Transfiguration 2:1

Lesson one: Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration
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The door to the Transfiguration classroom was wide open, with Leif leaning against the wall right next to it. He had decided to wait for his younger students outside, his arms crossed as he greeted them with a smile. When he was sure most of them had taken their seats he moved into the classroom as well, leaving the door open just a crack in case anyone was late. That way they could enter the room without disturbing the lesson too much.

"Goodmorning and welcome back to Transfiguration." He now formally greeted the students as he leaned against his desk. "My name's Professor Leif Odegard and I'll be your teacher from now on. Let's dive right into it, yeah?" He started, pointing his wand at the blackboard to make one of the chalks near it start writing. "This year we'll be focussing on Animate to Inanimate transfiguration, which is slightly more complex than what you've practiced last year. I'm sure most of you won't have too much trouble with this though." 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 went 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." Professor Odegard 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, emphasizing 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."

Leif glanced around, glad he wasn't sitting on his own chair at the moment. Surely this talk about turning people into chairs would've made him uncomfortable and he wondered if he had made any of his students feel like that. 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 step in their 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." Leif 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. Thankfully now, we have a less cruel system in place. Which brings us to.." He waved his wand toward the board, the brush moving up to erase the words he had gotten the chalk to write on there during the lesson. "The end of our lesson! Class dismissed."

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Roleplay the lesson for full marks.

 

[Summer Irvine]

Summer did sort of like transfiguration, but she wasn't a fan of all of the lectures it involved. It was something she had heard would happen less over the years but that didn't take away from the fact that she had to sit through them at the moment. She opened her notebook and rested her cheek on her hand, looking the professor's way when he started telling them about animate to inanimate tranfiguration. It sounded pretty self-explanatory and she figured that if she tried to pay attention notes weren't necessary. She could probably remember this and if she couldn't, well.. she was sure she'd manage. She was relieved when class was eventually dismissed and put her still empty notebook back in her bag, ready to head out.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie listened in Transfigurations class although did not make many notes. She spent most of the lesson imagining all the people that she was going to transform into an inanimate object as soon as she learned how to do it. Vanity would be one of them, all her dormmates, her sister... the list went on. It might be against Ministry regulations to do so, but Morrie didn't care, she was entitled to fantasise about it until the lesson finished. Once the class were dismissed, Morrie packed up her belongings and left the classroom.

 

[Apolline Fontaine]

It was exciting to now be back at school and a little older. No longer the babies of the school. Though still in the category of youngest students. Apolline was just ready and eager to learn, she felt somewhat more determined to try and win top points, she had not done enough in the previous year, so this was going to be her year. She was getting ready for the day ahead of her, making notes of all the ways in which she could gain more points, ready to do the homework and all extra credit just so that she could be an even more perfect student. Apolline grabbed the last bits and pieces and then headed out of the dorm.

Apolline walked into the transfiguration classroom and took her usual spot in the classroom. Making sure that she could see the board and was able to listen closely. Apolline took out her notes and books and placed them down as the professor got started. The gryffindor was beginning to write down while listening closely to what he was saying, making sure that she didn’t miss anything important in what was being being said about animate to inanimate. She nodded as the professor told them about the fact it could be difficult, but that they wouldn’t be taking a life as such. It was a suspension of life. Apolline shuddered as the professor them it had once been used on prisoners. She didn’t like that at all, she hoped her mother would never do that. Apolline was glad when the lesson ended and she was able to head out of the room.

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[Kyousuke Kurosawa]

Kyousuke was ready for class, of course. His goal was simple - get straight Os once again and earn as many points for his house as possible. It was tricky; he couldn't quite be a top point earner yet given he couldn't take as many classes as older students could but he was prepared, ready, for the opportunity. He came to class with his head held high and took a seat near the front. He'd done the readings necessary, and more besides, but he took notes anyway to solidify his knowledge. It was pretty straightforward as lessons went but he knew things would change once he actually had to perform the transfigurations. That's when he'd really had to put in the effort. As it was, he took note of the interesting facts - such as prisoners being transformed into statues before Azkaban. He found that fascinating; a clever idea to save room though he wondered how bad the witches and wizards were to deserve that. He knew people could go bad, but maybe being transformed was a step too far. He didn't really know, not until he knew exactly what crimes these people had committed, before he could judge. Some punishments were justified in his opinion. Once the lesson was over, he packed away his things. He managed one glare at Apolline before leaving; he hadn't forgotten her and the challenge he thought she posed to him.

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[Aroha Blenheim]

Aroha wasn't looking forward to transfiguration. It would mean trying to use her wand again, and, well, that wasn't going so well. She wished she could have practiced in the break but magic was prohibited during the school breaks. Aroha thought that was silly - weren't they supposed to be able to improve outside of the semesters? She didn't really have anything she could do about it. Despite finding it boring, she was glad at least they weren't doing spells straight away. Aroha didn't really take notes, just assuming she'd somehow remember it. She'd done alright so far anyway with classes; her grades weren't terrible. Once class was over, she left, shrugging off how the lesson had gone and thinking more about quidditch than anything else.

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[Jean Lancaster-Snow]

Jean Lancaster-Snow no longer had his older brother in school, and he missed Avery. Avery was off to do bigger, better things though, and Jean was convinced that he might not ever join the Quidditch team because he did not have the right broom. And his father would not fork the money over to get him one that went as fast as the others. Jean could play after school though, if he were to practice and train hard enough. He kept a ball that looked like a snitch without the wings, and tossed it around the room until it was time to go. He grabbed his belongings after making sure he was dressed in his school uniform, and left the classroom.

Jean walked in the Transfiguration classroom and sat down in his seat that he had previously. He listened to Professor Odegard start the lesson with how they would be going for Animate to Inanimate transfiguration this year. Professor Odegard went over the definition of what it meant, as a reminder. It would not be in non-living indefinitely as it was illegal. They could not turn a human into something like a chair either. The punishments were something else back in the day. But now, it was just prison in Azkaban. He packed his notes and left the classroom upon dismissal.
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[Osiris Vale]

Osiris Vale could not believe that he was back at school after a long break, and he was only a second year. It felt like ages since he started school, that he should be, at least, a fourth year. Ozzy could hardly baffle how slow time went when he was this young. He did like his break though, and how it was worth being away from school and in his dreary home. Spiderwebs and cobwebs… How he missed them now. Ozzy did not want to drag himself from the safety of his bed to go to class, but he knew he had to. He did not want a howler - even if he doubted he would ever get one. He got dressed and left, knowing that if he was not on time, he might be a couple minutes late.

Ozzy walked in the Transfiguration classroom and sat down in a random seat. Professor Odegard introduced himself to the second years, and started the lesson with Animate to Inanimate transfiguration. He doubted that they would be going over into fun, until he realized it was turning real, living things to non-living. Was that the same as killing them? Although, it was against Ministry regulations, it still sounded super cool. And people once used it to punish dark wizards and witches. They were turned to stone, but it was no longer happening. What a shame. He packed up his notes and left the classroom.
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[Penelope Zatare]

Penelope still wasn't sure she trusted this... school. What were they hiding from her? Why didn't they just tell everyone who they were? They were magic, what could normal people really do? She was just frustrated with this whole system, with all the rules and regulations and limitations. She took her place in the back of the class, glowering idly at the Professor and not bothering to take any notes. She'd be doing more research on her own later. She raised a brow at the punishments the man mentioned. If the magical community could do that to each other, then why bother letting the entire society be bullied by muggles? She sighed as they were dismissed and grabbed her things, heading out again.