Transfiguration 1:1

Lesson One: Types of Transfiguration
​

The door to the Transfiguration classroom stood wide open, with Leif leaning against the wall right next to it. He had thought carefully about what to do, deciding against waiting on his students inside of the room. Instead, he was stood outside. Greeting them with a warm smile in the hopes of calming any nerves they might have. They were first years, after all. This was another new room, new subject, new professor to get used to. A whole lot of things to get used to. Once he had a feeling they were all inside Leif stepped inside himself, leaving the door open just a crack to spare any latecomers of drawing full attention to themselves by having to open the creaky door.

"Welcome," He greeted his class as he strolled over to his desk, giving a small flick of his wand to lift a piece of chalk near the board before he turned around to face his students. "To Transfiguration." Leif smiled, trying not to grimace as the chalk made a terrible sound while underlining the term transfiguration on the blackboard behind him. "My name is Professor Leif Odegard and I will be your teacher for the next few years." He introduced himself. "Transfiguration is a very powerful branch of magic, capable of changing almost anything from one thing to another. Whether it be a quill into a spoon.." Leif explained, tapping one of the quills on his desk and turning it into a spoon as he spoke. "Or even a person into an animal." He finished with a slight grin, pointing his wand at the board behind him to make a list appear.

Types of Transfiguration Inanimate to Inanimate Inanimate to Animate Animate to Inanimate Animate to Animate Switching Conjuring Vanishing​

"Since I don't want to assume all of you know each and every term written on the board here, we'll start with some vocabulary. I'll try to make it quick as to not bore you, so make sure to pay attention and write along." Leif told his students, knowing kids their age had an attention span that generally didn't last more than thirty minutes. "Inanimate refers to something that isn't mobile nor living. It doesn't move, like a rock, a chair or even a building. Those are all inanimate. Animate, as you might've guessed, is the exact opposite. Anything living, moving. Like you and I, the owls up in the Owlery or the creatures in the lake." He explained, looking around to see if there were any faces that screamed confusion or perhaps excitement at his mention of the lake.

"Now let's combine those two. Inanimate to inanimate transfiguration simply means turning one non-living thing into another. Like how I turned that quill into a spoon. This is the easiest form of trasnfiguration, especially when you start with objects that are roughly the same size." Leif waved his wand at one of the books on his desk, turning it into a delicate silver box of similar size. "Inanimate to animate transfiguration," He waved his wand again, turning the cyan quill that had been sitting in an inkpot on his desk into a chirping bluebird, "You guessed it, turns a thing without live into something living. Don't be fooled though, while the creature looks alive it lacks a soul and isn't truly living. True life is something we cannot give." He finished explaining, waving his wand to turn the bird back into a quill which slowly floated towards the floor.

"If I had turned that bird into a different type of quill instead of using untransfiguration, that would've been an example of animate to inanimate transfiguration. For that type of transfiguration it's important to note that you don't kill a creature when you turn it into something inanimate, it's more like pressing pause on their life for a short time." Leif told them, picking up the quill and placing it back into the inkpot. "Finally," He continued, glancing at the clock to see time was almost up. Although some of his students' faces could've told him the same. "Animate to animate changes a living thing into another. Like a snail into a slug or a human into a toad, the latter being particularly populair in Muggle stories." He laughed. "Right, that's it for today. I know all of this theory can be tiring but it's important to understand what we're talking about before we'll be able to get out our wands and actually try to perform magic. You all did great today, though. See you next week!"

---

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

Elijah sat quietly among his classmates, he hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with any of his family today, but he doubted he would be so lucky. He wasn't sure how he felt about a Professor trying to make things engaging and approachable mostly because he couldn't say he completely understood what that meant in terms of a lesson about turning something into something else, but he supposed he couldn't exactly fault the man either. He listened quietly and scrawled across his notes he'd made from his textbook earlier in the day, and late the night before. He wanted to make sure he didn't forget anything, but his note taking wasn't as good as it used to be since he had taken a break from it once he'd found out he was going to be attending HNZ and not Mohoutokoro. He knew the syllabus here wasn't going to be as difficult so he wasn't all that shocked to note his notes were more detailed than they would have been if he'd just taken it from the Professor's talking.​

Transfiguration Vocabulary Notes
​

1. Inanimate to Inanimate: Transforming one non-living object into another.
   
   • Example: Quill to spoon, book to box.​
2. Inanimate to Animate: Turning a non-living object into a living creature.
   
   • Example: Quill to bird (though it lacks a true soul and isn't truly living).​
3. Animate to Inanimate: Transforming a living creature into a non-living object.
   
   • Example: Bird to quill.​
4. Animate to Animate: Changing one living creature into another.
   
