Professor Skies
September 28, 2012 11:58 AM
Intermediate Class - Hedgebrushes and hairhogs. by Professor Skies
Selina liked all her classes for different reasons. The beginners class were just starting out and she got to see them make their first steps with the subject. In the advanced class, she got to teach really interesting material, and knew that the majority of the students actively wanted to be there. People sometimes regarded intermediate classes as the wilderness in between; the novelty had worn off for the students but they weren't yet the elite, dedicated group. She didn't feel this. This class had got through the baby steps and was able to progress onto some interesting topics, including their first ventures into animate transfigurations. The fifth years were also the same age as her eldest daughter, which gave her a certain fondness for them, and for seeing them achieving things. She could then imagine similar sorts of things going on in her daughter's class. She tried not to notice the girls falling out with each other, or the kinds of looks the boys were giving them. She preferred not to imagine parallel events of those kind taking place in Krisalyn's school, although she wasn't so naïve as to assume that they didn't.“Good morning, class,” she smiled, as they filed in. “I am Professor Skies and I will be teaching you Transfiguration this term.” She went through the usual routine of calling the register, trying not to stare too hard at those whose names she recognised, and definitely trying to block the part of her brain that went into calculating whether these could be children of her former students. She wasn't wholly successful on either count. She followed this with the rest of the house-keeping, such as handing out schedules and going over rules before getting stuck into the class proper.
“I see from the previous class notes that some of you have begun inanimate to animate transfigurations. I hope you will humour me whilst I introduce it to those who have not and try to reassure them, and those of you who might have been nervous about it, that it is nothing to worry about. It is complex magic and you will not be perfect at it to start with. However, one of the concerns I have frequently heard from students is a worry over causing pain or suffering. This is very rarely the case. When you bring forth an incomplete animal, its other half continues to exist elsewhere. It is difficult to explain without going into a lot of complex theory, but the animal is still connected to the rest of itself, although you can't see it. Therefore it is not going to bleed to death, and it's unlikely it feels pain as it hasn't been cut or severed in any way. For example, your lesson today is going to involve hairbrushes and hedgehogs,” she picked up a hairbrush from her desk, “If I only transfigure the front half...” she cast the spell over the brush, consciously holding back some of her energy. Paws and a face appeared, the little nose twitching, whilst his back end remained a handle, which Professor Skies held him by. “Now, I'm not saying he'd do well in the wild. But if I had left half of his insides somewhere else, he would not last very long,” she placed him down on her desk, “I guarantee that he will still be twitching his nose when I'm done talking. If anyone has more questions about the theory or still has ethical concerns, please see me.
“We will be looking at two different spells today. Third years will be getting a hedgehog and trying to make it into a hairbrush. Fifth years will be doing the opposite. Fourth years may choose, depending on where they feel they currently are. You may choose to swap half way through the lesson if you feel you chose the wrong option.
“Those of you attempting to make the hedgehog into a hairbrush, your spell is 'capillius', and involves and upward sweeping wand motion,” she levitated a hedgehog from a box on the opposite side of her desk and demonstrated, before returning him to his original form and repeating the demonstration of the wand movement in slow motion. “I have placed fencing charms around your desks, so they should not be able to get away from you. I recommend wearing your gloves if you need to nudge them back to starting position, but you shouldn't have too much need to handle them. Call me if you need them levitating. I am sure you are all competent at the Charm but it can be a little more difficult when used on a live target and I do not want the poor things being bounced off the ceiling.
“For those of you attempting the brush to hedgehog transfiguration, your spell is 'Erinaceinae,' and you are required to do a circular motion with a flick,” she demonstrated this, both with a brush and in slow motion, before putting both spells up on the board.
