Transfiguration NEWT's ((approved students))

[Professor Minerva McGonagall]

((Each student in this class must first make sure that they have cleared their character with me before posting. Also, you are expected to have a copy of the text Practical Transfiguration. It can be found on the classes board. As NEWT students, you are expected to know chapters 1-5. We will be covering chapter 6 in this year of study.))

Minerva closed all of the books on her desk and with a flick of her wand sent them air-bound toward the bookshelf on the other side of the room. The students would be arriving soon, and she had some last minute preparation to do before the lesson. Knowing that the lazy summer days had done their job of numbing the students minds, she planned their first lesson to be somewhat of a review, but at the same time, she wanted to challenge them with something new. After all, she did need to prepare them for their N.E.W.T.'s that they would be taking later in the year.

At this level, Minerva expected each of her students to be well-prepared, but she had decided that today, she might be a little be lenient if anyone didn't have their copy of the required text. Thus, Minerva found five extra copies of Practical Transfiguration for those who might need to borrow them. She felt like being kind today, and she might not even take house points from those who lacked the responsibility to come to class prepared.

After putting the extra books on the front table, she opened the cupboard on the left side of the room, and levitated twenty some ordinary objects to the front table. There were boots, tires, broken pieces of rubbish, and many other dingy looking items. She had collected most of the items from the lake, and some were items that students had left in their dormitories over the years. Today was going to be an interesting class, that was for sure. She hoped that her students came prepared. With the necessary items ready, she took a seat at her desk. All she had to do now was wait for the students to arrive.

((This post is a little early, but I have a busy day tomorrow, so I wanted to get it up before that.))

[Jeremiah Baer]

Jeremiah packed his books and materials and left the common room. He was going to be early to class as part of his new effort in doing well. Plus, Transfiguration was one of only two classes that he actually did decent in- Charms being the other. As he walked down the hallway, he greeted the students that he knew as he passed. Sadly, most of them were only simple acquaintances. Jeremiah regretted not making any lasting friendships in his first six years of school.

When he arrived to the room, he opened the door and walked in. "Hello Professor McGonagall," he said as he glanced around and noticed he was the only student there. "Small class this year," he added with a smirk. Professor McGonagall probably tired of his constant joking by now, but he was sure it lightened her mood a bit. "I promise though," he added in a serious tone, "I'm going to try my best this year. I really am." He wanted to assure her that he was going to do what he had set out to do. Also, he didn't want to let her regret allowing him in the class. After all, it was only after much persuasion and commitment that she allowed him to take her NEWT class. He sat in the front row, thus forcing himself to pay attention and avoid distraction.

[ames]

A sigh escaped Amelia's lips as she rubbed pink lip gloss on them. Her first class of the year was Transfiguration. No matter how much she loved that class, she was still a little bummed about waking up early. There were dark circles under her bright blue eyes and she yawned quite frequently. She finished applying her lip gloss and studied her reflection. Her eyes were outlined with black and her lids were painted a pale pink. She had rolled thick black mascara onto her eye lashes and the whole affect was rather pleasing. her lips were pink and her hair was up in a pony tail full of ringlets. She enjoyed the look and with a yawn, took hold of her book bag and was off to class.

It took her about 15 minutes to walk from the common room to the Transfiguration class room. She opened the door and walked in, a tired smile on her pretty face. She was puzzled as she walked in. Jeremiah, a boy in her house and a year older, and Professor McGonagall were the only people inside. She shrugged and walked over to an empty seat next to where Jeremiah sat. She smiled and placed her book bag next to the empty seat.

"Hey Jeremiah," Amelia said with a bright smile, even though her eyes screamed exhaustion. She turned to Professor McGonagall and smiled.

"Good morning Professor. I hope your summer holiday was awesome." She enjoyed using Muggle slang to her teachers, they usually didn't know what she was talking about, but Professor McGonagall was a much smarter woman.

[silverstone]

It started off a simply fabulous day for Mischa. Her first letter that year from her father, assuring her that whatever grades she recieved he'd love her anyway, and much advice for her subject revision and class tips. She didn't need it really- usually she was quite organised. But it did please her to know that her father did care. At the bottom of the parchment was the usual, expected little squiggle of 'Russ' from her four-year-old brother Russ, which always made her grin no matter how many times she saw it. So the letter lightened her spirits a considerable amount, as did the antics of her ginger kitten Mistletoe as, once again, the pesky feline awoke every member of the 7th year Gryffindor girls dorm at least an hour before normal time.

This was a good thing for Mischa- time to make sure she had simply everything, and look better than normal for her first Transfig class in her last year. She made sure she had every single text book, checked that her ink was still over the quater-full mark, made sure her quill was still in good use and had no walkabout feathers. Then she did everything else that she didn't actually need to do, but wanted to anyway. Mischa was nervous- being as organised as possible was her way of ignoring that feeling. What if it went wrong? What if Professor McGonagall decided that she wouldn't cope with the N.E.W.T 's for her subject this year? What if- She stopped the thought with a frown. Time to get ready.

