Frustrated. on Transfiguration

Professor Skies

April 18, 2013 11:59 AM

Intermediate Transfiguration - Revision by Professor Skies

“Good morning,” Professor Skies greeted her intermediate class as they came in, “You may take a seat at any of the tables whilst I explain what we'll be doing today.” The usual rows which faced the front of the room had been replaced by three large round tables, each with a number of seats around it. One was piled high with books and parchment, each of the others had a large cardboard box in the centre.

“Today, we will be having a revision class,” for fifth years, the CATS were just around the corner, and the other years would be facing their end of term exams soon enough.

“The table here,” she indicated the one piled with books, “Is the theory table. You may use the textbooks or your own notes to revise. Ask each other to explain things – if you're not sure, asking your classmates can be a good way of getting to grips with things, and for those being asked, explaining to each other is a good test of whether you understand something. There are also examples of past theory papers for you to look through. Please write any answers on your own parchment so that other people can use the resources. You may also hand your work in for marking – be sure to note which paper and question you were answering

“The other table at the front is a practical table,” she indicated one of the two tables with a box, “You may pick any item and try to Transfigure it. You can look for inspiration in your textbooks. There is also a box of paper slips on the table with suggestions on, although obviously if you're taking a random suggestion it won't be controlled for difficulty.

“The final table is for switching spells,” she indicated the table at the back, which also housed a large cardboard box. “Most of the objects have an obvious partner, such as a ball and an apple, or you can take two less closely related objects for more of a challenge. Please negotiate with other people at the table – if someone wants a pair, let them have it, as if you are working with less similar objects, it will be easier to substitute one of them.

“I will be moving around the room, between the tables. If anyone has something they want specific help with, please call me over. You may spend all of the lesson at one table or swap between them. Off you go,” she informed them, leaving them all to get settled and select their materials before she began moving through the class.

OOC – the usual posting rules apply. Minimum 200 words. Keep your character within what is realistic for their level. Tag me in the subject line if needed.

As with the advanced theory class, this is a class format I haven't done before. I would appreciate feedback, either in OOCs on your posts or the OOC board, when in chatzy (Henny/Michael etc) or via email (if you have it).

Subthreads:

Making stick insects...take 2 or 3 by Clara Abernathy

Learning my theory. by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

Frustrated. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

0 Professor Skies Intermediate Transfiguration - Revision 26 Professor Skies 1 5

Clara Abernathy

April 19, 2013 3:25 PM

Making stick insects...take 2 or 3 by Clara Abernathy

Clara walked towards Transfig class wondering what, if anything, they would be changing into something else today. She was mildly okay with this class, but her skills left something to be desired. Her last attempt at it they were to turn sticks into stick-like insects. She had tried casting the spell and ended up with the same stick she had started out with, no insect. She felt a bit ridiculous for not being able to really complete the spell. Other than that spell, she had managed to make all her other stuff work on some level. She was determined not to screw anything up this time. She walked into the room and after waving hello to the professor, she took a seat at one of the three tables she found inside the room. She listened as Professor Skies explained what they would be doing for class that day.

“Today, we will be having a revision class. The table here,” she indicated the one piled with books, “Is the theory table. You may use the textbooks or your own notes to revise. Ask each other to explain things – if you're not sure, asking your classmates can be a good way of getting to grips with things, and for those being asked, explaining to each other is a good test of whether you understand something. There are also examples of past theory papers for you to look through. Please write any answers on your own parchment so that other people can use the resources. You may also hand your work in for marking – be sure to note which paper and question you were answering. The other table at the front is a practical table,” she indicated one of the two tables with a box, “You may pick any item and try to Transfigure it. You can look for inspiration in your textbooks. There is also a box of paper slips on the table with suggestions on, although obviously if you're taking a random suggestion it won't be controlled for difficulty. The final table is for switching spells,” she indicated the table at the back, which also housed a large cardboard box. “Most of the objects have an obvious partner, such as a ball and an apple, or you can take two less closely related objects for more of a challenge. Please negotiate with other people at the table – if someone wants a pair, let them have it, as if you are working with less similar objects, it will be easier to substitute one of them. I will be moving around the room, between the tables. If anyone has something they want specific help with, please call me over. You may spend all of the lesson at one table or swap between them. Off you go,”

Clara looked around the table she had chosen to sit at and realized she was sitting at the practical table. Since her skills in this area were a tad questionable at best she didn’t see the harm in staying where she was and giving it another try. She bravely stuck her hand in the box looking for an object to change. She pulled out a medium sized stick and decided to give changing it into an insect one more try or tries as the case may be. She sat down with the stick, took out her textbook and looked up the spell she would need to change it. Once she found the desired page, she studied it for a bit before taking a deep breath and casting the spell. “Insecare!” she commanded confidently, remembering to place emphasis on the second syllable. She waved the wand as the book instructed her to and aimed at the stick. She watched closely as a faint glow came from the end of her wand towards the stick. It began to bend slightly on its own and she was sure she might have gotten it to work this time. Alas as before the stick lay as still as a stone.

Sighing heavily, the normally chipper little Pecari began to frown. She rested her chin on her palm and her elbow on the table in front of her. She stared quizzically at the stick. “What in Merlin’s name am I doing wrong?” she seemed to ask it. She wasn’t hoping for an answer from the stick. That would just be nuts. She looked up at the student seated across from her and asked, “Am I missing something with this spell? I mean I keep trying it and instead of an insect, all I get is the stick. Am I doing the spell wrong do ya think?” She was hoping her fellow classmate may be able to help her understand what she had been either doing wrong or what, if anything, she had been missing.

