 Newbie Mod
Alley Proprietor
 Mackled Malaclaw
Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Hazbin Hotel
Posts: 11,115
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Norman A. Carton
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Sydney M. L. Masters
Slytherin Third Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Maddox B. Buchanan
Gryffindor Fourth Year
Diagon Alley Proprietor:
Caledon Roth
The Leaky Cauldron |  Main Activity starts here! ^_^ Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
SPOILER!!: individual questions ^_^ Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Moose  ...Huh Wha?...
Taliesin was so transfixed by Bombadil the Betta Bard swimming around in his fishbowl that he had missed the whole first question and the start of the class. It wasn't until he heard the soft, but quick scratching of chalk on the chalkboard with the incantation pronunciations and wand movement needed being written that the young Badger's attention snapped back into class and not on his betta fish.
He quickly scribbled what was written into his own notes and removed his wand from his pants pocket. Then he had a though and put his wand down and raised his hand. "Piscifors...'Pisc' is for Pisces yes? Like the fish constellation?" Norman roamed the room as the students practiced. As he did so, he noticed Dane’s hand in the air. He nodded in reply. “Yes, Mr. Dane. Both Piscifors and the constellation Pisces are derived from the Latin word Piscis, meaning ‘fish’.” Quote:
Originally Posted by littledhampir Elena had been delighted to find fish on the desks when she arrived to Transfiguration. They were so cute! She was already wondering if they could keep them as pets at the end of the lesson. That would be so fun; to have a little fish friend in her dorm. She had pets at home and missed having them at school. Though a fish wasn't as cuddly as a dog, so it would be a poor substitute but it would still be fun. Except she probably should have remembered that this was Transfiguration, not Care of Magical Creatures. So the fish themselves were not the main focus of the lesson.
She was a bit distracted by watching the fish swim around and forgot to answer the first question. If she had, though, she would have probably said something about how color was important for the Transfiguration process. Of course there were ways to change the color of something, but it was probably easier to transfigure something into another thing of the same color. With that same logic, size was probably important too.
The spell they were learning being one to transform objects into fish raised a few questions in Elena's mind. The first being, were the fish already in the bowls real or had they also been transfigured from small objects? If they had been transfigured, did that make them any less real? It was sort of a confusing conundrum. It probably wasn't the point of the lesson, but Elena's curiosity got the better of her so she raised her hand to ask a question. "Professor, can you really transfigure an inanimate object into a living thing?" Could you create consciousness from nothing? Even if they couldn't take the fish at the end of the lesson, did this mean that she could make one of her own from something else?
Elena turned her focus toward practicing the incantation and wand movement. "Piscifors. PISK-i-fors. Piscifors." She said it aloud a few times to get a good feel for it. The wand movement was just a point, which seemed easy enough. Elena took a few moments to point her wand at different pebbles at the bottom of her fish bowl. She felt fairly confident in her ability to cast the spell, at least in theory. Elsewhere he saw Petrova’s hand up. The question got a slight smile. “Good question, Miss Petrova,” he replied. “Transfiguration doesn’t create life in the traditional sense, no. It’s more of a magical simulation of life. In this case, it alters the molecular structure of the object to mimic that of a fish. The transfigured fish will look similar to a real one, but it can’t think for itself. It just does what the caster wills it to do.” He paused for a moment to allow time for the information to sink in, ready to elaborate further if necessary. SPOILER!!: double trouble xD Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Calliope withdrew her hand from the fishbowl with slow, deliberate ease, offering the professor a perfectly polite expression - although very much seething beneath the surface.
“Of course, Professor,” she replied sweetly, fully compliant to the professor's chastising. She didn’t look at Maddox, but she could feel him next to her, still sitting there with his stupid fish face because it was admittedly pretty amusing - and was giving her ideas and even more amusing visuals. Naturally, she took advantage of the fact that Professor Carlton hadn’t explicitly said anything about knee tapping - just no tapping of the fish tank or conversing. Therefore, she shifted just enough under the table to nudge Maddox’s knee with her own. Not a hard kick just a quick, pointed little bump, while she listened to the lecture continue.
And something was remarkably nagging at her. The whole tone of things felt as though Piscifors actually created a fish, but that wasn’t how Transfiguration worked - right? Transfigured animals weren’t truly alive...they just mimicked it. They behaved like real creatures, sure, but they weren’t thinking, weren’t feeling. The moment the spell was reversed or wore off, they’d be nothing but pebbles and parchment or whatever again. Did this man want them thinking they were real so they would treat their spellwork more delicately or was this spell a backdoor into something more than just transfiguration? She hated to admit it, but it had actually peaked her interest - even if she couldn't care less about the fish swimming around in front of her. Her fingers itched to ask, to pick at the idea until she got an answer, but… well. There were more entertaining questions to be asked first.
She raised her hand with impeccable patience, waiting until she had Professor Carlton’s attention.
“Professor,” she began, voice smooth and measured - just look how focused and sincere she was about her education! “Since Piscifors - PISK-i-fors - transfigures small objects into fish… does that mean it could work on people with small brains as well?”
A perfectly reasonable question. Entirely academic. Cue another knock to Maddox's knee.
Folding her hands neatly on the desk, she waited for the professor’s response, the picture of innocence - just look up THAT in the dictionary and you would see her picture there, Maddox.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NiallNIP Maddox didn't say anything in apology—he let Calliope speak for the both of them in that moment. Though he knew she wasn't sincere in her apology. To be fair, he wouldn't have been, either, but he wouldn't be able to cover it up as well. So he was appreciative for that.