A few minutes before the start of the official time for the beginning of the lesson, Mischa walked into the Transfiguration room with a small smile playing about her lips. Her robes were crease-free, mess-free and smelled just lightly of lavender, her eyes were only lightly lined with smoky brown make-up and her lashes brushed just slightly with mascara. Her dark blonde hair was straight and up in a high pony-tail so it wouldn't get in her way. She was actually on time for once- a rare for Mischa. She grinned at Professor Mcgonagall in her excitement, not caring if she looked like a goofy fifth year or something.
"Good morning Professor!" She chirupped, wondering why she was so happy. She couldn't come up with a reason, just felt that this would be a good lesson; a good day in all. Pulling a chair up behind Jeremiah and Amelia she greeted them both with a smile and a few words, before getting out her equipment.

[cdc]

"Caught ya." Jamison heard a voice behind him as someone covered his eyes. Jamison let out a brief laugh peeling the person's hands from his eyes. "Don't you have class Wendalynn?" He asked his Hufflepuff sister playfully as Jamison turned to look at her. "Yes, yes grandma dearest. I'm going now. I just felt like sneak attacking you." She grinned putting her hands on her hips like always. Jamison laughed softly. He had just left the Ravenclaw common room when Wendi had found him. "Well, you got me now go sister dearest." He said calmly. Wendi let a small pout escape her lips. "Fine, fine. I'm going now. Have fun in your NEWT classes. Geez, why are you taking Transfiguration this year?" She asked in a comical way. "Because I like it and I need Transfiguration if I want to work in The Ministry." He explained. "Oh." Wendi said softly glancing around her. She turned her head away from Jamison and then back again. "Oh, well. I'm off. Bring me back the animal you transfigure." Wendi smiled turning away from the area. "Yea, right." He joked as he watched her leave and then turned to leave himself.

Jamison arrived outside the Transfiguration Classroom soon enough. As he entered Jamison noticed there weren't too many students around him. He glanced calmly as he approached the Professor. "Good day Professor McGonagall." He said giving her a friendly smile. Jamison turned and looked at his fellow students. Only three students were present and they were all Gryffindors. Jamison waved and gave them casual smiles as he found a seat. He didn't know the two older Gryffs personally, but he did know Amelia who was in his year. Jamison found a seat in the middle of the room away from the Gryffindor. He put his on the desk. Jamison noticed the random items around the room. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then gave a casual smile. Jamison leaned back a bit in his chair and waiting calmly for the class to begin. He wondered if anyone else would be joining the class, but he ignored that thought and waited for Professor McGonagall to begin teaching.

[ariel]

Ariel was awake long before she needed to be. She was nearly overflowing with excitement at being back at Hogwarts, though there was one thing missing. Jake. She missed him a lot, especially when she wanted to talk to someone. He had always been there to listen and now he was gone. Graduated from school and probably off galavanting the globe, finding many adventures to take. She didn't even know what Jake had wanted to be after graduating, or what his plans were. It had never occured to her that he would be leaving before her; she always took for granted that he would be there for her, even if they hadn't seen each other over the summer. She had missed him a lot over that huge span of time, and she hadn't forgotten about him.

Had he forgotten about her? Did he still care? Ariel clasped the bracelet he had given her at Beltane around her wrist, letting her finger run through all the charms. The book those charms were based on was in her trunk, still waiting to be taken out. This would probably be her twentieth or so time reading it, but she found that great books never grew tiring. Just like people, in a way. She forced herself to stop thinking about Jake and went to the mirror, tyring to decide whether to put her hair up or down. After a few moments of indecision, she took the lazy way and kept it down. It was being unusually good today, so she shouldn't have any problems with it. Smiling a sad smile, Ariel got her books together in her bag, stopping with the Charms book. It was the same copy Jake had owned, the very same one that he had mistreated, thus causing Ariel to point out all the faults and practically shout at him. That was their first meeting, all thanks to this book. She laughed softly to herself, though it came out as more of an orphan sob, and put the book away quickly, so fast she couldn't think about it.

She got to the classroom in a reasonable amount of time and quickly found someone she knew: Jamison. Meandering over there, Ariel gave the Professor a bright smile before sliding into the seat beside Jamison. "Hi," she greeted. She didn't know him all that well - they were just in the same year and House. She smiled at him but turned away to get her supplies out of her bag and prepare for class.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser had managed to secure an Outstanding on his Transfiguration OWL, and if asked which of his grades he had least expected it was that one. He had later come to the conclusion that it was because he had been so scared of doing badly on the subject that he managed to direct the energy resulting from the tension on focusing on feverishly revising everything he knew about the subject over and over again, and practicing Transfiguration spells whenever he got the chance. The night of the actual exam his plan had almost backfired; he had Transfigured so many objects that he had ended wasting time trying to remember what everything had been before he'd done that. He'd achieved his goal though, even better than that, he'd surpassed his own expectations. And that was a rare occurrence but a delightful one indeed.

