Ella had absolutely no idea what language this spell had originated from. She did have a guess as to what it meant, though. "Professor, statua sounds like statue...and habitum means...um..." Ella went blank for a moment and she was sure her face was red like a tomato. "...it must have something to do with holding or keeping the qualities that said statue possesses."

Violet took out her photo and placed it on her desk. Then she took out her wand and said slowly "Statua Habitum" while tracing the blank piece of paper. Instantly a beautiful frame formed around the piece of paper.

Zhenya had a quick think, and raised her hand. "Professor, I think Statua Habitum comes from the Latin Language, and I think it translates to mean Image Holder," she said, indicating to her photo frame. Transfiguration was soon becoming her favourite!

She had in front of her a dark wood photo frame. It was just big enough to hold a small photo, which she had, and the frame itself was nice and thick. The wood it appeared to be made out of had unique textures to it.

Kennedy focused on how his picture frame would look and pointed his wand at the paper again. He traced a square in the air and said, "Statua Habitum!"

The paper looked like a frame like last time. Hmm. He pocked it with his index finger and grinned when the frame slightly shook. It WASN'T A FLOPPY FRAME! Woot! Kennedy picked it up and sat it up straight. There. A wonderful piece of Transfiguration art.

He glanced back up when heard Professor Magnus speak. For sure the words had to be Latin, right? Right. He raised his hand and said, "It most likely derives from Latin." RIGHT? "Statua sounds like the Spanish word for Statue, which is probably the same in this language," he said. Being fluent in Spanish it helped Kennedy understand some Latin words at times. "And habitum sounds like habitat...which in this case could mean a place of housing? For example..." This was going to sound weird. "A home for the picture?" There. He said it.

Kennedy put his hand down, trying to ignore his blushing cheeks. It was a ridiculous way to put it, but it was simple...and that's what it sounded to him. His picture needed a home.

Sierra stared down at the piece of paper in front of her, remembering what it'd looked like when she'd practiced the spell before. It'd been almost in the shape of a frame, but it'd been too jagged and still made of paper. Maybe if she concentrated on just how she wanted the paper to look, she'd have better results.

She closed her eyes and pictured a perfectly square frame. It was made completely of wood, and all four sides were perfectly straight. The vision was so clear that she could almost reach out and touch it. When she opened her eyes, she began to trace a square around the paper with her wand. She made extra sure to get the edges as close to perfect as possible. "Statua Habitum!" she said, and then with a quick pop, the frame she'd imagined, just as she'd imagined it, lie before her.

It seemed Sierra had created a picture frame just in the nick of time. The lesson was moving on, and to a part that Sierra always hated the most. She'd never been really good at what she guessed was the Latin language. She only really knew the most common words, like nox and lumos. She only knew those, of course, because they were used in common spells. How in the name of Merlin did all these other kids happen to know random Latin words anyway?!

"I think it's from the Latin language," she said, raising her hand. "It sort of has a resemblance to the other Latin words we use in casting." That part was easy to note, even for someone who didn't know much Latin. "...and I think it translates into 'a place to put photos'. I'm only guessing, of course, but that's my best guess."

The first person to put their hand up got it right. Gold star. If she had gold stars. But she didn't. Just a smile. Which she gave to Minerva.

"If that was a guess, very well done. Taken separately it is image and hold or have, yes." Hence why they were getting a picture frame.

Isabelle smiled to herself when she got the cheery reply to her thanks. Somebody was happy that morning at least. And his answer to her question wasn't bad either.

"Statua doesn't just mean statue though, as I just mentioned to Minerva. It can also mean image, which is how it pertains to this spell. But you're certainly right on the rest."

"Alyssa, you are spot on." She was spot on. So far pretty much, they were all spot on. Bar a few who had different interpretations of the words. Isabelle grinned and moved on.

"You are right about the one word, 'Habitum' can mean to have or hold, but 'Statua' also can be translated as image, which it is in this case."

Oh, this one was good. She had nailed it.

A broad grin spreading across her face, Isabelle nodded at the girl. "That is the exact meaning for this spell, very well done!"

A house for the picture. "It's not habitat, Kennedy, but that is actually a nice way of saying the true meaning. A house for the picture. I like it." Probably even better than the actual translation.

"If we take it literally, that's not quite right - as you'll see when I write it on the board. But as a general way of saying it, that's good, Sierra."

"Image in this case, yes. And have or hold - it could be either." Smiling at Gwen, Issy nodded and made her way over to the board. She felt like writing it down herself this time.




"As you all identified this spell is in Latin, although not all are - so it's best to remember that. And some words can translate with more than one meaning. The ones relevant to this particular incantation I've written on the board for you all to see."

Wiping her hands to get rid of the chalk dust, Isabelle walked back over to her desk and cleared a space in the middle of it. Placing a piece of paper in that space she looked up at the kids and smiled. "Now, we'll be working with the photo's you brought along with you. It is the same spell, and wand movement. But I'm going to show you how it can work differently depending on your intent. However for this to work properly the paper and picture need to be laying flat, so I can't demonstrate the way I did the first time."

Resting her hands on the desk she took a deep intake of breath and licked her lips. "So what I need you all to do is gather round my desk here. You all need to be able to see what happens. Come on up and find a space where you can see the middle of the desk, and the piece of paper clearly. Also - would one of you mind volunteering to let me use your photo? I promise it won't be damaged."




