Lesson Two: Learning Praepilatus (beetles into buttons)
Leif was stood outside of his classroom, leaning against the wall and greeting his students as they made their way inside. When they did, they were sure to notice the presence of a colourful jar atop his desk, its contents seeming to move about in a rainbow mess. A handful of them tried to get a closer look but they were waved away by the professor as soon as he made his way towards his desk.
"Sit down please," Leif started, grinning. "Today we are going to work on our first transfiguration spell of this year." He continued, leaning on his desk. He could see excitement on students' faces at doing some practical work. He himself was excited, as he preferred spellcasting over constant lectures. As a student, using magic in class had always been far more fun than endless note taking and he didn't need to be a genius to know that was probably how most of his own students felt.
"In the last lesson we learned about Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration, and that's what we are going to do today." He said and held up the colourful jar from the table.
"Beetles," Leif announced, raising the jar just above his chest so everyone could see the small insects scittering around inside. "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 girl 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. They had a whole lesson ahead. Finally, after the last student had selected a beetle, Leif continued the lesson. "Hold onto your beetles, don't let them escape; be gentle though, we don't want them dead. Really, please try not to kill them. Now, you will find that 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 color. 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, "as I told you in the last lesson, Animate to Inanimate Transfiguration uses the 'three tap' method of wand waving. Make sure you use that or the spell will not work properly. Visualize the outcome."
"The incantation for this transfiguration is 'Praepilatus'. Repeat it after me." Leif said, nodding along as they did. "Now, first you must picture a button in your mind. I want all of you to picture a button with the same coloring 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. After that raise your wand, visualize the beetle turning into the button. When you are ready, tap the beetle three times with your wand, and swish the wand through the air, saying the incantation. Praepilatus!" At his words, the chunky beetle on his desk flattened into a round, glittering button with a similar blue sheen that the beetles carapace had.
"Now perform the transfiguration on your beetle. I want to see buttons good enough to line my coat with." Leif beamed. "If you have any problems, feel free to ask. And don't worry - this won't hurt the beetles, I promise."
Roleplay transfiguring a beetle into a button for full marks. Feel free to rp myself helping you.