Yet he had taken a break from anything to do with the subject during the summer, even reading which was the only thing he was allowed to do while not at Hogwarts, and he was worried that his skills would be rusty and Professor McGonagall would not be pleased. He wished Dana was here – he had been looking forward so much to taking this class with her. He gave the Gryffindors a small smile as he took a seat beside Mischa and greeted the Professor warmly, or at least as warmly as you did a professor, when their eyes met. And though he'd expected to be focused only on the lesson and his worry that he wouldn't do well it was a completely different emotion that seized him – a terrible sense of loss. He missed Dana terribly, for he knew what a difference it would have made to have her here right now. And as much as he liked his fellow Gryffindors, they were no compensation.

[Danny McKay G5]

Danny went to his trunk after changing and opened it now forgetting what he was suppose to get out of it in the first place. It was normal for him to go blank when trying to find something in the morning as if he was wake but his brain fell asleep on him but after a few second he remembered he had to get out his Transfiguration book. Which as soon as he found it he put it into his bag with his spare quills even the one he got at the joke shop that writes everything it hears which is perfect for writing notes. Danny left the dormitory and out of the common room to the Transfiguration class. It was the only class that Danny felt he did really well in. He only got an acceptable in his O.W.L but knew he would have done better if he didn’t forget how to change that darn tea cup back.

Danny sighed a little as he walked thinking about how this year was probably going to be like the last. He spends the first few days trying hard then just goes back to his normal habits of leaving everything till the last day. This time he was going to really try probably leaving a few things for the last minutes but still try hard on the rest of them. Before Danny knew it he was in front of the Transfiguration class door and walked in. There was a few people sitting together or alone and Danny remembered some of them but he just wanted to pay attention at lest for the first day of class so he toke a seat in the middle of the class room with no one around and toke out his book and just waited for the class to begin.

[sammy]

Cathy felt like there was a block around her brain, not allowing her to think at all. She moved about with the same speed as a sloth. She had gotten up early to do her hair special for the first day of classes. It was all curled at the ends and looked great, but she would have looked better without the bags underneath her eyes. Giving her reflection a small smile, Cathy wiggled her head a little, watching with satisfaction as her hair bounced around as well. That was good; at least one part of her would look healthy. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, she avoided making eye-contact with the bed in fear that it would look all too appealing and she would just say to heck with classes and go back asleep. She knew she couldn't do that, especially since it was only the first day, but it sure was tempting.

Her shoulder bag cut into her skin as she made her way through the halls, shoving and pushing as was needed. Her high heels scuffed against the ground since she was too lazy to pick her feet up, and her robes were a tad on the wrinkled side, seeing as she hadn't spent time to crease them out. Noticing this with dismay, Cathy waited until she was outside the Transfiguration classroom to do anything about it. Before entering, she did a few quick wand movements to make her look not like a cave-woman but a lively teen. She checked herself through the nearest window before finally opening the door to the classroom. There were already a good number of students sitting there, making Cathy wonder how much time was left until the bell would ring and the others would be late. Her eyes skimmed the ones already there, landing on a bunch of Gryffindors all gathered toward the middle, and one Gryffindor separated from everyone else. Cathy made her way toward Danny, the separated one, with a smile. She didn't like big crowds - she much rather preferred just a partner or two.

"Hi," she greeted, sliding into the seat with a "harrumph." She took her things out of her bag, finding it annoying that her hair continued to get in her face. Pushing it back for what had to be the millionth time, Cathy set her things down on her desk and turned back to her fellow Gryffindor sixth year. "So how was your summer?" she asked formally, propping her head on her hand.

[Professor Minerva McGonagall]

As the students began to file in and take their seats, Minerva nodded to those who greeted her. She was a bit surprised that Mr. Baer was the first to make an appearance, but she knew his light spirit would do well to brighten up the class a bit. After him, she gave a look of approval to each that entered. She was pleased with the students that would be taking her for NEWT's. She was confident in each of their abilities, and she looked forward to pushing them a bit.

"Well," she said finally after looking at her watch, "I suppose we could get started. It appears that most of you are here. Smiling, she stood and walked to the front of the table where she could see each of the students. "I hope you all had a great break this summer. I'm sure you all have many exciting stories that I look forward to hearing. But just not right now," she added with a small grin.

"Now, today I've decided to start a little bit different. Instead of the usually introduction and review, I think you are all to advanced for that. With what I have planned, today, we are going to need all the time we have. So let's just get started right away.

"Today's lesson is going to cover a very important and difficult aspect of Transfiguration. Would you please turn to chapter six. We are going to learn about the Portus spell today. I'm sure that you are all aware that the Portus spell is the spell that turns objects into portkeys. Before we being the application of the Portus spell, could two or three students please tell me what they might already know about the Portus spell. Or, if you wish, share any interesting encounters that you may have had with a portkey, whether good or bad. Some of the class may not be as familiar with portkeys as the rest, so let's just get a basic knowledge before we get too involved."

((No need to raise your hand. I just need 2-3 studnets to make some knowledgeable comments to help the class get a better understanding of the Portus spell or portkeys.))

[Jason Blade]

Jason quickly pulled his shirt over his head and ran his hand through his hair. He didn't have much time to get ready. It was the first day of class, and he had already almost slept through his alarm. Grabbing his robes from his closet, he haphazardly threw them over his clothes as he grabbed his bag from the floor. Luckily he had packed it the previous night. He bolted out the door, and made his way into the halls.