OOC: Last post before bed. I'll take the photo of the first volunteer. Just have your character go to the front and find a space where they can see what's going on. I'll do the demonstration tomorrow, to give enough people time to join this bit - and I'll be asleep anyway. xD Again, no excessive chatter please!

Ohh, it was gathering time! Ellie hopped out of her seat with her picture in hand and hurried to the professor's desk. Being short, she wanted to get a good spot so she could see everything she did. Because Ellie hadn't done so well.

"You can use my photo, Professor," Ellie volunteered, holding the still picture of her mum and dad in front of her.

Alex wasn't too attached to the photo he'd brought--it had been one taken over the summer of him and Cale's dog, Belle--and he was about to volunteer when a Ravenclaw girl beat him too it. Ah well. Pocketing the photo he walked around the front trying to find a spot he liked, and eventually he settled on a spot near the back, making room for people to gather in front of him.

He'd prefer a spot up front but, with his height...best to not obstruct the view of people in the back.

She got up and walked to the professor's desk like the was told to do.

Ella's hand shot up immediately! "Professor, you can use mine!" While she waited for the professor's reply, she walked up to find a spot around her desk along with the other students. She was eager to see what they needed to do next.

The fifth year took note of what was being said and what the professor added to the board about the spell in question. It certainly made sense when considering what the spell actually did or was supposed to do when done correctly. At Professor Magnus' instructions for them to come up to the front, Gideon put his quill down and got up to his feet. The boy obediantly moving as asked. There was no sense in lolly gaging and moving slowly but he did make to allow any younger (and shorter) students room to stand in front of him to see.

He had decided to offer his photo..a picture of his parents in this case to the professor for her to do her demonstration, having brought it up with him. However he was about two paces too slow and kept the photo within his possession. Soon enough he would be working with it himself anyway.

After copying down the notes on the board, Lily stood up and went with the rest of the class up to the desk and found a good spot to watch from. She smiled when a ravenclaw offered her photo to be used, and waited with anticipation for the example.

Amelia had wanted to volunteer her photo, but she had been beaten by her friend, Ellie. So she shrugged and made her way happily up to the front so that she could see the paper on the desk clearly. She wanted to make sure that she got this one right, because even if she had managed to make a passable frame before... that didn't mean she'd do well this time around.

Pam walked up to the desk, along with a few others. Her favorite picture in her hands. She clutched the picture to her chest, hoping she wouldn't destroy it. Pam didn't want her most recent picture of her parents destroyed. Anyways, she watched what the teacher was doing, and was eager to start trying the charm herself.

Minerva smiled that her answer was right. She then listened to the professor and went to the front of the room near her desk as she told them. Minerva was excited to do something with the picture she brought. The picture was special to her and she was happy to be using it in her favorite class.

Nate walked up to the desk as everyone else did. He found a perfect spot to be in.

OOC. I MISSED THE LATIN *curls up in a corner and cries*

Selina could not believe that she had zoned out in class. Perhaps she was more tired than she had originally thought. The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain had foolishly believed that she was fully rested when obviously- she wasn't. Merlin, all she caught was the Latin on the board and she wanted to scream. How had she missed the Latin? That was her thing and she knew the answer to the exact translation of that spell. Meh.

But Selina did not make any outward signs at being upset that she had been careless enough to not pay attention to Latin, which was still really annoying her and eating away at her soul. She stood up with the rest of her class and filed in toward the front because she was small. Her picture was with her and she beamed down at the snap shot. It was the picture that she and Kurumi had developed last year with them having a pillow fight... good times.

TAylor found a spot that she can see the desk and demostration.

Silvia walked up to the side of the desk where there was a spot she could see from. She couldn't wait to see what they'd be doing next.

Hmm. Transfiguration was not one of Aurora's strong points... After her failure to get anything substantial from her paper she was not confident about the next bit of the lesson. Neither had she known where the spell was from - she had guessed correctly of course, but most spells were Latin (or Greek) so it wasn't exactly difficult. So yes, she was sulking a bit. She picked up her picture of Sebastian and walked up to watch Professor Magnus' demonstration...

Alex headed toward the Professor's desk. She saw an empty spot near her friend, Silvia and positioned herself next to her. Satisfied that she would be able to see, Alex waited for the Professor to begin.

Nate smiled back at the Hufflepuff girl. It felt good to be appreciated, and he was always proud of his charm work. "Thanks! Hey, I don't want to lose either of us points right now, want to meet up later on in the courtyard? We can talk then," he said brightly. Making new friends was always good.

Ah, yes, now they were gathering up in the front! Nate tucked his wand in his front robes pocket, like usual, and snatched up his picture and frame to bring to the front. Sure, the frame was unnecessary, but it had already earned one complement so far, and why not go for more? Nate squeezed in a little, trying to get to a spot where he could see. Even though he had grown over the summer he was still too short for his own good, which meant he needed a front spot. Luckily, he found one pretty near Professor Magnus, and he eagerly filled it in wait of her demonstration.

nicki walked up to the professors desk and she was all ears

Quentin stood and headed towards the teachers desk, taking one last glance at her frame- she liked it, it looked like it was made of sea foam. There was a thicket of students already there, she squeezed her was through until she had a relatively good view of the desk. Well, it was mostly the back of another students head- but there was some desk she could see.

This was why she hated being short.

"Sure!" she said smiling. Then she turned her head to face Professor Magnus as she spoke.

Sophie got up and walked as fast as she could - not running though - up to the professor's desk. She was really curious about all of this!