 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 |  Class dismissed! ^_^ Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
SPOILER!!: Individual replies ^_^ Quote:
Originally Posted by NiallNIP  Oh, bosh. It's not like this banter was any different from things they'd both said before—like things Calliope said about his cards. Just because you didn't like it or thought it was wrong didn't mean it was off limits. If Maddox could take all the nonsense about his cards, she could take his little dig about quidditch. He rolled his eyes. "You've said much more inaccurate things about my cards before and I let it slide. Big whoop, the weather can change on a dime without you expecting it. And it was practice, Calliope, I don't think it's that big of a deal that she made a snowstorm. Seeing how you play under harsh conditions was just a test of your ability, and seeing as you still made the team you obviously did great even with you falling off the broom. If that snowstorm hadn't been there...you know, one small detail can change the entire future. Butterfly effect? Things could be different," he said with a shrug. The stress she was under could've actually brought out the best in her. Had she thought about that? "And I'm not bitter," he quipped without thinking, as a little sendoff for his monologue. This girl really got him talking, for some reason. Probably because he was constantly on the defense.
He looked into Calliope's bowl, scowling at the monstrous little thing that was twitching its way in his direction. "Eugh..." He would take a rock fish any day of the week over that thing. "I think if you try to transfigure me, I'll be avant-garde and artistic in the hospital wing." He could see it now—him with gills and scales and horribly disfigured and droopy. He hoped that she would have better sense than to actually try it on him.
And he knew that Professor Carton couldn't insult them, but he definitely didn't have to lie. Their attempts had been terrible, truthfully, and it's not like they would get any better by being placated. Some critique could be good when it's useful—he learned that through his training with Jane. Occlumency isn't the easiest thing to learn for an experienced wizard, so he's definitely fighting an uphill battle on that front. Jane having patience with him and giving him helpful critique was the only reason he'd been able to make any headway at all. Even having an aptitude for Legilimency wasn't the biggest help. He thought it was funny that he was better at Occlumency than he was at transfiguring a fish. Felt backwards.
He studied the brand new fish Calliope whipped up, and this brought a bigger frown to his face than the droopy one did. It was, well, close to perfect. Still not quite, but better than anything he'd managed to do. And he did not want to let her upstage him. He quickly pointed his wand at one of the pebbles in his bowl. "Piscifors!" Another flash of light, and the pebble in his tank sprouted a fish head. He huffed, stuffing his wand back in its holster. Okay. You've won this round, Barrington. But he'd always beat her out in Divination. And Arithmancy. And DADA.
He listened to the Professor's question, and he felt he knew the answer. No one seemed like they were going to speak up, so he sighed and gave in. "It's because they're small details. If the copy is based on how we see the fish, then it's hard to correctly capture all the little things." Norman was slightly surprised, though pleased when Robicheaux offered an answer to the question. He nodded approvingly. “Excellent point, Mr. Robicheaux,” he replied. “No two people will perceive an object exactly the same way, so there’s bound to be differences based on perception alone.” Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 The Hufflepuff did not miss out on the nod Carton gave and was completely sure it was approval for both her's and Diego's work. Because yes, they had done excellently. There was just a twinge of regret that the second fish wasn’t as perfect as the first. She’s sorry for making you a slow swimmer, little fella!
She was still transfixed on the pair when the professor addressed the class once more. Dy thought a bit before raising a hand. “It’s difficult to focus on all the physical features. For me, at least, I was more focused on the gills, fins, face and tail. Even so, the duplicate fish’s tail did not come out perfectly.” Was she now a little sad about this? Yes. Yes, she was. Atreyu-Rehman’s answer likewise received an approving nod from the professor. “Very good, Miss Atreyu-Rehman,” he said. “Divided focus or a lack of focus can certainly contribute to variations in transfiguration.” Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Kara was settled into her seat just watching the fish in front of her at the bottom of her tank. She really wanted to the tap the tank, except she learned when she was like six that tapping a fish's tank never seemed to go well. But the fish was just staring back at her. Or was it sleeping? Who knew? What she didn't know was why the board said their gills, buoyancy, movement were common traits. Didn't all the fish move differently? Or were these fish charmed to all move the same? But her fish didn't seem to really move much.
