 1: Spiny Leaf Bug (might make another with a different bug if there's time) Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Mrs. Charlie Weasley | Seneca's Beard | That's So Fetch
After retracting his finger and remaining quite still, Peanut began to relax and move around again. The creature moved slowly though, still quite cautious about being touched again. Frankie had no intention of brushing his finger along the extatosoma tiaratum again. He had only done so out of curiosity to see what would happen. He wasn't disappointed to say the least.
While the stick bug crawled up his arm, the prefect took a moment to look after at Hady. Obviously he knew that she wasn't going to be bringing back an eight-legged friend, though he was a little surprised to see a caterpillar inching up her arm. Wasn't that one of the easier animals to work with? Had the tarantula freaked her out that much? Hmm.
He watched her examine her selection for a moment before returning his attention back to Peanut, who had stealthily made it to his shoulder and was making a move for his face. Nope. Not happening, little gal. Frankie moved a hand near the creature and waited what seemed like forever for it to climb on before placing it onto the desk.
The voice of Ichihara grasped his attention when she was ready to move on. His eyes flickered over to her as she demanded everyone's attention and tapped the chalkboard. She kept on talking, and the Gryffindor was now only half-paying attention to her. He was too busy reading what had appeared on the board.
Spiny Leaf Bug to Dead Leaf. Frankie looked down at the bug, slightly disappointed. He was going to be transforming Peanut into a mere leaf? A dead one at that? What a bummer. And here he thought he was going to be ending up with an origami swan or something totally cool. Dead leaves were not cool. They were boring.
But he'd play along. The blond looked up again as the professor was now speaking about treating their subjects with respect, being calm, and clearly envisioning the transformation while doing the spell work. He nodded, his eyes looking back to the board for the incantation and wand movement.
Follio-Anmortum. A decisive left swish over the subject. Got it.
Before beginning, he shifted the mandrake leaf in his mouth so he'd be able to talk. It was doable when he tucked it between his cheek and gums, and only if not much had to be said. Frankie recited the incantation to himself a few times, without a wand, just to make sure the leaf wouldn't go flying across the room when he was actually performing the spell. "FO-Leo An-MORE-tum. FO-Leo An-MORE-tum. FO-Leo An-MORE-tum."
With no mandrake leaf accidentally being spat at someone and the pronunciation of the spell down, the sixth year then took out his wand. He practiced the movement, decisively swishing his wand to the left over Peanut. That was simple enough. Now it was time to move on to the more challenging work.
The wand still in his hand, he stared down at Peanut, taking in her features once again. The light brown colour, her rounded body parts and spikes, her length, everything was accounted for. Mentally, he pictured that little bug transforming and bending until her body had been flattened out, delicate as ever, with small veins and even a stem. The only thing that didn't change in his mind was the colour.
Deciding he was ready for making the transformation, Frankie raised his wand and swished his wand to the left as he said, "Follio-Anmortum!" Nothing happened. The mandrake leaf in his mouth had shifted slightly, which had broken his concentration on Peanut and the dead leaf she was meant to be. The prefect tried again. Failure, though he could have sworn he saw one of her legs rise as if it were about to flatten out. The wand movement needed to be more decisive this time.
Sighing, the boy sat there. He was starting to get frustrated, which he knew was going to make being successful with the spell rather difficult. He needed to clear his mind and just envision the extatosoma tiaratum as a dead leaf. For the next minute or so, that is what the Gryffindor did before making another attempt.
"Follio-Anmortum!"
The third time was the charm. Just as he had envisioned it, he watched Peanut go from her original state of being to that of a dead leaf. Upon closer examination, he realized that a the upper portion dead leaf had a couple of small spikes on it. He wasn't disappointed by this though. Peanut was a dead leaf. Success!
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