Celestia was rather pleased with how quickly and efficiently her students had formed groups and gathered their hedgehogs, particularly since she knew that many of them detested group work. She had been the same when she was in school here, but university had soon taught her to get used to working with other people. Teamwork was a necessary skill in the workforce as well, and she felt that it was never too early to start getting kids used to working together.

The students hadn't been working for long when Miss Cambridge asked a question about the punishments she'd mentioned. Celestia suppressed a smile with difficulty; Miss Cambridge's avid curiosity was well known to her by now, and she doubted the girl would actually attempt to bother the hedgehogs. She replied honestly, "Most likely a series of particularly unpleasant detentions, Miss Cambridge." The professor was not a fan of lying to her students, and she could hardly suspend or expel them for a relatively minor infraction like bothering hedgehogs.

Her attention soon wandered to other groups. Miss Queen, Miss Atwater, and Mr. Yoon seemed to be getting to a bit of a slow start. She wandered over to their cluster of desks and told them briskly, "Miss Atwater, you had best work on your hedgehog -- if the nonverbal aspect of the spell is not working, then please try the spell verbally. Class is almost over." She wasn't as concerned with the younger students. Mr. Yoon had successfully changed a pin earlier in the class, so she gave him and Miss Queen what she hoped was an encouraging smile. She wasn't sure if Miss Queen had successfully completed the spell or not yet -- there were simply too many students to know exactly who had managed what, particularly when other students had been so upset during that part of the lesson. She told the first years simply, "Keep trying, please. I'd like to see one or two more pins from you two before the class period ends. It's alright if it doesn't happen for you today." She flashed a smile in Miss Queen's direction. They would have time to practice the spell for homework after all.

The next group had Miss Dixon, Miss Swann, Miss Walsh, and Miss Diggory. Celestia was pleased to see that by the time she wandered over to their group that Miss Diggory was clearly preparing to attempt the spell nonverbally. She offered the Slytherin a smile as she approached and told her, "You can do this, Skylar. If the spell is too challenging to complete nonverbally today, you can show the younger students how to cast it verbally first. There's no pressure." She thought she detected some nerves in the girl's body language -- though perhaps she was imagining it. In any case, she certainly didn't want to put undue pressure on the sixth years in her class. They had until the end of 7th year before they had to take their N.E.W.T.s after all. She gave the young Hufflepuffs a smile before moving on to the next group.

She approached Mr. Carter, Miss Prichard, Miss Primeaux, and Mr. Carden just as the Ravenclaw turned her hedgehog blue. Stifling another smile, Celestia told her, "Good effort, Miss Primeaux. Perhaps focus more on the other aspects of your pincushion next time -- its shape, how its weight will change, and so forth." The boys in the group didn't seem to have started their spell casting yet, though perhaps that was because Mr. Carden's hedgehog seemed to be making a run for it. They had time to sort it out. She noticed that Miss Prichard had a couple of changed pins on her desk and beamed at the first year before saying, "Well done, Miss Prichard!" Then it was time to move on.

Miss Cambridge, Miss McKinley, and Miss McNally seemed to be the furthest along in their group. Celestia approached them just as Miss Cambridge returned her newly formed pincushion back into its hedgehog state for the other girls to give the spell a try. She gave the girls a cheerful smile and said simply, "Keep up the good work, girls!" Since at least one member of their group had successfully Transfigured their hedgehog, they were the furthest along.

Celestia made her way back to the front of the room and called, "Those of you who haven't made an attempt on the spell might need to get another hedgehog for your group. We have about ten minutes left in the period!" She was surprised that the lesson had flown by so quickly, really, and sighed softly at herself. Perhaps the next time she would simply combine the two activities to give the students more time with their hedgehogs...

OOC:Good job, guys! Y'all have until 12 AM CST January 26 to finish up. I added in a few hours because I know you have a lot to post in with the job fair and other lessons going on. Thanks so much for participating so far!