She stared another moment, taking careful note of its eyes and scales. Maybe. Or maybe they were all transfigured fish and that's why they all sort of resembled each other? "Pisk-i-fors" Oh what a good question Taliesin had about it being connected to the fish constellation!! Note to self: make friends with Taliesin. She already knew him from their start of the year incident, but he was a good one to have around, she'd decided.
"Pisk-i-fours." she said again, this time pointing her wand at the small pebble as she'd seen Professor Carton do. Only as he'd managed to replicate the fish in its entirety, her fish seemed off. In colour and size. Instead of a blue and red fish, her fish was orange? And about half its size? How'd she manage that? Perhaps maybe that meant she was especially gifted if she created a whole new species? Or she hadn't been studying the fish's features enough and thereby created what she thought it looked like? It was hiding at the bottom of the tank when she was studying it.
She had more than just a few subtle differences. Her differences were glaringly obvious. "Probably cause transfiguration involves concentration. If you're not paying attention, well, it's one of the key components to a successful transformation, which means too, paying attention to all the details, big and small. Also, skill level. Probably the more you become skilled with a wand, the easier time you'll have in casting things more accurately. Precision takes experience." Practice makes perfect.
Walsh’s answer also touched on concentration, though she also mentioned skill level. Norman nodded. “True on both counts, Miss Walsh,” he replied. “It takes a lot of time and focus to perfect the finer details of transformations.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Charely Potter
Diego had been studying Sparkle's not-quite-so-double. "You'll be.... Spikey. Cause those fins look so sharp!" He could see how the eyes weren't as active either. But that's because it wasn't really a live fish, but an imitation. Not the best, but oh well. "Thanks." He said, smiling so he didn't show how disappointed he was low-key on not getting the perfect double. He was only a first-year, after all.
Dynah also suggested he could name her new fish, which made his eyes twinkle again in thought. "How about Vinny? Feels like a good brother name to Venom. Or Vinnie for girl." Picking fish names were fun for Diego. As he was so focused on the fish differences, Diego considered making another "sibling" which was when the next question came.
So Diego responded when it was his turn, "I think the eyes are hard to create because there's stuff going on inside a fish's brain that we can't see and don't know how they connect with the eyes. So we can only replicate how it looks on the outside without knowing how everything inside works." If that made sense.
Norman smiled slightly as he overheard Melo-Dreamer’s names for the fish. His smile grew at the boy’s answer to the question. “Very good point, Mr. Melo-Dreamer,” he replied. “The finer workings of anatomy are impossible to see with the naked eye, which makes them difficult to recreate accurately.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Granger Danger Biting her lip Lily looked at her fish she turned into a fish to the real one, she noticed instantly the fins were a bit different compared to the real as well as their eyes. Taking notes of that she looked more and seen the scales were different as well, and it was smaller then the real one. Looking more at her fish she looked up at the Professor's question before she thought long and hard about it. Waiting for everyone else to speak, she raised her hand. "Well... I think it's because those are real features Professor, it's hard to make real like features to look perfect, even magic has it's limits." She said thoughtfully before continuing. "If you were to transferred a person into an animal they wouldn't look the same as a ferret or so because they're a human being not an animal so they might be bigger then a actual ferret." She hoped she made sense, blushing she looked down at her feet. Norman noticed Moonstone’s blush, though he saw no reason for embarrassment. It was a perfectly reasonable answer. He nodded, smiling slightly. “Excellent example, Miss Moonstone,” he said. “Yes, everything, even magic, has its limits.” Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Maddox was as full of it as Zonko's the day before April Fool's. She waved a hand vaguely in his direction, as if dismissing the whole thing. “By all means, keep telling me how it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe if you say it enough times, I’ll start to believe it. Isn't that how self affirmations and all that are supposed to work?” Until the moment she lost her grip, Calliope had been flawless. Every pass, every dive, every maneuver ... sharp, calculated, executed with the kind of ease that should have made her an undeniable choice for the team. She had been proving herself, cementing what she already knew: that she belonged up there. And then - UGH. It didn’t matter that she had recovered, didn’t matter that she had still made the team. The fall had stained what should have been a perfect tryout, and that was the part she couldn’t let go of. “No one called you bitter, Maddox,” she pointed out, arching a brow. “That was all you.”