The number of students was dying down quickly. Most of them were either entering their first class or heading back to their dormitory if they had the period free. He didn't know what time it was, but Jason knew he would be pushing to make it on time.

As he neared the Transfiguration classroom, he heard Professor McGonagall's voice as she announced they would get started. Hurriedly, he slipped into the room and took a seat just before she announced the day's lesson. Biting his lip, he gave her a small smile as he could have swore she flashed a glance his way. Just in time, he thought as he pulled his book from his bag and turned to chapter six.

They would be studying portkeys. Jason liked the idea. He thought back to a day when his grandfather took him to visit the Ministry of Magic. Here, Jason was able to visit the Department of Magical Transportation where the officer there showed him a display on portkeys. He jogged his memory and then prepared to share what information he remembered from the visit. Maybe McGonagall would excuse his last minute arrival if he were able to share some valid information with the class.

"Well," he spoke up, unafraid to talk in class, "I've visited the Department of Magical Transfiguration, which is in charge of portkeys. In fact, to cast the Portus spell, you have to be authorized by the Ministry of Magic. Basically you must fill out a form that includes what the object is that you will be transfiguring, where you plan to place the object, and finally the destination that the object will deliver its user or users to. I think that I also remember the officer telling me that they try to use everyday ordinary objects that muggles are less likely to touch." Pleased with his input, Jason stopped talking and waited for someone else to talk.

[ariel]

Ariel leaned back in her chair in an attempt to get comfortable as class was about to begin. Considering it was the first day back, she figured this would be a long haul, what with all the review they were sure to be covering. Jason Munroe, one of her fellow sixth year Ravenclaws, just barely slid into his seat as the bell rang. Ariel frowned thoughtfully; would McGonagall have deducted points for his tardiness? She expected so, which would have been terrible for Jason. He would probably be the first one to lose House Points the whole year. Ariel always dreaded losing Points because then you received glares from your fellows the rest of the day, if not longer. She hated being the center of negative attention, and besides, Ariel was the devoted book-worm - she hardly ever got into trouble.

She gave McGonagall her divided attention (meaning she listened half the time and fiddled with her pencil the other half) but when she mentioned portkeys, Ariel looked up with a start. She had looked over her studies for the year, what with all that free time on her hands, but she must've forgotten that they would be doing such a complicated spell. Portkeys were very difficult to do correctly and if down incorrectly can be like Apparation, right? As the Professor asked a question, Ariel prepared to raise her hand with an answer but was beat to it by Jason, the close-call guy. She was surprised when he spoke out but realized that was how McGonagall had wanted it. Grinning, she immediately gave the Professor a little wave after Jason was done speaking, making sure her input was next to be shared.

"Well..." she paused, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts together. "I know that Portkeys are used to transport someone from one place to another, like Jason said, and I know that's what wizards and witches who can't Apparate yet use to get around. Like the Quidditch World Cup, for example. That's how people manage to get all the younger wizards there, but like Jason said, you need Ministry approval. They make it so Portkeys resemble Muggle things, but they make sure that they are things that Muggles wouldn't be interested in picking up. Like trash or a boot or a tattered article of clothing even. Portus is a complicated spell though and if done incorrectly can be dangerous.... right, Professor?" She felt guilty for not studying over the summer, but she hadn't been her normal self lately. She smiled at the Professor, thinking she had said enough and would let someone else put in something, if they could find anything to add.

[silverstone]

As Nasser sat beside her, Mischa smiled lightly for a greeting. She would have asked how his summer was or something if they'd had more time- but a few moments later the other students piled in and McGonagall began the lesson. Ooh... Mischa thought with a small mental grin. Portkeys. She didn't know much about them really- hadn't travelled to many places, and if she did she was usually travelling with some snazzy escort her father hired for her. But portkeys... interesting. Mischa knew it would be intruiging to learn about them, and felt slightly proud- Portus, from what she knew of it, was a rather difficult charm. She decided to speak out after Ariel, even if her comments weren't of any use it was always good to say what you wanted, Mischa believed.

"Portkeys have to be registered, as Jason explained. There's a major fine for a portkey that isn't on the Ministry's approval list. Once created by using the Portus spell, a portkey can be set to transport anybody who touches it to a designated location... or to become active at a pre-determined time and transport to that location anybody who happens to be touching it at the moment set. So I think it's right to say that you could set a portkey like a timer until you need it. I think..." She stopped talking with a hasty, slightly nervous smile. Had she just repeated what the other two had explained? She wasn't sure, but hoped she'd said something different- or at least added something about their facts. Twirling her quill through her fingers lightly she waited for a reply.

[Professor Minerva McGonagall]

"Excellent points from each of you. Ten points apiece," Minerva interjected after allowing three of the students to reply. "Between you all, I believe you did well at covering the basics. One important issue that I would like to elaborate on is the authorization of portkeys. It is true, as a few of you eluded to, that to cast the Portus spell, one must first gain authorization to do so. This can be done, as Mr. Munroe explained, at the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Transportation. However, for our purposed today, I have taken care of all authorization needed. We will only be casting the Portus spell with the goal of having the portkey transport an inanimate object from one point of the room to another."

