Phew. Such a long walk down from the Ravenclaw Tower to the kitchen. Carsyn hadn't even really meant to end up here, but everywhere she went to practice the new spell she learned in Transfiguration class, she was surrounded by tons of students she didn't know. Students who might watch her practice and laugh at her if she failed to succeed. The thought alone set Carsyn's heart racing and a light sheen of sweat formed on her hairline. Reminding herself to do some deep breathing exercises in an effort to calm down, Carsyn leaned against the wall with her eyes closed and focused on inhaling and exhaling over and over again.

When at last the near panic attack had passed, Carsyn glanced about the kitchen and spotted the fireplace, which looked like a suitable place to make her attempts at transfiguring her gargoyle. She took a seat on the side of the fireplace and placed her bag in her lap. She carefully removed from her bag the small box she was given by Professor Bellaire and set it down on the bricks. She also pulled out her parchment of class notes and her wand before pushing the bag off to the side on the floor.

She unrolled the parchment and set the box at the top to weigh down the edge and prevent it from rolling. She removed the lid and used that to hold down the bottom. She then carefully extricated the small stone gargoyle from the box and placed it down gently on the floor. She stared it down for a moment or two, mentally challenging it to defy her with her eyes. I'll show this little stone turd who's in charge! Ugly little thing.

Glancing over her notes, Carsyn repeated to herself the equation learned in Transfiguration, "The intended transformation (t) is directly influenced by bodyweight (a), viciousness (v), wand power (w), concentration (c) and a fifth unknown variable (Z). So, my concentration and wand skill just need to be greater than this gargoyle is heavy and vicious?" She glanced at the small, but seemingly sharp stone teeth, and its nasty snarling expression. Oh great. This ought to be fun. Better hope I have a whole lot of that fifth variable (Z) or else I'm totally over my head here.

She then practiced her pronunciation of the spell, "Peer-tote-um Loco-motor." Oh wait. No, that wasn't it. "Pee-air-tote-um Loco-motor." Yeah, that sounds better. "Piertotum Locomotor."

OK. No more procrastinating. Time to get to work. Carsyn gripped her wand firmly in the left hand and pointed it at the gargoyle. She spoke in her rather usual soft voice, "Piertotum Locomotor." Nothing. The stone gargoyle was still as rigid as ever. Carsyn bit the inside of her cheek and tried to figure out what to change in her delivery. Perhaps the little guy didn't hear her? Probably hard to hear with rocks in your ears. Or rather, rocks as ears.

In a much louder voice, Carsyn cast "Piertotum Locomotor." With a small jolt, the gargoyle sprang to life and flapped his wings twice. The biggest sigh of relief escaped from Carsyn. She was normally great with books, but converting that knowledge into anything productive... well, let's just say that seemed to be her biggest challenge. If you didn't count her shyness. Or her fear of rejection. Or her inability to form coherent sentences around good looking boys. OK, so she has a lot of big challenges. But taking her knowledge from theoretical to practiced is definitely on that list.

Focusing once again on her gargoyle, Carsyn thought back to what Professor Bellaire said in class. These gargoyles would be used for a circus performance to be put on for the professors and the Board of Governors. Better make it do something thoroughly entertaining then. Carsyn thought long and hard about what to make this gargoyle do, so long that she almost thought the gargoyle would start growing moss. Then she figured out her ultimate goal - to make her gargoyle moonwalk! But certainly this chunk of stone wouldn't know what moonwalking meant. Most of the wizarding community probably didn't know either. So how to teach it?

Carsyn resolved to start with something simple. With her wand still pointed at the gargoyle, just in case, Carsyn ordered, "Walk backwards!" Upon seeing the stone statue take its first steps, she cheered aloud, "Yesss! It's working! I'm not completely hopeless!" So excited, Carsyn jumped up and copied the gargoyle, stiffly walking backwards beside him, then punching her fist without the wand up into the air. It was at this moment that she glanced at her watch and noticed she was going to be late for Care of Magical Creatures if she didn't pack up and head outside immediately.

Carsyn reached for the gargoyle and was about to stuff him in his box, when she remembered that he was still under the spell. She half-shouted a quick "Finite!" and then grasped the gargoyle in her fist. She placed him quickly in his box, shoved the lid over the top, tossed the box and her parchment back into her bag and hurried out the kitchen door.