It was almost funny - she had been calling herself bitter in her own head, but she was fairly positive none of that had made it out into the open. So either he was deflecting, feeling some kind of way about this whole conversation, or he was just running his mouth without thinking. Likely a combination of all three. Thick a molasses in winter, seriously.
Calliope’s fingers tapped a lazy rhythm against the desk, a quiet snare roll of amusement as she glanced between Maddox and the twitchy little fish. Okay, so, the idea of him stuck in the hospital wing, half-melted and artistic like a real life Picasso or whatever, was objectively funny. But the actual thought of being responsible for it? Not so much. Not at all. Not unless he did something to truly deserve it. Her lips pressed together, stifling a laugh, and she gave her wand a slow, absentminded twirl before setting it down. “Mm.” That was all the reaction he was getting.
The brunette considered her tiny fish and glanced at Maddox's latest attempt, her brow quirking at the way he aggravatedly holstered his wand. Seriously, fish were gnarly. As the professor spoke, Calliope leaned forward slightly, resting her elbow on the table as she gave the professor a considering look. She really just wanted to shout 'BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ACTUAL LIFE BEHIND THOSE UGLY NON-BLINKING EYES", but she showed some restraint in the moment. "Because magic likes to be inconvenient," she quipped dryly under her breath, though there was a thoughtful edge to her voice. She tapped her fingers against the desk before adding in a more studious manner. "Magic can only fill in the gaps so much before it just fudges the details," Calliope began with a casual flick of her fingers. "All this is just a forced imitation anyway soooooo no matter how good you are at a spell, you can't change the fact that it's still a pebble pretending to be a fish. It isn't real, and it never will be." She gestured vaguely at the nearest transfigured specimen, her nose scrunching slightly. Why were fish so...gross? "That's why you can never quite get the eyes right. There's no life behind them because there was never any life to begin with." She tilted her head, considering the concept some more and glanced very pointedly at Maddox. "Maybe human transfiguration has better odds—at least you're starting with something that’s actually alive," she mused, tossing up a set of air quotes around 'living' creature, and half laughing thinking about her tank of Maddox and his paper companions. "Unless, of course, the human you're transfiguring is dead. Then, well, guess that’s a moot point."
Norman noticed the look Barrington gave him. Her answer got a very slight smile. “Yes, magic can be inconvenient sometimes,” he replied, nodding in agreement. “All excellent points, Miss Barrington. At the end of the day, there’s only so much magic can do. It can’t create life, only emulate it, so it can’t produce an exact copy.”
Norman’s eyes scanned the room in search of more hands in the air. When he saw none, he addressed the class once more, “Excellent answers, everyone! All of you hit the nail on the head in one way or another. Transformation, like all magic, has a human component. This includes the caster’s perception, concentration, and skill level, which allows for a certain margin of error.”
He paused to allow time for the information to sink in before giving the homework. “Your homework is to study that human component in more detail. Go to the lake; observe two different type of fish and attempt to reproduce them with Piscifors. Write a short essay, no more than 500 words, detailing the differences between the natural fish and the tranfigured copies, due next Monday. There are spare fishbowls behind my desk up front if you’d like to take one with you. Class dismissed!”
OOC: That’s all, folks! I’ll leave the thread open for another 10ish hours for anyone who wants to catch up or post their student leaving. Thanks for attending! 
__________________ 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... |