"So," she said, as she gestured to the pile of rubbish items at the front of the room, "If you would all take a piece of this clutter that I have collected, we will begin the practical part of the lesson."

"When casting the Portus spell, it is imperative that you have adequate knowledge of where you wish the portkey to transport its users. For our purpose, the final destination will be in this room, so this should not be any trouble. In other cases though, this is important so that your portkey actually works and does not transport its users an undesirable location. Now, when you cast the spell, be sure to be thinking of both the starting and final location, just as if you were doing a basic transfiguration. Just remember though that your portkey is not making a physical transformation, but rather you need to think of the locational transformation that those who touch the portkey will experience. So, if you could each take your turn attempting to cast the Portus spell on your piece of rubbish, be sure to think of a point somewhere opposite yourself in the room. Then, take a random object, such as a quill, and drop it onto your portkey. Be sure though," she added very firmly, "that you are not touching the object when it makes contact with the portkey. Otherwise, if you failed to cast a proper Portus spell, who knows where you may end up." She gave a thin smile and glanced across the rows of students. "Any questions? If not, you may begin."

((You may begin posting your students interacting with the Portus spell. Please don't post them doing anything too dangerous though. Have fun with it! Minerva will be popping in and out only to award points or get involved with any spells that might go terribly wrong.))

[sammy]

Cathy listened to the students answering the questions, ruefully wondering if she should have at least tried to participate. She had this weird fear of saying the wrong things or missing up when called on, so she hardly ever raised her hand. She was too shy and unsure of her knowledge, that was the problem. Sighing, she twirled her hair absently as the Professor went on to explain the thinking process behind the Portus spell. Horrible images filled Cathy's mind as McGonagall told them not to touch the Portkey directly, just in case it was done wrong and they would end up somewhere else. It wasn't very assuring to be told such a thing and that was all Cathy could think about as she stood from her spot and walked hesitantly toward the collection of junk.

She picked up a battered up sneaker by pinching it with her index and thumb and holding it away from her face in disgust. She could see why the Ministry picked such things for Portkeys - no muggles in their right mind would want to touch these things. Retreating back to her desk, she gave Danny a thin smile, looking anywhere but the sneaker. It really didn't make her feel better toward this lesson at all - in fact, it made her stomach turn. She fingered her wand with apprehension, holding it just above the shoe. She wanted to call McGonagall over here to supervise her work, but realized that it would look terrible for a NEWT student to still be seen asking for help. She needed to take a chance once in a while. So with a deep breath, Cathy muttered, "Portus!" and tapped the shoe. Nothing happened, not that she had expected anything, but it made her feel queasy. What if she had done it wrong?

She looked about for an object of any sort, her eyes landing on her feather quill. If she were to lose this, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. After all, she had about ten others. Dangling the quill from its feather over the shoe, Cathy dropped it, letting it fall right on the shoe. It disappeared, as expected, but reappeared right on her desk, exactly where it had been before. Holding back a yelp at the sudden discovery, Cathy peered at the shoe with confusion. How could it have ended up right at the starting point? Unless... ah, yes, she had spent too much time thinking about the starting point, not the ending. So it had only transfered the quill to the starting point. Brilliant. Cathy bit her lip and carefully plucked the quill back, making sure she didn't touch the shoe in the process. So her spell hadn't gone dreadfully wrong. It was just a simple mistake, that's all.

She tried again and again to perfect her Portkey. A few times her quill simply didn't disappear. Once only the portkey disappeared, leaving the quill behind, and was found underneath her desk. Or it was the other way around, with the quill disappearing and appearing in the strangest places. Cathy had been hoping to make it reappear in the back-left corner of the room, but so far it went anywhere but there. Her head hurt from the increasing frustration and her hands shook as she continuously performed the Portus spell. Why did this have to be so hard? It was only their first day back! Cathy found herself wishing they had spent the whole day going over review. Maybe then her brain wouldn't hurt as bad. Chewing on her lip, she allowed herself a moment of rest while she looked around at the others. When she assured herself most others were probably having the same troubles, she turned back to the portkey. Taking a deep breath, Cathy made herself calm down. Once she was in the 'zone,' as she liked to call it, Cathy raised her wand, thinking of her starting position and the back-left corner profusely, and breathed, "Portus!"

Now was time for the test. Hoping dearly that it would work out well, Cathy let the quill fall onto the shoe and her tired eyes saw them both vanish into thin air. Blinking, Cathy waited for it to reappear at her desk. Nope. She checked under her desk. She stood and looked under all the desks she could see. Still no. Unable to believe it, she hurried to the back-left corner of the room and found much to her surprise and relief a beat-up shoe and a feather quill. Grinning with success, Cathy allowed herself to bask in the moment before returning to her seat, a happy grin on her face. When she looked around and still saw students battling to perfect theirs, Cathy looked down at her sneaker with new hope. Maybe if she did it again, the same thing would happen? She didn't want to ruin the perfect spell on it though. Frowning, Cathy did the whole quill routine again, only to find that it traced back to the same corner. Deciding not to ruin the good spell she had done, Cathy sat at her seat, waiting for McGonagall to possibly come over and praise her work.