   • Example: Snail to slug, human to toad.​

Elijah carefully reviewed his notes and homework before packing up his things. He made sure everything was neatly organized, feeling a sense of satisfaction with his work. He headed over to the Professor before he exited the class and handed over the essay he'd written in the morning at breakfast. Homework assignments at the beginning of term were common where he was from, and so he hoped the Professor didn't mind he had put in the effort to do one without being asked to do so. "Thanks for the lesson, Sensei."​

Essay on Ethical Considerations:

The practice of animate to inanimate transfiguration raises significant ethical questions. One major concern is the welfare of the creature being transformed. Even though the process is described as "pressing pause" on their life, there remains the issue of consent. A creature cannot agree to be transformed, making the act inherently invasive. Additionally, the transformation must be temporary and reversible, ensuring that the creature can return to its original state without harm. Wizards and witches must exercise caution and respect for all living beings, recognizing that the power to transform should be wielded responsibly and ethically.
source​

 

[Ondine Physwick]

Ondine had a basic grasp on the theory of Transfiguration, but she was certainly happy to go over it again. The books in her library at home were ancient, anyway, and almost certainly out of date, much like everything else she knew so far, apparently. At least she’d have a good foundation for History. She took notes as Professor Odegard spoke, pausing to watch his practical demonstrations. Ma rarely did magic for fun any more - it was all practical, and mostly confined to the laboratory, where Ondine wasn’t allowed. She missed the little displays Ma used to put on before bedtime: a burst of bright-yellow birds, a blooming flower, a canopy of stars across the ceiling. Her memories were vague, but she remembered her sense of awe as if it were yesterday.

She stayed a few minutes later than the rest of the class, finishing up her notes. The lesson had ended much too soon for her liking, but she thanked Professor Odegard politely on her way out.

 

[Eurydice Nightray]

After the disappointment that was the Charms lessons, Eurydice did not hold much hope that Transfiguration would be any better. Still, she had told herself that she was going to try her best to show up and stay in class. Today, she'd decided to leave behind Jonah. He could find his own way to class for today. Upon arriving, she sat beside Elijah but they hardly talked. That was fine with her, the two of them rarely got along. But today, he seemed like the better option compared to his twin.

The lesson, as Eurydice had come to expect, was boring. Lectures. Lectures. More lectures. And they were so monotone that she got bored easily. She'd started writing notes, but she hadn't gotten very far, having lost interest ages ago. The same could not be said for her ever-diligent cousin though. She wondered if he'd be willing to share his notes with her. She doubted it. But maybe he'd be willing to get paid to share his notes? That was certainly worth a shot. Looking at her half-written notes, she shrugged. If Eli wasn't willing to share his notes, Eury could always just read up on it. It would certainly be more productive than listening to the droning lesson. As soon as class ended, she'd have to try cornering Elijah to ask bribe him.​

Transfiguration Types:​

1. Inanimate to Inanimate - not alive/dead to same thing (quill -> spoon)
2. Inanimate to Animate - not alive to alive thing with no soul (sad)
3. Animate

 

[Daiki Saito]

Daiki felt like all was right in the world again. He had his best friend back, he was at school and he was going to learn magic. He was eager for it, eager to have her at his side, eager to just learn easily. It would fine, magic wouldn’t be too difficult for him and he would have a good time. Daiki was ready for the day, he hadn’t checked his bag, just assumed he had what he needed and then headed out of the dorm room and to find Kairi to see if they would have the same classes so they could sit together.

Daiki walked into the transfiguration classroom and took a spot in the room. He glanced up at the professor as the man got started, and made sure to keep the spot next to him open for Kairi. The hufflepuff took down all the branches of magic as they appeared on the board. Nodding along to each as the professor then went into more detail about each of them. He thought transfiguration was going to be one of the more interesting classes. He wondered what transfiguration would be like when they actually got to do a spell, and when they learnt more about some of those latter branches. The lesson was eventually wrapped up and he packed up his things and headed out of the room.

 

[Kairi Kennedy]

Kairi was feeling a lot more confident with her prospects at the school now. Somehow, she just felt like everything would be alright if Daiki was around. She was feeling a lot more comfortable now that she wasn't going to be alone here, with something of a little bit of a support system. She hummed, getting her things together before walking down to the common room. It seemed like Daiki had already left, so instead she walked down to class.

She spotted him quickly, and with a bright smile she walked up and sat with her best friend. She turned to the Professor, smiling at them and pulling out her things to take notes. Transfiguration seemed like a complicated subject, but she tried to follow along. She leant a little into Daiki, his warmth keeping her on track. Before she knew it they'd been dismissed. Blinking, she gathered up her things and hurried after Daiki, humming softly and thinking over what they'd learnt.

 

[Jonah Edogawa]

Jonah woke up late. It was a good thing perhaps that the Transfiguration classroom was only one floor above the Hufflepuff Common Room and that he did not have his sister's sense of direction. As it was, he'd arrived just as the professor said his welcome to the whole class. He'd had to sneak around to find the nearest empty seat, which sucked since it meant that he was not sitting next to either Eurydice or Eli. He supposed that was fine. As with all classes in the first week so far, Transfiguration was a total letdown. He'd brought his wand, but there was not a time for them to use it; instead, the professor was droning on and on and on and on. Jonah couldn't even be bothered to take notes. Which might be a little bad considering he'd have to ask either Eli or Eury if he ever wanted a set of notes. Since he wasn't optimistic about it, he'd just have to try to remember the lesson - which was not going great considering he'd spaced out sometime during the lecture (he was spacing out even now). By the time class ended, he'd barely remembered, which was what. Hopefully they wouldn't come up on the exams.​