Fifth Years: Lesson One

Professor Kalif Styx waved his hand at the windows to darken the room. He was almost positive that he was the only professor that preferred their classroom to be darker. It was not pitch black. Just slightly darker to block the sunlight. The lanterns provided more than enough light to keep the class visible, even with writing notes. This would be the first thing that they have ever endured a lesson with Styx, and it would not be an easy one at that. Styx was known for being strict, cold, and intimidating. He had taught for several decades, and it still did not seem like it. Time has truly flown by. Once the fifth years were in the classroom, he gestured at the door to close it. "Now that you are all settled in, I am Professor Styx, and I will be your Transfiguration professor until you graduate."

Styx let that settle in their heads before he continued, "I have taught at this school for several decades, for two other subjects before I took this one over. Rest assured, I will guide you to master Transfiguration, if you are skillful enough for it. You will need at least an Exceeding Expectations and maintain it to reach my NEWT level class. Anything less will not be accepted without extreme circumstances." He looked to the board to use magic to make the chalk to write the topic for the year.

Vanishing Spell: Evanesco. Pronounced "ev-an-ES-ko"

"You will be learning how to vanish objects using this spell. It makes an object disappear, which is self-explanatory. Now, there are theories regarding where the target goes after a successful cast. Vanished items are gone. That's it. They are moved to nothingness, or cease to exist. They are not invisible at all." Styx wanted to ensure that the fifth years were understanding the concept perfectly. It was hard not to understand it, but the tone he used was serious, which indicated how heavy this spell can be. "There is some discussion out there on where the vanished objects go, but the Ministry has not figured it out yet, if they ever will. Some will say that the items go into non-being, which becomes everything. So, whether you choose to believe that they cease to exist or dematerialize into atoms is up to you."

Styx gestured at the board and the words erased themselves. They did not need to continue to see it. "I am sure that I don't need to tell you to not use this on people. No matter which belief you have for what happens after the spell, it is still murder regardless. Although, for those that are missing in either world, one might have to wonder if their bodies were never recovered, or simply vanished into nothingness. You will start vanishing small objects next lesson, and then move on to bigger, more difficult objects." He waved his hand at the door to open it. "No homework for now. Class dismissed. If you forget your wands, don't waste my time and just drop the course."

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Assignment: RP the lesson. Familiarize yourself with the Class Policy before posting.

 

[June Davenport]

With her new shiny prefect badge, June felt like she could take on the whole world. More confident than ever she was feeling well about this new year. Even more that she was the only one who was chosen by Castillo to become prefect. He saw her worth and perhaps everyone else was punished by not doing so good. All was going according to plan and she was glad that she and Camille had spoken again. It was also an important year, since it was OWL year too. So the blonde had studied hard and prepared herself for all to come.

The blonde made her way to the classroom, excited about the class and the professor that was gonna teach. But June knew she just had to do her thing and do well. Styx seemed like an person not much of words, from what she had heard and more the observing person. But he was once Slytherin's head of house and June just wanted to do perfectly. The classroom was darker but the blonde made her way to the front and made herself ready for the class to begin. He seemed straight to the point and June listen carefully. June was confident she would do well and achieve what was necessary or perhaps even better for NEWT class. She writed along with the information about the vanishing spell which seemed very interesting. For sure that it wasn't figured out yet where the objects vanished would go. June had hoped she could do that with some people too. But that was murder the professor indeed told them. She wondered if it happen before, but they wouldn't know. Nobody knew. June took her belongings and gave the professor an quick confident look before leaving the room. ​

 

[Hinata Edogawa]

Hinata stepped into Transfiguration noting the darker atmosphere. She didn't mind the dark usually, but she wondered if it was always going to be this dim in the classroom. She looked around and quickly found her cousin, taking a seat beside him. He'd never minded before, so she was sure he wouldn't mind now. She'd heard of Professor Styx - he'd already been a professor when her parents attended school, and even then, he'd been quite known. She'd encountered him once too, though it wasn't something she thought about frequently.