[ariel]

Ariel's grinned as McGonagall awarded her Points for her answer. She never could quite get over the satisfaction of being right. She was an insufferable know-it-all and she knew it. Many people had told her that in the past, though lately it hasn't been that bad. Ariel didn't care though; in fact, she rather liked that label. For she knew her strengths and she played to them whenever the chance came. She didn't care what others thought; she only cared what she thought, and that was doing her best. So she did. It hurt to be called names, Ariel couldn't deny that, but it was worth it coming home with the grades and seeing Mort's face light up with glee. It was more than worth it.

Ariel stood from her seat and sauntered over to the garbage pile that McGonagall had collected. She dug through it, touching as little as possible, trying to find something that at least looked a little sanitary. When she finally moved away, she had a glove clutched in her hand, one so raggedy and mud-caked it was hard to keep a straight face. Dropping it on her desk with relief, Ariel slid back into the seat and opened her Transfiguration book to the correct page. She stared avidly at the words there, drinking them in as she always did while reading. When she felt she had all the knowledge she could about what she was going to do, Ariel raised her wand above the glove and cast the Portus spell on it. The glove remained as limp as ever but Ariel was sure it had worked. Humming a slight tune to herself, she picked up her feather quill. It was given to her by Mort, who insisted its feather was from a breed of extinct owls. Ariel knew better than that, but she loved it as if it were true.

Dangling the pure white feather over the glove, as Ariel had seen one girl do, she let it fall. And watched it disappear without a trace, so fast she hardly caught on. Blinking, Ariel stood and wandered over to where she had been aiming it to go while casting the spell - the front left corner. Which happened to be empty. It didn't exactly dawn on Ariel right then that her spell hadn't been done correctly; she searched nearly the whole room before the dread began to seep into her bloodstream. Taking a deep shaky breath, Ariel sat in her seat and bent down to take one last examination of the floor underneath everyone's desk. Her feather quill was no where to be seen. "Oh no," Ariel moaned to herself, though it came out louder than intended. She wouldn't let herself look around to see if others heard; she just raised her hand and waved it about, though she tried not to look too urgent. That feather quill had been lovely. She had owned it for two years straight. Now, for all she knew, it could be in Austria, or Antarctica, or Greenland, where it was really more full of ice than green, or maybe Russia, or... or... India! Somewhere awful, to be sure!

[Nasser Salah G6]

Portkeys – he'd read about them but never actually come in contact with one. Apparently he didn’t know much about them because if you'd asked him before this class he'd have thought that the 'Portus' spell would be something you learned about in Charms and not transfiguration. Nasser sat up a little straighter in his seat and listened to the students relate their experiences with Portkeys. Apparently the process of travelling using a Portkey was closely monitored by the Ministry – no surprises there. It seemed quite a few things could go wrong and the results could be ugly. Nevertheless, Nasser was still excited about one day travelling using a Portkey. He wondered if he'd ever get the chance. He wondered if the spell got harder to cast as the distance increased or if it didn’t really have to do with that.

Doubt crept in when the time for him to actually try the spell came – and Nasser knew that it was his worst enemy, he had a tendency to make things much worse when he didn’t believe enough in himself and hi capabilities. Nasser pretended to play around with his quill and old cushion, but he was really looking around the room trying to pick up hints and avoid the mistakes other people were making around him. Some of the stuffing in his cushion fell out of it and Nasser gave it a disgusted look. It really was rubbish. Now he was just wasting time picking it up, Nasser decided to give it a go; he wasn't getting anywhere observing people, but then he should have expected that – Transfiguration was magic that required you to concentrate, the magic wasn't in the incantation or the wand movement as much it was in your powers of concentration and visualisation.

"Portus!" said Nasser, giving his cushion a tap with his wand. Nothing much happened, but something told Nasser that that much he shouldn’t worry about. Nasser carefully dropped his quill on to his cushion. His whole desk shook for a moment but then nothing happened. Nasser tried once again and the same thing happened and he frowned. His brow cleared as he realised he hadn’t really thought of where he wanted his quill to go. That rather defeated the whole aim of the lesson. Nasser gave himself a mental shake and decided the safest soft was near the wall at the back of the classroom; it wasn't too far nor too near a distance. Nasser tapped his cushion again and said the incantation, then dropped the feather on the cushion. Both shoe and father made a feeble jump forwards, a sound like a car engine starting and then dropped right in front of his shoes. Nasser scratched his head, took a few deep breaths, and tried again, almost closing his eyes so he completely visualise them at the back of the class. This time they disappeared and reappeared on the desk at a distance half the one he was aiming for. Nasser felt a little annoyed. There was something he had to be doing wrong.

He tried a final time, but this time he inadvertently touched the cushion. He felt a sudden jolt, and then suddenly everything was spinning; he was lost in a swirl of sound and colour and five seconds later he let out a moan of pain as one of his elbows hit the wall at the back of the class. He'd landed on his side, the cushion and quill right beside him. He sat up and then pushed his glasses onto his nose and looked up bemusedly, not quite sure what had happened.