“As is always the case with Transfiguration, both your source – that is the item in front of you – and your target – the item you are aiming to end up with – will have some similarities and some differences. Focussing on what you need to alter will help you to channel your energy more effectively. I assume by now that most of you are well practised at making notes on the similarities and differences between your source and your target. Third years may make notes if they wish but over the course of this term, I will expect you to begin to internalise these thoughts. Older years, you should be able to hold the differences you are aiming to alter in your head. If anyone still has difficulties with this method, or has queries about it, feel free to ask,” she invited. She wasn't sure that this specific style had been used by her predecessor, although in her mind there were a limited number of ways to approach the subject, and so she found herself assuming that, at the very least, something similar would have been used. She waved her wand and a list of categories appeared on the board to prompt any of them who might be struggling to think of ways in which to compare their objects.
“There are tests that I can perform to see the history of your transfigurations, for anyone who was thinking of trying to swap objects with their neighbour when I'm not looking. I will be extremely disappointed if I catch anyone attempting this and penalties will apply,” she informed them, sternly. She hoped that the fifth years, especially, would realise that it would benefit them little to cheat, as they needed all the practise they could get for their CATS, but it was only fair and sensible to give warning.
“If you are stuck, you have several choices. You may talk with your neighbours or, if you are a younger year, I hope those in the classes above will be willing to offer their expertise. Older years, it should not be at the cost of completing your own class work, and you may refuse if you have too many things to get done, but you will find it will benefit your theory and your understanding of your own casting ability to try to explain it to someone else. Finally you can, of course, call on me. Fifth years and fourth years working with brushes may come and get one from the front. Hands up if you are a third year or want to start with a hedgehog and I will levitate one over to you. Oh, and look,” she indicated the hedgebrush on her desk, who still looked as happy and healthy as when they had begun. She countered the spell that she had performed, returning the brush to its box.
OOC – normal posting rules apply. You may assume that Professor Skies gives you a hedgehog if you request one or swaps your brush/hedgehog part way through the lesson if you ask her to. Otherwise, tag if you need me.
Subthreads: Sonic is cuter than I thought. by Fae Sinclair, Crotalus with Russell Layne, Aladren
Well, it's better than if a lorry hit it... by Henny B-F-R with Evan Brockert, Aladren
Trying not to kill something. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus with Michael Grosvenor
I wonder which this qualifies as. by Arabella Brockert, Pecari with Theresa Carey, Pecari
I want them both. by Alicia Bauer, Aladren with Arthur Carey, Aladren
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Professor Skies
Intermediate Class - Hedgebrushes and hairhogs.
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Professor Skies
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Arabella Brockert, Pecari
October 16, 2012 5:45 PM
I wonder which this qualifies as. by Arabella Brockert, Pecari
Even though Arabella was a Brockert, she wasn't quite sure if she was ready for animate transfiguration. She was only a third year. That was the problem with having them in with the fifth years, there was such a wide range of skills, even more so than in an individual year group. She would probably put herself on par with a fourth year of average ability. Only in Transfig though. Well, the Pecari supposed she was also alright at Defense and pretty much most things that used a wand.It was just theory and essays that Arabella didn't like. Not so much that she was honestly stupid, she was just not interested . She didn't have the patience for it and she often wanted to get up and move around. Whenever she was working on an essay, her mind would wander and she would end up looking for something more interesting to do. Which was almost anything. Arabella tended to end up procrastinating and doing everything the night before.
And there was never the satisfaction of being done with things. Especially in Charms where there was just another essay the next week. They never got a break. It was like being Amity. It was why Arabella wasn't all that impressed with Professor Olivers. Her teaching style was incompatible with the third year's learning style. Her essays never came back with very good grades.
She wasn't too worried about things though. Her wandwork, especially Transfiguration was excellent, enough to bring her overall grades up. Besides, it wasn't like Arabella needed to be a top student. She wasn't going to have a career or go to college or anything. She didn't have to compete with anyone. All she needed to do was 'be a lady' and get betrothed-and being a Brockert was probably enough to help significantly with the latter.