The lecture was interesting, and Hina would be lying if she admitted otherwise. It may be a bit fascinating that things could disapper just like that. Her magical theory and other fundamental basics were not as strong as Eli's so she doubted she'd make headway in understanding how things can just disappear. But she supposed it was similar to how things can be just be made with a wave of a wand. She wondered however if the disappearance of an object was reliant on a witch's magical output. Or rather, how reliant. She knew some spells were reliant on the caster's will, while others required power more than will. What did vanishing require she wondered, which was probably a little important to know if they'd be starting on vanishing things by the next class. Steeling herself, she decided to approach @Professor Kalif Styx once most of the students had left. "P-Professor, I have a question," she started as she tried to word her question clearly in her head. "How reliant is the spell on our will to make it disappear, or is it more reliant on how much magic I pour into the spell? And would the same amount of such be needed between inanimate and animate objects of the same size and mass?"​

 

[Alicia Richelieu]

Alicia was curious about the classes at Hogwarts. She was glad she was fluent in English and figured she would be able to follow the lessons for the most part, but she was mostly curious about the differences between her classes at Beauxbatons and the classes here. She headed to the Transfiguration classroom for the first lesson of the semester, taking a seat in the classroom. The professor had made the classroom quite dark, which was interesting. She wondered what use that had.

The professor introduced himself as Professor Styx, he seemed pretty old but Alicia supposed that just meant he probably knew a lot. The professor told them they would learn about the Vanishing spell today. Vanishing was an interesting thing, and new to Alicia as well. She was a little surprised they weren't actually going to use the spell in today's class, but the professor soon explained they would start in the next lesson with small objects. That made sense. There was no homework, wich Alicia was happy about. She left the classroom feeling curious about this subject.

 

[Bailey Walden-Cade]

Bailey entered the dimly lit Transfiguration classroom, feeling a shiver run down her spine. The atmosphere was different from any other class she had attended. As Professor Styx introduced himself, she couldn't help but feel a mix of intimidation and curiosity. His reputation preceded him, and she knew this would be a challenging year.

She listened intently as Professor Styx explained the Vanishing Spell, taking careful notes. The concept of making objects disappear into nothingness was both fascinating and slightly unnerving. She jotted down the pronunciation and the theories about where the vanished items went, making sure she understood the gravity of the spell.

Bailey's mind raced as she considered the implications of the spell. The idea that vanished objects ceased to exist or dematerialized into atoms was intriguing. She found herself leaning towards the theory of non-being, where everything becomes nothing. It was a profound concept that she wanted to explore further.

When Professor Styx warned against using the spell on people, Bailey felt a chill. The seriousness in his tone drove home the importance of responsible magic use. She made a mental note to practice the spell diligently and respect its power.

As the class ended, Bailey packed up her things, feeling a sense of determination. She knew Transfiguration would be tough, but she was ready to rise to the challenge. She resolved to keep her wand with her at all times and to give her best effort in mastering the Vanishing Spell. Walking out of the classroom, Bailey felt a mix of excitement and resolve, ready to take on whatever Professor Styx had in store for them.

 

[Fraser Fergusson]

Fraser wasn’t sure how well he’d do in his OWLs, before he might’ve tried but he was busy, busy with his quidditch and accio and there wasn’t a lot more he could do with his time. Studying was boring and he was bad at it, so he knew he should stick to things he could do, especially now that he could really do the things he wanted to do. The gryffindor was getting himself together, grabbing his books and notes and then heading out of the dorm room and to the first class of the day. His quidditch stuff with him so he could go do that immediately after.

Fraser walked into the transfiguration classroom and took his usual spot in the room. He glanced at the professor and then gave a little smile as the professor told them what they’d need to be able to continue in the class. There was no way he was getting an EE, a pass, an A maybe but beyond that. He could do the practice elements fine, but he struggled a lot with the theory. The teen looked at the board as the professor told them what they’d be covering in the semester and he took the time to make a few notes from what the professor was saying about it and then they were dismissed. Thankfully though with no homework.