What he was not appreciative of was her knee bump. A little harder than the one she gave him earlier, no? He cocked an eyebrow and knocked her back with his knee. Okay, maybe that was a little funny. But was it for fun or was it for real?
Maddox wasn't sure what the practical application of this spell was supposed to be, so he wasn't very interested in the lecture. They can turn a pebble into a fish? How delightful. Why would he ever want to do that? He rested his head on his hand and shook his knee, thinking of all the better ways he could be using his time while he listened to the rest of the students ask their silly little questions. But he figured he should probably pull out his wand and at least attempt the spell. He pointed it at one of the pebbles in the fish bowl. "Piscif—" he started, but he was interrupted by Calliope asking her question and bumping him with her knee, again.
Ha-ha. He wouldn't let that one slide.
"Professor," he said, jumping on Calliope's question, "if someone asks a stupid question can we turn them into a fish?" He bumped Calliope back, harder than she bumped him. It hurt his knee a little bit, but it was satisfying. No one with a brain bigger than his would ask a question like that. Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Calliope didn’t react at first. Not to the bump, not to the teasing, not even to the smug little satisfaction in Maddox’s voice. Though she did twirl her wand between her fingers with a certain dangerous flourish a couple times before glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. How long would she serve detention for just trying her theory out with a simple point of her wand in Maddox's direction? It wasn't like a simple Finite wouldn't just set him right immediately or anything, easy fix for a well worth experiment.
And then someone else butted into the conversation, causing her head to snap around in his direction and glare - briefly - before letting that mood settle into something far more productive. Showing this older student the same polite composure she had given the professor earlier, Calliope tilted her head just slightly, as if considering their words with the utmost sincerity.
“Oh, I toooootally agree,” she said smoothly, twisting the situation to her whim like a steady kick drum beneath a chaotic melody. “That wasn’t very nice at all.” She exhaled, a small, performative sigh, before turning to Maddox with a look of exaggerated sympathy. "Everyone knows there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Just poorly thought-out answers.”
She batted her eyelashes a few times, an irritable flutter she had seem mum do on occasion when proving some point or another to day, turned back toward the fishbowl, tapping her fingers lightly against the desk - not the glass, of course - with her free hand. Her other casually practicing the pointing wand movement with a lazy flick of her wrist. She could have a whole aquarium in her dorm - Maddox and his school of tarot cards.
Norman was not at all fooled by Barrongton’s innocent act. He’d been teaching long enough to know what was going on… look for any loophole in the professor’s instructions and cause trouble by doing anything that wasn’t explicitly stated. He also caught the barely veiled digs at each other in the two young Slytherins’ questions, though he didn’t let on that he was onto them, yet. For now, he addressed the questions from a purely academic standpoint. “Technically yes, there is a variation of Piscifors for human transfiguration. It’s intended for use in incomplete transformation so the target retains enough mental ability to reverse the spell, and it requires thorough mastery of the basic Piscifors spell. We won’t be practicing it today-” Maybe sometime down the line when the class had more practice, but not now. “-and I highly suggest you don’t try it on your own. Transfiguring any student or staff without their consent is grounds for points loss and detention.” He gave the pair a warning look as he said the last sentence.
Norman was not one to micromanage his students; he preferred to let them figure things out on their own as much as possible. As such, he could overlook the desk tapping and even the knee knocking and sniping at each other to some extent… until it became a distraction to other students.
He glanced in Melo-Dreamer’s direction as the boy spoke up. “It’s alright, Mr. Melo-Dreamer. Focus on your own work.”
Turning his attention back to the pair of first years, he said sternly, “Miss Barrington, Mr. Robicheaux, this behavior is causing a disruption to others. I expect you to refrain from provoking each other - or anyone else - in the classroom, be it with your limbs, words, or otherwise. If you can’t do that, you two will be separated. Is that clear?” He chose his words very carefully to leave as little room for loopholes as possible.
With that matter settled (or so he hoped), Norman continued his rounds about the room, offering encouraging nods to Melo-Dreamer, Petrova, and both of the Atreyu-Rehman girls as he went. “Excellent practice, all of you!”
Reversing course, he returned to the room. A quick check of his watch told him it was time to move on. “Alright, class. Eyes up front,” he addressed the group, pausing to allow time for the students to refocus. “For our next activity, you’ll be using Piscifors to create a replica of the fish already in your bowl. Use the pebbles in the bottom of the fish bowl as your target. Take a minute to study your fish, visualize its features, and when you’re ready cast the spell.”
He demonstrated again, aiming his wand around the two swimming fish to the pebbles in the bottom of the bowl. “Piscifors!” In a flash of blue light, a third red and blue fish appeared in the bowl. “This spell won’t hurt the existing fish if you miss, but do try to aim carefully. You may practice multiple times if you like, though only once is required. These fish bowls can hold up to five fish comfortably. You have about thirty minutes, starting now!”
OOC: Thanks for sticking with us!  We’ve reached the main activity. For this part, your student needs to try to create a copy of their fish by practicing Piscifors on the pebbles in the bottom of their fish bowl. They may produce multiple fish if desired, but only one is required for credit. If you need help, please indicate in the title of your post. You’ll have AT LEAST 72 HOURS for the main activity; part 2 will be posted in 36-48 HOURS.
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |