguration thousands of times in my life, as I am very clumsy and am constantly breaking my cups.” Professor Sutekh hoped that showing the students how the transfiguration could be applied to everyday life would make them more interested in learning the spell.
“For this spell you tap the stone with your wand,” Professor Sutekh demonstrated, “and say ‘Aqua Vas’.” The stone in her hand morphed from a simple stone into a large gold drinking cup. “Now everybody’s cup will look different and they will all start off rather small, but the more you practise and the older you get the more likely the cup with become bigger as the spell becomes easier. I remember my first cup was the same grey as the stone I had transfigured it from, and about the same size as a thimble.”
Professor Sutekh waved her wand at a pile of rocks in the corner of the classroom and then made a sweeping motion over the students. The rocks rose up and floated over, one to each desk.
“You can work in pairs although I expect each of you to practise on your own stone. Please begin.”
OOC: Remember to keep to at least two or three paragraphs with three sentences in each. Have fun posting.
Subthreads:
Rock cup?! by Rilla White with Holly Greer
Rock of Ages by Talitha Cumni with Lucie Dupree, Talitha
Eh... by Lucas Smythe with Hannah Laurent, Lucas
0Professor SutekhFirst & Second Years. Lesson One0Professor Sutekh15
Rilla came into Transfiguration class a few minutes after class should have started when the Professor let them in. She'd arrived just on time, afraid she'd get glared at for coming in the last second just to find a group of students waiting outside the door. She was relieved and a bit confused. Usually teachers let students in early and expected them to be exactly on time. She wasn't sure what quite to make of this Professor.
In her museings Rilla nearly missed part of what the Professor was saying. Apparently they were jumping right in without the normal getting to know you speech and all the rest. They were going to be turning a rock into a cup. Turning a cup into a rock sounded a lot easier to Rilla, but what could she do?
Wondering to herself Rilla thought maybe Transfiguration was similar to Charms and that maybe she'd be alright at it. Well, here goes nothing. She thought to herself. Rilla examined her rock and thought. You are going to become a cup. She was preparing her mind. Then she remembered, she could have a partner!
Looking around Rilla thought of who she might work with. Seeing another first year that didn't look that scary Rilla walked up to them. "Would you like to be partners?" She asked and attempted her most polite smile. She was never the best with her peers, but she figured she needed to find allies to survive these classes.
No match sticks into needles? Talitha liked this new professor already! Something new, practical and interesting proved this teacher had at least a bit of imagination. She couldn’t wait to start.
Talitha looked at the rock that clunked on her desk. It was dark grey, a bit smaller than the palm of her hand. It was studded with pock marks where softer mineral crystals had eroded from its surface. There were enough quartz deposits in it to give it pretty sparkles when the light hit it just right. An ugly ordinary grey rock in the shade, a showy treasure in the sun. There had to be a lesson in that somewhere.
Talitha remembered Nana’s teachings about nature. She told Talitha stories of the Star People who agreed to become Earth bound and populate the planet. The rock people were the earliest arrivals and learned much before the plants, animals, fish, birds, and humans even got here. One could learn much if they only bothered “talking” to the rocks. They knew wisdom that comes with patience. Endurance under pressure either crumbled a soul to dust or, if one is strong enough, transforms the soul into a thing of value and beauty.
Following the rituals taught to her since before she could speak, she silently asked the rock’s permission to use it for her exercise. It was always good medicine to be polite to nature if you intended to use magic on it. Next, Talitha pick it up and held it in the palm of her left hand, It quickly absorbed the warmth of Talitha’s palm, a good sign. She “thanked” the rock and “asked” it what kind of cup it would like to be. Closing her eyes, she saw the image of a cut crystal mug, clear and casting rainbow reflections everywhere. It was a beautiful mug.
What else could I be? The rock seemed to ask. After all, aren’t my quartz crystals lovely?
Talitha smiled and concentrated very hard on the image of the crystal mug. When she thought she had a very clear picture in her mind about how it should look, she placed the rock back on her desk, tapped the rock with her wand and said Aqua Vas
The rock turned into a… well, a rock. Talitha sighed and tried again. It could have been her imagination, but the rock did seem smoother, less pock marked. One more try and there was a definite divot in the center, big enough to hold about an ounce of water. It sure didn’t look like a crystal mug. It seemed as if the rock was laughing at her.
“Any luck?” she asked the person sitting in the desk next to her as she pushed a stray strand of hair impatiently away from her face.\n
School was absolutely wonderful! Lucie couldn’t believe that it had taken so long to get here, but she supposed she really hadn’t know what she was missing before, especially with the way Devian and Danae described things during their breaks. She really had no idea why they disliked it so. She had already learned about so many interesting things and had great hope that this class would prove the same.
Eagerly enough, the bouncy blonde made her way into the Transfiguration room with the other students. Looking around for an empty seat, she quickly found one and took out her parchment and pen. The fancy quills her parents had bought were all, but forgotten in her dorm room.
The professor said her name was Sutekh and she was new too! Lucie wondered if the professor was as excited as she was to be here. She would guess so since she said that she hoped she would be the professor for the next few years. Lucie had no idea why she would ever want to leave. As the professor continued, Lucie had to wrinkle her nose at the idea of a beetle. Insects certainly weren’t her favorite things, so she was glad they wouldn’t be working with them.
And even though the professor tried to give an example of why they would need to know this spell, Lucie couldn’t really relate. She had grown up in a rather luxurious home; the idea of ever being in the wild was nonexistent. Of course, if she ever did find herself outdoors and thirsty, she supposed the spell would be quite useful. Either way, it was still cool to be learning a spell and using magic, so much so, that she would have even worked with the icky beetles.
Once they could begin, Lucie picked up her stone once it was on her desk, making sure it was close enough and centered in front of her. Tapping her wand on the rock, she commanded, “Aqua Vas!” The rock seemed to move a little, but nothing more really happened. She tried again, a bit more demanding, like her parents always were when saying spells, “Aqua Vas!” A little bump appeared on it. She tried a few more times and succeeded in creating a rather awkward handle.
She was just about to perform the spell when the sound of a voice near her said, ’Any luck? Turning to the voice, she saw a rather unique looking, but pretty girl. Lucie gave a wide grin, always eager to meet new people. She showed her stone to the person. “I made a rock purse,” she said with a giggle. “What about you?” Then, remembering her manners, she added, “Please to meet you. I’m Lucie.”
Lucas stumbled into the classroom, hoping that nobody saw him trip. After he regained his balance, he pushed his fringe from his face and took a seat at the nearest desk. He listened up as the professor introduced herself and explained the lesson.
Lucas raised his brow, the lesson sounded fun - he'd never transfigured anything before and he was looking forward to it. He hoped it wouldn't be too difficult though, his brain wasn't a hundred per cent awake yet. Due to this, he cast a worried glance at the professor as she used her wand to distribute rocks around the classroom, though everything was okay - no one was going to end up with a huge headache.
He looked at his rock, it was slightly orange in colour and not very smooth. He pulled out his wand and stuck his tongue out in concentration, pushing his fringe from his eye again. "Aqua vas," he said firmly as he tapped the rock with the tip of his wand.
He blushed and looked on in disappointment as the rock... did nothing. He tried again: "Aqua vas!" This time he managed to create some-sort of cup - or at least, a rock with a deep hole in.
He sighed to himself. How embarrassing. He tried once more, again getting no further. He slammed his wand down on the table and sat back in his chair, pouting in frustration. He pushed his fringe from his face and crossed his arms, glaring at the stone.
"I can't do it." He muttered in a defeatist manner. It had been a long time since he hadn't been able to do something, and a small part of him felt like he somehow letting his family down - but he wasn't sure he cared.
Entering into the classroom, Hannah took one of the last available seats, not bothering to look to see who was next to her, as she was much more focused on who the new Transfiguration professor was. When the professor, she had to agree that she didn’t see how turning a beetle into a button was useful, but she supposed turning a matchstick into a needle could be. What if one needed to sew something and didn’t have a needle, but had a matchstick? Of course, she couldn’t really see herself using the spell, as she didn’t enjoy housework very much.
Turning a stone into a cup was way cooler, anyhow. Getting her rock, Hannah placed it closer to her. Tucking some blonde hair behind her ear, she leaned in slightly while she tapped the stone with her wand. “Aqua Vas.” It seemed to go out a little forming maybe what would be construed as the rim of a cup, but did nothing else. After a few more attempts, it looked a bit more like a small bowl than a cup. Oh, well, one could drink as easily from a bowl, but she kept trying, knowing this was probably graded.
She was about to try casting the spell again when the sound of a wand being slammed on a desk made her jump. Looking to see where it had come from, she saw Lucas, one of the boys she had worked with last year in Charms. Then, the words ’I can’t do it’ came from his mouth. She raised an eyebrow at his pessimistic attitude and wondered if she could help somehow.
She lightly tapped him on the shoulder. Giving a shy grin, she said, “Hi, Lucas. How’s it going? This spell sure is difficult, isn’t it?” Maybe, by saying that it would make him feel a bit at ease. Then, she showed him her rock. “I’ve only been able to make it look like a weird bowl.”
0Hannah LaurentIt's not that bad98Hannah Laurent05
Talitha watched the little blonde firstie as she tried to do the spell. She seemed to be having a lot more fun as she attempt to turn her rock into a cup than Talitha was. She didn’t seem to mind if she made mistakes either. She just kept trying. Perhaps that was the lesson her rock wanted her to learn. She thanked it for making it clear. She shouldn’t really take her studies so seriously that it sucked all the fun out of them and she should never give up trying.
She giggled as the girl answered her question by holding up her rock and pronounced it a purse. She studied the results of her work and saw it a bit differently now that she caught her classmate’s sense of fun. They weren’t expected to get a spell right the first time anyway at least she didn’t blow up the rock and it did do something. Playing the game, she held up her creation.
“I’ve got a hot tub for a very, very small person.” Talitha grinned. “Or maybe it could be used by a regular sized person if they only wanted to soak their big toe.
Lucie’s eyes sparkled, pleased that the person had a sense of humor. Some people just took things too seriously when there really was no need to. Life, in her opinion, was supposed to be fun, not a chore.
She thought for a moment on the question of school, before giving another grin. She was always a bundle of smiles. “It’s great. The school is beautiful. My classes are interesting.” Of course, some of the professors seemed a little stuffy, but she supposed that was just part of the experience. “I’ve only met a couple people so far, but they were really nice.” All of this was said in about the breath of a minute in her enthusiasm.
“So, what do you like to do here? I plan on exploring the gardens and the library,” she explained. First, she would go to the library and find a good book, then go to the gardens, planning on finding the perfect spot.
Talitha grinned at Lucie’s enthusiasm. That was the way most people were about Sonora. They either loved it or hated it. There were very few neutral parties out there. She was glad that Lucie loved it because Talitha was in that camp.
She tried the spell once more on her rock, begging it to cooperate. Well, the sides did look a little higher and the divot was a bit rounder. Still no crystal. Oh, well.
“I love reading. I go to the library as often as I can. It’s a good place to meet with friends if you don’t get crazy loud.” She answered Lucie’s questions as she worked. “The librarian isn’t too strict about talking as long as you keep it down.”
The garden was where Talitha would be spending most of her time this fall and winter. Her owl, who was looked more like an owl instead of a puff ball had most of her flight feathers now and was taking short, hopping flights from her perch to Talitha’s arm for treats of bacon she snuck up to her. It was almost time to teach her to fly and then hunt.
“Oh I love the gardens. There are all kinds of fountains and funny statues. There is a swing that a third year built and it goes really high. I don’t think you could explore where every single path goes even if you tried everyday for the whole seven years you’re here. I usually duck out there when my roomie is in one of her ‘moods’ and the older girls take over the Common Room.” She rolled her eyes conspiratorially, one younger student to another. “Honestly, they think they rule the whole school.”
Lucas had been glaring at his rock for only a few minutes, wondering why he couldn't do the spell when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see... Hannah? He thought that was her name - he had worked with her in a charms class last year, her and that annoying blonde kid.
She smiled at him and spoke, "Hi, Lucas. How’s it going? This spell sure is difficult, isn’t it? I’ve only been able to make it look like a weird bowl."
He glanced at her efforts and smirked a little - at least he wasn't the only one who couldn't really do it, but her attempts were definately better than his. He brushed his fringe from his face and smiled a little. "Yeah, it is hard," he agreed, turning to face her properly, "yours is better than mine though."
He sighed to himself, knowing that it was time to swallow any pride and dignity he had left - if any. "Hey umm..." he blushed, "do you think you could help me?" Lucas knew that it was a strange question considering there wasn't a lot someone could do to help with a transfiguration spell, but he didn't really understand what he was doing wrong. The thing in front of him should be a cup by now, yet it was far from looking like anything you'd want to drink from. He cast his eyes over his rock, then back to... "It's Hannah, right?" better make sure, just in case.
