Second Years, Lesson One: Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration
Edward stood at the front of the Transfigurations class in his human form with a smile on his face. "Good morning and welcome back to Transfiguration." He said cheerfully once the class was settled. "As you can see, I've had a busy break. But more on that later. For now let us get started with what you'll be covering this semester." He pointed his wand at the blackboard to clear the writing on it and make one of the chalks start writing. "This year we'll be focusing on Animate to Inanimate transfiguration, which is slightly more complex than what you've practiced last year. Looking at the lot of you though, I'm sure you won't have too much trouble getting the hang of it." He added with a wink, glancing around the room to observe their reactions which could tell him a lot about their confidence in their own abilities.
"Now last year you would have gone over the different types of transfiguration and their meanings. Should your memory fail you though, let me offer you a quick reminder: Animate to Inanimate means transfiguring something living into something that is not. Like a hamster into a rock or a flamingo into a lawn flamingo." Edward explained. "However, Animate to Inanimate trasfiguration should not be taken lightly. Turning an animal into something non-living indefinitely is usually against Ministry regulations. What we will be learning this year is for educational purposes and all transfigurations will be reversed." He added, emphasising his words to make sure his students understood the importance of this information.
"Moving on, some people have difficulty understanding how Animate to Inanimate transfiguration works. We don't take the life away from animals, we simply push a pause button in a way. They still have a small agree of awareness and thought but will be incapable of movement, speech, seeing and hearing. If you were to turn a person into a chair they essentially are a chair for that period of time. Barely aware if you were to sit on them and unable to do anything but provide you with comfort."
Edward glanced around, glad he wasn't sitting on his own chair at the moment. The reality was that anything around them could have been a human transfigured into something else without their knowledge. Which brought him to the next part of the lesson. "This might be surprising information but there was once a time where Transfiguration was used to punish dark wizards and witches. Or any other rule-breakers. Before Azkaban, wizarding authorities had limited space to hold wizards and witches and thus resorted to turning them into stationary figures. Statues, if you will. Their bodies were turned to stone and became their own prisons." Edward told his students, his face far more serious than it usually was. The idea of this type of punishment wasn't a pleasant one. "This method has not been used in a long time though. Some would say we now have a less cruel system in place, but I'm not sure it's necessarily preferable." He waved his wand toward the board, the brush moving up to erase the words. "Now that brings us nicely to the end of the lesson, no homework today but remember to bring your wands next week. Class dismissed."
Homework: RP attendance! Tag @Professor Edward Pirrip if you would like me to interact with your character! For extra credit, have your character take notes on the lesson.