[payton]

( Sorry on the delay in gettin this up!)

As Payton all but dragged Dillion down the hall to class, he thought for a moment that in a year he would never have to do this again. He loved Hogwarts, and all of his classes, but there was some joy in the thought of no longer being responsible for his twin. It wasn’t exactly that he had been declared responsible for the other red-headed Moore. He knew that by now Dillion should be capable of getting himself ready for class and into his seat, normally near by back, ontime--but he knew his brother too well for that. He was well aware of the fact that if Dillion was left on his own, he would sleep through class, forget his homework, and never manage to get his clothes on right side out. It was part of Dillion, and a part he loved, but also something he was looking forward to leaving behind.

As he ran down the hallway towards the transfiguration room he dreaded the thought of being late. It seemed harder than usual today to get Dillion ready as his brother had managed to loose his book….again, but somehow he managed to slip inside the door and take his seat before the clock ticked the start time for the class. He noted to himself that he needed to start getting ready earlier. Normally he was pretty laid back about things like class, but he would never forgive him himself if he was late for class and cost Hufflepuff points. It was one thing when something he cause resulted in a negative action for himself, it was another when it would reflect badly on others. As the thoughts flowed idly though is mind he would just picture the little quidditch captain shooting him a nasty glance as he brought Dillion to beater practice. For a shy little thing she seemed very invested in Hufflepuff doing well.

As class started he listened to the professors explanation of what they would be doing today, as well as the information his fellow students shared. Portkeys were a very interesting topic, he did have to grant them that. As they were giver permission he instead leaned back in his chair, trying to run though his memory to recall whatever details he could on the spell and what would make him perform it better. He knew he had read about it many times in his advanced spell book, as he was one of those odd students who actually liked the process of learning and studying. While his memory was rusty on the topic he could still remember going over the principles, pronunciation and wand movements to achieve success in the spell.

After a moment he lifted his gaze and let it drift over to the pile of rubbish in the room, and settled onto an old sock which he decided would serve rather nicely as his portkey. He pulled his want out and aimed it at the idem before casting the movement char, “Locomotor sock,” and soon the idem was lying on the desk before him. For a few moments he examined the piece, trying to gain his focus and concentration, as he knew that was a key element in the success of the spell. For a moment then he glanced around the room, and picked and empty chair at the next table to be the destination. As he looked back at the sock he took a deep breath, his gaze focused as he prepared himself. Seconds later he raised his wand, and the spell was cast. After he lowered his want again he say looking at the sock, part of him wanting some big change to have happened to let him know that all was right, but he knew he would have to test it for that to be known. He glanced around him for a moment, trying to pick and idem for his portkey’s maiden voyage, and after a digging for a moment in his messenger bag he settled on a crumpled up piece of paper. After he started at his sock for a moment longer he tossed the paper at it, only to have the idem disappear as it touched the fabric. For a moment he watched the sock, knowing that wouldn’t give him his answer. Finally he turned his gaze over to the chair, where there was no crumpled up paper. For a moment he looked at the chair, unsure of what to think or do, but then he noticed something on the floor beneath the chair. He smiled to himself and pushed himself up, walking over to the chair and reaching underneath to retrieve his idem. Maybe it wasn’t exact, but at least he wasn’t too far off.

[Sapphire Phoenix R7]

Sapphire loved Transfiguration. It was something she was good at, and she found it fun to be able to make whatever she wanted from anything. It wasn't quite conjuring things out of thin air - of course that was very hard - but it was almost as good. Besides, that could be seen just as Transfiguring the air into something else... she would master it someday. But today Sapphire couldn't make herself be excited that she had this class. She enjoyed the work still, but she just didn't have much enthusiasm for many things right now. She needed to get a grip, she told herself, she was just moping and being idiotic and she really couldn't afford to be. She was starting her NEWTs now - work more challenging than ever - and she was doing a lot of them as well. Possibly your workload was supposed to ease a bit after the OWLs year when you'd dropped some subjects, but Sapphire was still taking eight of the nine subjects she'd taken at OWLs level, so dropping one subject hardly counterbalanced the other eight suddenly getting a lot harder.

She was one of the later students arriving, and there were no seats left unoccupied next to anyone she felt she would want to work next to. So Sapphire took a seat by herself and listened slightly unenthusiastically to the contributions of the other students, not making any herself but instead immersing herself in her own thoughts. It was an interesting topic for a lesson, but she still couldn't muster much excitement. Sapphire fetched herself a broken watch with a very tattered green leather strap, and placed it on the floor. On second thought, she put it on top of the desk. It could take everything it was touching with it if she did something wrong, and she didn't want to be responsible for the floor of the Transfiguration classroom disappearing from beneath them. Where in the room was free? Sapphire looked around, and immediately the door caught her eye. It would be ill-advised to enter class this late, and there was plenty of floor space in front of it. Thinking about that space, and wondering as she did so whether her eyes being drawn to the door meant she didn't really want to be here right now, Sapphire cast the spell: "Portus!"