He smiled his usual lopsided half-smile in a friendly fashion, hoping she would agree to sharing any tips she might have on the matter. Lucas hated to be 'left behind' in classes like this.
Hannah returned Lucas’ smile. He had a nice face when he did and she wondered why he didn’t cut the fringe to allow it to show more, but would never say so, as she barely knew him. Therefore, it might seem rude.
She shook her head to deny that her endeavors were better than his, giving a slight blush at the subtle compliment. She didn’t really think that she was doing anything all that different and it wasn’t as though hers was actually a cup. She nodded, though, when he asked for help. It wasn’t like her to refuse anyone, which was probably one of the reasons she was in Teppenpaw.
“Yeah,” she answered to his question of her name. Then, thinking for a moment. What was it that she did to make it into the weird bowl? “Well, I try to picture the rock turning into a cup while I tap it.” She bit her lip. “It’s hard, because there are all kinds of other thoughts running around.” She hoped that he didn’t find the idea weird, but her mind tended to race with a million other things – classes, quidditch, her sister, her friends, and so on. It was really enough to distract anyone.
Turning back to her own, taking a bit of her own advice to focus, she tapped the bowl thing again. “Aqua vas!” This time the rim came in and went a little more up, beginning to look like a cup. Excited, she turned to Lucas, “Look, it’s working!”
Lucas smiled again when Hannah, as she confirmed her name to be, agreed to help him. She told him how she worked with the spell, trying to picture the rock turning into a cup. It seemed a difficult thing to think about, Lucas thought, but he was willing to give it a go if it worked.
He watched as Hannah performed the incantation again and her rock became more cup shaped. He tilted his head to the side, offering a big grin to her when she turned to him in excitment at her success.
"Hey yeah, it is working," he agreed, before turning back to his own rock. "Yours is looking great. Let's see if I can get anything better than this thing here, huh?" He smirked, it was nice having someone to share his difficulties with, odd as that may seem.
He concentrated hard on picturing a cup in his mind, biting his lip a little as he did so. He really wanted to get it right, he had been looking forward to transfiguartion and knew he wanted to excel in it. When he was younger he'd always thought it would be something he'd be good at since he had a good imagination - would he really settle for letting himself down here? No chance.
With those thoughts set in his mind and the picture of the cup still clear, he cleared his throat and spoke the words firmly as he tapped the rock: "Aqua vas!"
A large proud smile became prominent on his face as the rock tranformed into something that was definitely more cup shaped, even though it wasn't exactly a cup yet. The edges had thinned as it had become a little taller, and it was far smoother than before. He turned to Hannah and grinned happily.
"Hey, I guess it works!" He laughed a little, the girl's words had definitely helped him. "Thanks a lot, Hannah. You really helped me, I'd never have thought of picturing a cup and stuff..." he blushed, trailing off. A part of him wondered if he'd ever really be able to hold a conversation with somebody without being shy about it.
I prefer crystal, but this is probably less breakable
by Holly Greer
Transfiguration was the class on her schedule that Holly had no idea what to make of. As far as she knew, transfiguration was about make-over or turning from a Beast to a handsome Prince. As they weren't in Hollywood, she doubted it was a class about make-up, but so far as she knew, there weren't a so many Princes in the world currently cursed into Beasts or frogs that they needed to make a whole class about turning them back into humans. Besides, all that required was true love and a kiss, respectively.
Holly was not impressed by needing to wait to enter the classroom and the teacher's claim to clumsiness did not make her any more sympathetic. On the other hand, turning a rock into a cup (or even a toothpick into a needle) did sound amazing, and she perked up with genuine interest.
Once the teacher stopped talking and they were told to begin, Holly took out the wand she had bought only two weeks ago. Nine inches of, heh, holly for you, Miss Holly, the funny man running the store had chuckled when she paid for it. She pointed the wand at her rock and frowned down at it in fierce determination.
Before she could attempt the spell, though, someone came up beside her and asked to be partners. Holly lowered her wand and looked up at the girl she'd met at breakfast. The one whose father was probably not a King in some fantastic foreign country, but might be. Though not as obviously well-to-do as Anabel, Chelsea, or the girl from CoMC whose name Holly was pretty sure was Cecily, Rilla hadn't seemed like a complete plebeian.