The Pecari sighed with relief when Professor Skies didn't go too far into the theory. Honestly, she didn't care how magic worked, it was more important to be able to actually do it. That was what made one a witch or wizard. Any Muggle could grasp a theory-well, if they were allowed to know about magic, that was. Of course, then they'd just be learning about something that they could never do. It was really best for them to be kept ignorant of magical people in general. For their own good, knowing that there was something that made life better that one didn't have had to be infuriating.
The professor levitated a hedgehog to Arabella along with the rest of the class. Cute little thing really, much more so than a hairbrush and quite honestly, she'd rather play with it than change it into something else. Still, that was the assignment, and well, the third year didn't want to be like Carrie who refused to do things that she didn't want to do. She wanted to show that she was as little like her cousin as possible.
Arabella took her wand and did the required motion,"Capillus", resulting in a brush shaped...furry thing with hedgehog quills rather than bristles, eyes, and feet on its left side. She couldn't help but laugh a little at her creation. It wasn't in pain, so it was okay to be amused. She turned to the person next to her and asked. "So, what have you made so far?" Arabella was eager to see what others had made.
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Arabella Brockert, Pecari
I wonder which this qualifies as.
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Arabella Brockert, Pecari
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
October 19, 2012 11:36 AM
That might be a question for the philosophers by Theresa Carey, Pecari
If there was a class Theresa was nervous about, really nervous about, entering at the Intermediate level, it was the Transfiguration class, and finding out they were getting a new professor didn’t help. It wasn’t that she had anything against Professor Skies – she didn’t know her – or that she had been that overwhelmingly fond of Professor Brockert; it was just that unfamiliarity with the person in charge did nothing to make the prospect of a transition more comfortable for her.It was, therefore, in her mind, completely natural that she walked into the Transfiguration class on the first day as though she owned the place, her head high and her expression – in her mind – one of confidence. To most outside observers, she would have looked more arrogant and disdainful than anything, but she wasn’t aware of that as she nodded to the professor and went to find a seat to start the class off in.
She did worry about using live things in Transfiguration about somehow ripping their guts out without meaning to, so even though theory wasn’t very easy for her, Theresa was glad to hear Professor Skies going into it and took notes over all that she said, even though she didn’t understand all of it completely. She could get Arthur to explain it to her on Saturday, if she didn’t get it when she thought about it later; her cousin seemed to only see Arnold’s homework and grades as a personal responsibility, but she had figured out early on that he did not see it as proper for any of them not to do well, either, and that though his brother was the only one who was probably going to be helped whether he wanted to be or not, Arthur would offer the same services to her and Jay – and she supposed now Henry and Anthony – if they asked. Her cousin enjoyed magical theory and such, and it was far less embarrassing to ask family for help than it was to go to professors or her roommates or other outsiders, so she saw this as a perfect arrangement.
A hedgehog arrived on her desk, and Theresa bit her lip as she pulled her gloves on and picked up her laurel wand, which felt less responsive through the gloves to her. “Capillius,” she tried, reminding herself not to say ‘caterpillar’ so firmly that she nearly did so because that was where her mind was, only catching herself just in time.
Predictably, the hedgehog didn’t seem impressed. It writhed for a moment, flattened out a little, but it didn’t seem to have gone completely inanimate, because it was still rocking back and forth as though trying to scurry away. “Ugh,” she added, and repeated the spell. It didn’t start to look more like a hairbrush, but did at least stop moving.
“Not much,” she admitted with a grimace when Arabella asked her what she’d made. “I really should have studied more over the summer.”
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
That might be a question for the philosophers
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Theresa Carey, Pecari
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Arabella
October 24, 2012 4:51 PM
Perhaps by Arabella
Arabella smiled at her roommate. They weren't close, she was better friends with Alexandra who was Theresa's distant cousin. The Pecari couldn't really remember how distant the relation between the two was. It was enough to keep up with her own family tree and she felt she was lucky enough to remember how exactly she was related to Evan.Still, she felt she had more in common with Theresa than Jade or Waverly. The former was poor and played Quidditch (and got a little up herself about the latter which in turn got on Arabella's nerves) and the other girl was Muggleborn. She knew Waverly was into baking and had started a club for it but the redhead had never baked anything in her life. She would probably burn it if she did, or potentially start a fire, and she didn't exactly know the Flame Freeze Charm, which was apparently more appropriate for the Advanced group, as Ryan had learned it earlier in the year.
"It doesn't look too bad. At least it did something." When it came to Transfiguration, Arabella tried her best not to sound condescending. She had little patience with those who acted like they were better than her. In fact, she detested arrogance, because of Carrie. Of course, when people were so because of their family name, the Pecari generally tended not to notice. People didn't really act superior to her in that respect though she wouldn't expect someone like Theresa to defer to her either, Arabella perceived them as equals.
She wouldn't defer to anyone either. She wouldn't let them say they were better. Maybe some people were better students, but the third year didn't really care about that. She'd let them have it especially when the reason was lack of interest or patience on Arabella's part and not stupidity. If she could focus, rather than getting bored, she'd probably do quite well, though she was no genius by any means. The Pecari just had a difficult time paying attention to things that didn't interest her.
"I suppose we should both try again." Arabella suggested. She really did like her creation, but that wasn't the assignment and she did her work, even if she didn't necessarily enjoy it and put it off until the last minute. "Capillus" . This time the fur disappeared,replaced with a hedgehog colored hard texture and it-thankfully-lost its two left feet. A portion of the quills now appeared to be hair brush bristles as well. "Well, it's an improvement anyway."
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Arabella
Perhaps
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Theresa
October 25, 2012 10:20 PM
Do you know a philosopher we could ask? by Theresa
“That is better than nothing,” Theresa agreed when Arabella said that at least her hedgehog had done something. She tried not to envy her roommate for, she knew, being better at the subject in general than she was, and so sure to finish this assignment before she did. It wasn’t productive, after all, and it was her own fault for not working harder. What anyone else could do, she had always been taught, she could almost surely do if she would just put in the effort, because just being who she was meant a certain baseline of talent was there, if only she would develop it.Though admittedly, her poor brother did pose a challenge to that theory, she knew. Henry was very demonstrably a wizard – he went nowhere without his wand on his person anymore, at least as far as she could tell, and plus there had been strange accidents all the time since his Accident – but the things that proved it were also the ones that made her think he wasn’t going to be as good a wizard as the rest of them. He and Anthony had played around at simple spells before school, as everyone did, and while her cousin had shown a knack for charms, her brother had spent half his time not even able to shoot sparks at things and the other half blowing them up. She prayed he was going to do better here at school, but she didn’t really expect it. It was really distressing, not to mention embarrassing; she didn’t want to be known as the sister of ‘that near-Squib Carey boy’ or anything like that on top of not wanting Henry himself to be known as that.
Overall, though, her family was, she knew, more magically gifted than most people, which meant she could do anything she wanted to work hard enough to do. It was a failing of hers that she did not, one she was trying to correct, but – like with so many things – didn’t always manage to.
“I agree,” she said, and tried again as well.
Arabella’s attempt went much better than hers, which only flattened out a little and was still very definitely and very visibly all organic. “Yes,” she said, not too happily, when Arabella called her own work an improvement. “I really am going to have to study. Hit me if I look at anything else at night until I get this right.” This was, after all, her hardest class, which meant she could most likely let the others go longer, at least until she was back up to scratch in Transfiguration. Surely she would have it under control by the weekend, when she could get Arthur to go over it with her and then send her back into class next week with the situation…under control, so she wasn’t embarrassed like this again. Arabella had always been better at Transfiguration than she was, but not this much better. This wasn’t something she could really tolerate.
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Theresa
Do you know a philosopher we could ask?
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Theresa
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