Transfiguration 3:4

Lesson Four: Lecture on Animate Transfiguration and Magical Creatures
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Leif was sat behind his desk for a change, working on grading some homework from his other classes while his students slowly started to make their way into his classroom. He waved his wand at the door when it was time to start, doing a quick headcount to make sure everyone was present.

"Alright guys, today is going to be a bit of a lecture so please get out your notes." He started, not too surprised when his words were followed by some disgruntled sounds. "I know, I know. But this is important information so we'll just have to power through it together, yeah?"

"Transfiguration is best known as the branch of magic that allows you to transform one object into another object. However, even this branch of magic has its limitations - much of which we covered during our lesson on Gamp's Law and its Principal Exceptions. What I've yet to cover is another limitation to our magic, a term referred to as "clashing magic"." Leif spoke, giving his students a second to finish writing down their sentences before he continued. "We as wizards have our own brand of magic that is specific to us. It's something we're born with - you can't create it, you can't take it away, you can't give it to someone else. It's ever present. Hags, trolls, house elves, they too all have their own particular brands of magic, though in the former two cases, its quite rudimentary. But, magic doesn't just stop at beings. Beasts too have magical capabilities, as I'm sure you're all aware by now. A phoenix can heal with its tears and is reborn when it dies. A Demiguise can render itself invisible and briefly glimpse the future. These are abilities only these creatures have. Wizards can imitate some of these attributes, but no wizard will ever be able to reach the full extent of their capabilities. Now, here's where transfiguration comes in. Have you ever heard of a unicorn animagus? What about someone transforming a lampshade into an occamy? Or changing a dragon into a kitten?"

Of course, no one had heard of any of these scenarios happening. Which was exactly why they were good examples. "We can't transfigure a muggle into a wizard. We can't transfigure a chicken into a phoenix - at best, you'd end up with a red bird that does nothing particularly special. We can't give something magic, ours or otherwise. On the other hand, we can't take magic away that doesn't belong to us. Magical creatures are resistant to transfigurations by wizards because their personal magic works as a shield against ours, the two counteract each other and the spell fails. The reason wizards can transfigure each other into objects or animals is that our magic is the same, it recognizes it as alike and allows it in. Then, in the case of non-magical creatures, they have no defenses against magic at all, and so our spells continue to work."

Leif stopped for a moment to ensure people understood, looking around to see if there were any questions, which he was always happy to answer. "This doesn't mean magical creatures are immune to our spells. Many charms, curses and the like will still work. Some creatures however, have defense mechanisms against all brands of magic. A dragon's hide is resistant to most hexes and jinxes, and it takes a large group of skilled wizards to subdue one. I know this was a lot but I hope you guys managed to keep up. If not, make sure to come to me and I'll help you complete your notes." He smiled, waving his wand to open the door again. "Have a good week!"

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Roleplay the lesson for full marks.

 

[Morrie Ayre]

Morrie was bored. Transfigurations was boring. In fact Transfiguration had somehow managed to out-bore History of Magic, which was saying something since Morrie had fallen asleep in that class more times than Professor Moncrieffe appeared to notice. Sure, there was probably a bunch of important stuff being taught by Professor Odegard right now, laws about magic she'd need to know for life or whatever, but Morrie couldn’t be bothered. She slumped in her seat, staring blankly at the blackboard, waiting for the sweet release at the end of the lesson. When it finally came, she snapped out of her trance and bolted for the door, already forgetting everything the professor had said.

 

[Ever Delaney]

Ever felt like professor just enjoyed gross creatures. Why else should they have to suffer and touch rats of all things? The rabbits had been cute but Ever had still known it as a rat. It took away a lot of the cuteness. The Slytherin girl hoped that the professor had his fun tormenting them and was moving onto more acceptable creatures to use for transfiguration.

The blonde girl entered the classroom. She was earlier today which was certainly annoying. She did not care to waste her time waiting on lesser people. But sadly she had to. Annoyed, she crossed her arms and waited for the classroom to fill up. At least the professor began right away. No gross creatures in sight but a boring lecture. Ever sighed and rolled her eyes as she took out her note taking items,

As the lecture went on, Ever was certain that transfiguration had too many rules and limitations. Clashing magic made sense but again just another limit. Ever continued to take notes, growing more and more annoyed as the professor went on. Eventually, Ever felt like she lost years of her life, the lesson was over. She wrote down the last piece of information before packing up her things quickly. She had wasted enough time she wouldn't waste anymore. She left the Transfiguration classroom.

 

[Kyousuke Kurosawa]

Kyousuke settled into class, getting out his notebooks to take notes. He found the lesson thoroughly fascinating, and something he had actually been wondering about. So magic couldn't be given to taken...He considered the implications if it could. It would make the world more chaotic, that was for sure. But it made sense that they couldn't, Kyousuke thought. He diligently took notes as the professor spoke, and once the lesson was over, packed away his things.