Holly scooted her chair over and patted the empty one next to her. "Sure, I've never done this before, so a partner is definitely welcome."
1Holly GreerI prefer crystal, but this is probably less breakable123Holly Greer05
’Let’s see if I can get anything better than this thing here, huh?’
“I bet you can do it,” Hannah encouraged. After working with him last year, she had determined that he was fairly intelligent, just a bit reserved. She wasn’t reserved at all. Well, maybe a little now, as she had begun to notice boys over the summer, but she had no idea how to make the transition, as she had always been just one of the boys.
While Lucas tried to change his stone into a cup again, she watched with baited breath, hoping her advice worked. It would be a shame for it not to when all she wanted to do was help. When the rock began to form a cup, she gave an excited little squeal of joy. “You did it! I knew it you could!”
She blushed slightly when he thanked her. She really hadn’t done much, but she guessed a little bit of support could go a long way. It certainly did with Addie, who was always so shy to start with. At the thought of her sister, she wondered how she was fairing. So, far, she knew Addie hadn’t made any friends in her dorm, which was slightly distressing, because her sister was a sweetheart and it seemed rather close-minded not to give everyone a chance. Hopefully, things would work themselves out and she would find a niche. Otherwise, she knew Addie would be trying for home schooling.
Giving a sigh, she pushed the thoughts of Addie out of her head, and focused on Lucas. She gave a grin. “You’re welcome.” Then, because she didn’t want the conversation to end and on the fact that he might be able to help her, she asked, “Any chance that you’re a mastermind at Astronomy?”
Lucie made a note that the library was a good place to be with friends. She hoped that she made a lot. It was a little hard in all the chaos of everyone trying to get to know everyone else, but she knew it would all work out. She was just optimistic like that.
“Aqua vas!” She tapped the stone. The handle seemed to be the main feature of her cup, as it started to smooth out, but still no indents to where one could actually drink out of it. On the plus side, one’s hands could be useful, maybe not as much, but still useful for drinking water. Of course, her grade wouldn’t be that great unless she could make it change. Oh, well, so transfiguration wasn’t going to be her best subject.
On the topic of the swing, Lucie’s eyes lit up. She adored swinging. She wondered if flying was anything like it and really couldn’t wait for lessons. She bit her lip slightly and in excitedly asked, “You just have to show the swing to me. I bet its lots of fun. Please? Pretty please, with a cherry on top?” She gave a sweet grin.
Lucas smiled a little when Hannah squealed at his success with the rock to cup thing, he thought she was sweet. They had both been quiet for a minute or two when Hannah sighed before speaking.
"You're welcome. Any chance that you’re a mastermind at Astronomy?"
Lucas titlted his head at the question - he knew a thing or two, but he definitely wouldn't say he was a mastermind. He guessed that she was referring to the astonomy class they'd had recently and the essay they'd been asked to write.
"Truthfully?" Lucas grimaced, he hadn't really found that work a bunch of roses himself. "Truthfully no, but if we shared ideas then-" he cut himself short, realising that she may not have even been talking about that class. Plus, he didn't want the teacher to hear him - he wasn't sure how often they talked, but he didn't think that 'sharing' essays was really in the rules.
He tried again, in a more hushed tone. "Are you talking about the class we had? 'Cause I guess I didn't find it too hard really."
Lucas pushed his fringe from his face and leant on his elbow, absent-mindedly tapping his rock with his wand in case the teacher looked his way and accused him of not working. Though truth be told, he should probably have another go anyway. He didn't really feel like discussing astronomy or any of his other classes, he'd rather get to Hannah and try to make an actual friendship with her instead.
Of course, he wasn't going to say that - it would seem rude. Plus the girl implied that she needed help, and Lucas wasn't going to deny her his thoughts on it if she really wanted to hear them.
He turned his gaze back to her, furrowing his brow a little as his fringe fell back in his eye. He sighed - he really should get it cut some time.
Rilla was pleased to see it was Holly who offered to partner with her. It seemed her and Holly might become friends. Rilla really hadn't ever had many friends however she never saw herself making friends with a girl like Holly. In many ways she was quite sure they were complete opposites, however, Rilla wasn't prejudice nor picky at this point and so was happy to get along with anyone at all.