0 Clara Abernathy Making stick insects...take 2 or 3 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

April 19, 2013 7:03 PM

Learning my theory. by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

It had been a couple months since Waverly had last heard from Brandon. He wasn't very good at writing letters and their correspondence had fallen a little flat. It was really hard to be away from him like this, but at least Waverly had gotten a little used to it. The challenges had kept her really busy and now that they were coming to an end, she was kind of glad that things could go back to normal. She was looking forward to the ball just so she could dress up and hang out with her friends. She had decided not to ask anyone, though the only guy she could imagine asking her was Jorge. He was really the only guy who actually talked to her in their year, but even he hadn't asked her, not that she would have said yes with Brandon back home. It was kind of sad, not being asked by any guy, but the pure-blood boys did have all their drama going on. It wasn't hard to pick up on a lot of the gossip.

Transfiguration today had a lot of choices for review and Waverly was thankful. She was pretty good at practical Charms and Transfiguration, but she needed to work on her theory. She could memorize recipes, names, and faces, but for the life of her she couldn't get down a theory right away especially if she couldn't understand some of it.

It was an easy choice, so she made a beeline for that table once they were able to. She was going to review the theory behind the switching spell. It was a concept she had kind of brushed over in her essay, but it was definitely more complicated than she could understand. Her essay on all transfigurations being switches had been okay at best, so it would be good to revise that and get a better understanding of the theory in general.

Waverly put down her orange backpack and flipped through her notebook until she got to the section on switching spells. She had her old essay with her as well as her textbook. She started looking through her essay, cringing at the little spelling mistakes she had made. She was getting a lot better at that, but when she wrote it all really fast, she sometimes made a few mistakes.

There were two particular concepts Waverly was having trouble grasping and that was concerning the distance between objects and how that affected the objects being switched and the differences between switching a living thing for a nonliving thing. She could execute the switch well enough, but she just couldn't get the whole concept behind it. She looked down at her essay again, trying to form a question that she could ask herself and hopefully find the answer to.

OOC: I think this is a great concept, Prof. Skies! It's also nice for the students to get creative with their time in class.

0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari Learning my theory. 0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

April 22, 2013 2:13 PM

Frustrated. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

There were several reasons why Cepheus was very glad his CATS were next year instead of now. He thought he could feel the slight panic amongst the fifth years as the day loomed closer. One year from now he'd be in their shoes, but at least he still had a year left to get himself together. Ceph had loads on his mind from the challenges and the competitive spirit he couldn't quell within him to the problems these girls posed everywhere he looked. He wished for a day where he didn't have to think about any of it and simply live his life, but it was absolutely impossible. He'd even tried.

Cepheus had been trying to get to know his classmates more, but it was too easy to gravitate to his mates now that he knew who his mates were. He was still hoping the professors would see the progress he was making as he was growing up, trying to be more active in class and doing all his essays on time. For the most part, anyway. And he wasn't starting any conflicts with anyone. He didn't talk to the muggle-borns, certainly, but that was just to be expected from a wizard like himself. Ceph knew his dad was going to be extra disappointed in him if he didn't make Prefect, but that was yet another thing Cepheus didn't want to think about. Not now, anyway.

Today seemed like a good day for revisions and Cepheus went to the practical table. As much as he could understand theory, he absolutely hated learning it all and didn't want to revise even if he needed to. His Aladren mates would probably look down on his for that, but he didn't care. He wanted to do what he enjoyed during this 'free' class period.

The box seemed to be full of everything he could possibly want to transfigure. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to go with the teapot. He had been working very hard not to cringe every time he was forced to change an animal into an inanimate object. He had written one of his best mates in England who had written him back saying it wasn't such a big deal, animals didn't feel it and to stop being such a child. They weren't speaking, currently, but Cepheus had taken Dorian's advice anyway by doing as many of those transfigurations as possible.

It still didn't make Ceph feel good, but he was beginning to get over the wave of nausea he felt every time he did it. He was planning on turning his teapot into a dragon. It was a bit better when it was going the other way around. Then it looked like he was creating life instead of taking it away.

Dragons were one of Cepheus's favourite creatures besides crups because dragons were so powerful. And they could breathe fire and fly. Nothing could get better than that. The only problem was these tiny dragons were quite useless in that they hardly possessed the traits of a real dragon besides the personality. The miniatures could fly feebly, sure, though Cepheus's transfigurations hadn't been able to, but breathe fire? Not at all. He couldn't tell if it was because of his inadequacy with the spell or if that was just how the miniature dragons came about. He had even looked at it in his textbook, but it hadn't helped him out much. He could only find out by practising it again. After a tough term, Ceph thought he deserved to have a little break and do something he already sort of knew how to do. If he got better at it, then brilliant.

The teapot was completely white and Ceph used a simple charm to turn it a deep red, his favourite colour. "Draconifors," he said, slashing his wand at it. He may have slashed a bit too hard, but the red teapot transfigured anyway to a scarlet dragon with small black eyes, sharp teeth and large nostrils. Its skin looked more leathery than scaly, and its wings were rather long for its body. Otherwise, it looked like the normal sort of dragon, at least the sort he was used to transfiguring. It flapped its wings hard, but it barely got off the table without flopping over.

It was frustrating seeing no progress come about from his practise and he flipped through his textbook. "What am I doing wrong?" he asked himself. He wanted his dragon to get off the bloody ground and breathe some fire for Merlin's sake.

0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus Frustrated. 0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus 0 5