Now what to drop on it? Sapphire foraged for her bag at random, until she made contact with something soft. She drew it out slowly - it was a beautifully-decorated hairband that Dana had given to her and insisted she keep. Sapphire looked at it slightly bitterly, and then, her eyes flashing slightly, dropped it on the Portkey in an instant. Both vanished. Sapphire looked over to the area by the door, but there was nothing but the same floorboards to be seen there. Immediately she became something resembling frantic, even though there was nothing outward to show it save an anxious appraisal of the room. Idiot, she told herself, as she'd done so often recently. You can't cast things off that easily, whether you lose them or not. Now she knew she must find it again, because whether she liked the reminder or not, it would still be there. One last final ditch attempt for now. Sapphire glanced at McGonagall, as she didn't want her actions to be wrongly interpreted, before going to the door and opening it. And there outside lay the watch - the glass more cracked than it had been before - and, a little further away the corridor, the hairband. Sapphire looked at the width of the door and shrugged to herself before going back inside the classroom. Her performance could have been worse but as far as knowing herself went, she was far from a perfect delivery.

[Professor Minerva McGonagall]

Minerva stood at the front of the room and watched as the students began attempting the Portus spell. She smiled in amusement as some were having their objects appear in random places that she could tell from their faces were not the places they intended. Knowing that it was an advanced class, she simply sat and let them make judgments of their own work at first. She would only intercede if they were doing terribly bad or if they had completed the task and needed judged.

(Cathy)
The first student done was a girl from Gryffindor. Minerva walked over to where she was waiting and observed her work. "It appears that you ended up successful Miss Dumas," she said quickly. "I noticed that you had some trouble at first though. I would suggest maybe a tad more concentration on the end result. If you can strongly imagine your Eventium, you will see more success I am sure. Twenty points to Gryffindor for a marvelous finished product.

(Ariel)
Next, Minerva saw that a Ravenclaw was waiting with her hand raised. She walked over to the girl and noticed that she didn't have anything in front of her. Minerva was almost sure what had happened to make the girl's spell go wrong. "Well, Miss Dahl," she said sternly. "Since I do not see anything in front of you, I am assuming that your spell worked, however I'm guessing that it did not work as was intended. My guess is that you were unknowingly thinking of a different ending place when casting your spell. That would explain why your feather is nowhere to be seen. I would suggest checking any places that your mind might think of often. As for your progress, I will neither award nor take any house points. Your spell was successful in its result, yet it was not fully successful in its desired outcome.

(Nasser)
Minerva jumped with a quick shout as a loud thump from the back of the room alerted her. She quickly turned to see Nasser Salah, a student from her house, standing up with a confused look. She knew right away that he must have accidentally touched the item that he transfigured into a portkey. Just before this, she had noticed him getting closer and closer to a successful transfiguration. Apparently, this one had been a success despite his carelessness in touching the cushion. Minerva walked briskly to the back of the room to ensure that he was uninjured. When she had seen that he was indeed unharmed, she spoke to him in a stern tone to assure that he knew she was not at all happy with his transporting himself across the room in such a careless manner. "Mr. Salah, I will award twenty points to Gryffindor for your accurate work, yet I will also deduct fifteen for your carelessness. I was quick to point out that you should have been more careful when handling the Portus spell. Now back to your seat." She was really quite pleased with his work, but she was also a bit shaken by his accident. In all, she was relieved that it was not as bad as it could have been.

(Payton)
Luckily, the next student's situation was not as serious as the last. Minerva walked over to Payton Moore, a Hufflepuff, and saw that his spell had worked, yet not quite like he had hoped. She knew that his error was only minor though. "If you concentrate a little more on the final destination, you will most likely be more successful next time Mr. Moore. Ten points to Hufflepuff for a worthy attempt. Luckily you were only partially off of your intended destination. I suggest a little more practice and you should be doing well in no time."

(Sapphire)
Minerva was about to observe the progress of the last student when she saw Sapphire getting up and walking over to the door. Soon though, she reappeared with her items in hand. Minerva walked over to her and spoke. "That was a great try Miss Phoenix. If I didn't know better, I'd assume that your thoughts were simply outside the classroom. You were successful nonetheless, yet you could work on improving the finalized destination a bit more. Accuracy is key, you know. Ten points to Ravenclaw for a good try though.

"Alright class," Minerva said, noticing that their time was almost complete. "You all did a fine job today. I would like though for you to all think about what we practiced today. Even though you are not permitted to use this spell outside of class without permission from the Ministry of Magic, you can still use the principles that were practiced. This spell is a good example of a transfiguration that does not produce a visible change even when a change occurs. Thank you all for coming, and have a good afternoon." She stood and waited for them to leave. "Oh, one more thing," she said before any of them had got out of the room. "For homework, I would like an essay on examples of when the Portus spell went wrong. Your essay should cover a minimum of twelve inches of parchment and no more than fifteen. It will be due two classes from today."

((This class is officially over. Thank you to everyone who participated. For the homework, you may submit to me a 1 page essay on what was assigned. They will be due November 11, and I will grade them and return them to you as soon as possible for points. Please only submit an essay if your student actually posted in the class. They didn't have to do the in class assignment, but I expect them to have at least been present. Thanks again for your participation!))