Looking at Holly, Rilla took a seat next to her where she indicated, dragging her things along with her. "So I don't suppose you have any experience with Transfigurations?" Rilla asked this with a grin. She was attempting at playful and hoped she wouldn't offend the girl. She was a muggleborn though and Rilla knew she'd have little idea what Transfiguration was. Rilla however, knew the theory behind it fairly well, and had attempted a few transfigurations on the sly.
She also knew as a muggleborn Holly couldn't get away with any magic outside of school but Rilla lived with and around other witches and wizards and so had went unnoticed a few times. Though she'd also been caught once and been in the worst trouble of her young life. Her mother had not been amused at all.
"Hmm, so even if I can get this made into a cup. Do you think it's sanitary to drink with a rock cup? Oh! Maybe we could make a cute little matching rock dish set." Rilla giggled at that. The idea of matching rock dish sets amused her, though she was sure people probably had them. The wizarding world was odd that way she knew.
"Should we get to work? I believe it was flick and swish?" That was a joke. Rilla knew they were to tap the rock. She tapped her rock with her finger.
"So really, tap it and say ‘Aqua Vas’ I believe." Rilla tried the foreign word and it made her giggle again. When she was nervous she was often giggly or talkative, or both.
With that Rilla tapped her rock and said aqua vas, trying to concentrate, but alas, it was still a rock. She watched to see if her partner was anymore successful.
0Rilla WhiteYes I fear rock really is best116Rilla White05
Talitha grinned as the pretty firstie begged to see the swing. Lucie was fun and she was just as excited herself last year when Elly mentioned it to her. She thought a moment. Did she have that right? After all it was Elly’s swing and it was in a secluded place. Maybe Elly didn’t want a bunch of people to know about it. Then again, what stopped someone who stumbled on it to use it and tell their friends about it? It wasn’t like she had posted a privative property sign on it. Besides, Elly was so nice that Talitha was sure she wouldn’t mind sharing it.
“Sure I’ll show it to you, Lucie.” Talitha answered, nodding. “I wouldn’t go looking for it on your own though. Its pretty deep inside the maze and kids, even older ones, have been known to get lost in the gardens. It’s embarrassing to have to be led out of there by a professor or Mr. Tellerman. We can meet any time you like.”
She tried the spell again. This time the rocked looked more like a cup about the size you would give to a toddler. She sighed. It still was dark grey will sparkly streaks. No cut glass crystal. Well, I guess you can’t have everything, she thought. \n
Hannah’s eyes widened slightly when he stopped mid-sentence. Why was he stopping? Then, her eyes drifted to the professor. Oh, that must be why. She supposed that they were a little loud, but no one else had seemed to notice for the moment. Plus, their rocks were a little better.
When Lucas spoke again, she leaned a little closer to hear him better. Her blonde hair spilled forward and she blushed slightly, as she quickly pushed it back. She really ought to begin carrying a rubber band with her so it would stay out of the way during class.
At his question, she answered, “Yes. I’m terrible at Astronomy and didn’t understand half of what the book said about auroras. I tried talking to a girl near me. I think her name is Sarah or Sierra, or something. She wasn’t very nice.” She made a slight face at this. She really had thought it was unnecessary for the girl to have been so offhanded. She had just asked a simple question and a simple answer would have sufficed.
As quickly as the negative thought had come, it was just as quickly gone. Along with it was the topic at hand. Instead, she asked, “Do you like to fly? If you do, maybe you’ll want to come out to the Pitch with me? I want to practice for Quidditch. Do you play? I was on the team last year as a reserve.”
Then, she turned to her stone to attempt the spell again. She didn’t want to do as poorly in this class as she was in Astronomy, but then this wasn’t nearly as difficult for her. She kept glancing at Lucas, though, so that he knew that she was paying attention to him as well. Tapping the stone, a little too quickly, she said, “Aqua vas!”
The briefly formed cup was now certainly a cup sans handle, but the rim was turned out and down. She gave a small frown. It was certainly an interesting drinking device. She gave a shrug and a grin. She probably should have been paying more attention when she said the spell, but there were other interesting things at the moment. Besides, this was the whole point of practice making perfect.
Holly shook her head and laughed a little when Rilla asked if she'd had any experience with Transfiguration. She hadn't even known what the class was about before she walked in here, never mind done any of it before. Fortunately, Rilla didn't seem to expect to have any experience and she went right on about whether it was sanitary - which was a very good question. Holly made a note in her notebook to ask the teacher exactly that later.
"A matching set sounds good," she agreed, smiling, "but I'll just be glad to get it to change into a cup this class."
Rilla then suggested they get to work and Holly nodded, pulling out the funny little stick that seemed so very important in this world. She almost fell for Rilla's instruction that they needed to swish and flick, before remembering that had been what they did in Charms earlier that day. "Now you're just messing with me," Holly accused, but Rilla was giggling, so she knew it was meant as a joke. "I almost believed you."
After Rilla reiterated the actual directions, Holly tapped her own wand against the rock in front of her and repeated the magic words (and, at this school, that didn't mean 'please'). "Aqua Vas."
Nothing happened. Perhaps she should have said please. A glance sideways at Rilla showed she hadn't had any better luck. "Try again?" Holly suggested, because that seemed the obvious course of action.
She concentrated a little more, and tried to image what a cup would look like if someone were to use a rock to carve one. Then she tapped her wand against it again, and said, "Please, aqua vas."
She squealed in delight and pointed at the indentation in the middle of her rock. "Look! Rilla! It changed!" The slight hole was deep and wide enough to hold one small marble, no more, but there was definitely a cup-like alteration, however minor, that hadn't been there before.
Rilla watched her excited partner as she pointed to her rock. Looking very closely she could see it had infact changed a bit. Rilla looked dismally at hers which had remained a rock.
"What did you do differently the second time?" Rilla asked curiously. She'd been intent on her own rock and hadn't paid too much attention to her partner.
Turning back to her rock she gave it a commanding "aqua vas" and tapped it with her wand. At the same time she imagined a rock cup complete with handle and willed it to become that.
To her surprise Rilla saw her rock turn into something that might be a very crudely carved cup. It did have a handle though, but it was awfully bumpy.
"Look here Holly!" Rilla nearly shouted excitedly. "It's got a handle! Though, I'm afraid to touch it, it might fall apart." Rilla beamed at her partner proud that it had done anything at all. Most of her transfigurations hadn't turned out great before though she had managed the match to needle one, though it was pointless.
0Rilla WhiteCrystal next lesson? *grins*116Rilla White05
Still flushed and smiling with her success, Holly tried to figure out the answer to Rilla's question. What had she done differently? "I guess I sort of imagined how it would get from being a rock to a cup," she tried to explain the process to Rilla. "And I said the other magic word." Who knew? Maybe that was the real secret.
She looked at her indented rock and tried to imagine boring that hole a little wide and deeper and shaving off the sides to make it more cup-shaped. Her focus was interrupted by Rilla shouting in her own triumph. Holly turned to look at the cup-like object that Rilla had created and she grinned brightly at the other girl. "That's great! Let me try again."
She gave her own stone a very serious look and picked up her imagining where she'd left off. Now aware of what needed to be done, she tapped her wand crisply against the rock for the third time and said, "Aqua vas, please!"
The rock slimmed up and the hole deeped enough to hold three marbles now. It still looked more stone-like than cup like, but that wasn't what Holly was focusing on. She grinned over at Rilla with excitement. "It's getting closer!" she enthused. "I've never turned a rock into a cup before!"
Rilla looked at Holly a bit confused. "The other magic work? Do you mean please?" At this Rilla broke into a fit of giggles. She was sure it was earning her some dirty looks but she didn't bother to look. The professor didn't seem the type that would be offended by giggles anyway.
"I guess it might help..." Rilla added with a grin trying to make sure she didn't offend her partner.
With that she turned back to her own handled rock. "Aqua vas" then with a smirk she added "please" and thought determindly of a cup with a handle. To her amusement and annoyance, nothing happened. Glaring at the rock she tried again.
"AQUA VAS, please." Rilla commanded of the rock thinking as hard as she could of what she wanted. To her surprise when she opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut in concentration, she found a cup complete with handle and rock colored. It was a shabby looking thing, something a first grader in her school might have made with clay in art class back when she was living with muggles. But, it was a cup for sure.
Holding up she shouted "I did it! Look Holly I did it!" she didn't care if anyone heard her. She'd managed to make a cup that could actually hold water and that was exciting. It didn't matter if she was silly for being so loud, she was proud of this small accomplishment.
She looked to see what her partner had come up with. Hopeing she'd be successful too. Rilla would feel bad if her partner hadn't done as well after she'd shouted about hers.