Second Years, Lesson Two

Second Years, Lesson Two: Learning Praepilatus (beetles into buttons)
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Edward stood at the front of the classroom, a clear glass jar in his hands. Inside was a mass of rainbow coloured beetles that were crawling over one another, they didn't know it yet, but they would be the subject of today's lesson.

"Good morning, now who remembered their wand today?" Edward looked around, not expecting anyone to have forgotten the most important tool for this lesson. "Good. Today we are going to work on our first transfiguration spell of this year." He continued, drawing attention to the jar he was holding. "In the last lesson we learned about Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration, and that's what we are going to do today with these beetles." He explained "We are going to transfigure them into coat buttons. Small objects. especially insects, are easiest to transfigure, because you don't have as much detail to worry about," He said, handing the jar to a student in the front row. "Keep one beetle with you, and pass out the others among the rest."

The students took a long time to choose a beetle of their choice. There was quite the variety, colours, spots, sizes, so he couldn't blame them. As the jar was being handed around, Edward continued to give instructions, "Hold onto your beetles, don't let them escape. Be gentle though, we don't want them dead either. Really, please try not to kill them."

Once everyone had a beetles, Edward took back the jar and removed a blue beetle for himself, then continued the lesson, "Now, you will find in transfiguration that it is easier to change items that are closer in size to each other. Matchsticks and needles are of the same size, shape, and weight. Essentially all you had to transfigure was the material and colour. The same with beetles. They are small and similar in size to buttons, so all you need to do is to change the shape. Remember, that doesn't mean that it's easy. You still need the proper wand movement and concentration. Now," He explained as he took out his own wand, "Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration uses the 'three tap' method of wand waving. Then visualise the outcome."

"The incantation for this transfiguration is Praepilatus. Repeat it after me. Praepilatus." Edward said, nodding along as they did. "Good. Now, first you must picture a button in your mind. I want all of you to picture a button with the same colouring as your beetle. That will make it a lot easier for you. As I said, we're mostly focusing on the shape. Once you're comfortable, you may attempt to alter other features. Visualise the beetle turning into the button. When you are ready, tap the beetle three times with your wand, and say Praepilatus!" At his words, the chunky beetle on his desk flattened into a round, glittering button with a similar blue shee.

"Now perform the transfiguration on your beetle. I want to see buttons good enough to line my coat with." Edward beamed. "If you have any problems, feel free to ask. And don't worry - this won't hurt the beetles, I promise."

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Homework: Roleplay successfully transfiguring a beetle into a button for full marks. Feel free to roleplay myself helping you. If you would like further interaction with your character, tag @Professor Edward Pirrip

 

[Aaron Dela Cruz]

Aaron headed into the classroom and immediately sat somewhere at the edge of the room. He didn't like to look like he wanted to be really engaged but neither did he want Pirrip to think that he didn't care. He cared like... a little amount. Like enough for him to want to have at least a non-failing grade. Not that his parents would let him get away with that if they figured it out, so he really hoped they didn't figure it out - which probably meant he had to keep them away from Angelo's mum. Maybe Jenny could help with that. he held his wand out a little like a stylus, which was one of the only things he had a reference to in his mind for dealing with things like this. he practiced the spell a couple of times to get the hand to if and then tried to get the bug to turn into a button, one like the one on his uniform would do.​

 

[Evan DAramitz]

Evan walked into the Transfiguration classroom with his wand in hand, having remembered that Professor Pirrip expected them to have their wands this day. When he walked in, he spotted Professor Pirrip at the front of the classroom, holding a jar of rainbow-colored beetles. “Ew,” he muttered to himself.

It turned out, today they were turning beetles into buttons. “Ew, ew, ew, ew,” Evan chanted under his breath as he was handed the jar and expected to pick a beetle. He eventually chose one - a big blue one that was lazily waving its antennae around but not moving much. “Ew,” Evan breathed heavily, trying not to freak out.

Evan did not like bugs, of any kind. He listened half-heartedly to the lecture, keeping one eye on his beetle and herding it around with one hand so it wouldn’t run off the desk. Finally, it was time to perform. “Praepilatus,” He intoned, focusing on transforming the beetle into a button.

The beetle squirmed in place for a moment before transforming into a small round object, with antennae moving around on top of it. “EW!” Evan squeaked.