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As you step into the transfiguration classroom for Professor Svensson’s first lesson of the term, it appears at first to be an average classroom. Desks with their chairs are arranged in several rows of semicircles facing the front of the room, where the professor’s desk is covered with several open books and stacks of parchment. Along the walls of the classroom, stacks of boxes stand ready to be used in class, but don’t touch them! The professor himself is not yet present, but he has left a message on the board:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chalkboard
You may sit on the floor. Stay away from the boxes, they might be alive.
Class will begin in a while, so just relax until the professor starts speaking.
Muggle stories, right? Surely they were, for Willow could not recall ever hearing about them. Muggle books were basically forbidden at her house. Then again, it wasn't like the Ravenclaw enjoy reading anything at all, unless, of course, it involved Quidditch.
So, yes. Whatever.
Aaaaand, she didn't really know the answer, so instead of trying to puzzle over her classmates answers, the seventh year busied herself with staring at her perfectly clean nails. Mmhmm
Anna raised her hand, "The Gorgon Sisters? The ones who used to be beautiful until AThena caught Medusa and Poseidon in her temple and she turned them into hidous creatures. There was Medusa who could count as her own story but she is mostly known in the story of Perseus. He cut off Medusa's head as a wedding gift for his king but ended up using it to turn all the guests into stone. The head now is mounted on Athena's shield."
Oh!
Miranda raised her hand, remembering the story she had read, ""Professor, there is the story of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe... she paused, "The evil witch Jadis would turn anyone whom she did not like into stone."
Lucy's hand shot up immediately at this question. Of course! She remembered a story about the thing...and that guy...and that girl...
"Well, there's the story about Medusa. Every time she looked at someone, and someone looked back into her eyes, they'd turn into stone. And then, when she looked at herself in the mirror, she turned into stone, too!" she said, excitedly.
"Yes! Medusa and the glance that could turn you into stone!" Practically running to the chalkboard, Svensson grabbed a piece of chalk and noted that story and its method of turning people into stone on the board. "Two points to Ravenclaw."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Copernicus raised his hand. "Sir? There's also King Midas, although I suppose they turned to gold and not to stone. But still... statues!"
"Not quite what I had in mind, but you're right. Midas did turn people into gold with just a touch." He listed Midas under Medusa on the board, then turned to hear the next answer. "Take two points for your house," he added as an afterthought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermione_loves_Ron
...if they were statues, were they allowed to speak? Statues couldnt' speak. Issy decided to brave it, though, and break the rules. Her hand was raised so... she could speak, right?
"In Greek Mythology, Medusa could turn to stone anyone who looked her in the eye," said Issy. "And she was thus mentioned in the Twelve Tasks of Heracles. She was a gorgon, so she wasn't the only one."
Were there any others?
She strained her brain.
"Not that this is stone or a statue," she went on, "but the story of King Midas told of a king's greed in which anything he touched would turn to gold. Though.. that can count as a statue, yes?" Beaming, she wiggled in her seat. "He turned his daughter into a golden statue, I believe."
Oh! One more, one more!
"There is an Italian fairy-tale called The Raven," she went on to add. The Professor might not know what it was about. Hmmm.
"That is quite right!" Svensson nodded at the girl's elaborations on the stories of Midas and Medusa. When the girl added a story he had not heard of, Svensson paused. "I haven't heard of The Raven," he admitted. "Would you like to give a quick summary for the class?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by AmbiguouslyMe
Tibi pondered the question. Medusa he knew, Midas he knew.. but those had already been offered.
He started thinking about all the different stories his mum had told him about gods and goddesses in lots of different religions. Scrunching his face, he wondered, did a pillar of salt count as a statue?
Opting to risk it, he raised his hand. "There's also the Hebrew story about Lot's wife who turned into a pillar of salt -- which could be like a statue -- when she turned around to look back at the city they were leaving."
"Very true," the professor agreed. He jotted 'Lot's wife, salt, looking back' on the board. "Take two points."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lezleighd
Satine wasn't sure if this was a test or not and then she was even more confused....was she supposed to raise her hand since it was already up....o well here goes...
"Well, there's an old American Indian Fairy Tale that was finally written down in 1907 about a tribe that would turn drawfs into statues." she said eventhough she was sure no one would've heard of the story but her father was a decedent of an Indian princess so she knew some weird stories.
Yet another story that Lars had not known. So much for doing his research well. "I didn't know of that one, but it sounds like it fits the criteria I asked for," Svensson said with a shrug. "You can have two points, too."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luna_Laufghudd
Oh!
Miranda raised her hand, remembering the story she had read, ""Professor, there is the story of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe... she paused, "The evil witch Jadis would turn anyone whom she did not like into stone."
"Another one I wasn't expecting!" Svensson exclaimed. "But a marvelous example nonetheless. Two points." Quickly finishing the list, Svensson set the chalk down. "Jadis had a wand, did she not?"
"Before we move on, is there anything else I should add to the board?" the professor asked the class, stepping out of the way and pointing to the board.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Board
Medusa - stone - direct eye contact
Midas - gold - touch
Lot's wife - salt - looked back
tribe and dwarves - statues -
Jadis - stone - wand
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Carter raised his hand. "What about a cockatrice?" Carter asked. "There's different stories on what it did. Like it could have a lethal stare like a basilisk, or could turn people to stone like Medusa.
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Last edited by LilFox06; 09-24-2009 at 02:08 AM.
Reason: forgot a word
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And again.. another class which was unexpectedly turning out to be fairly interesting. Heh. Having read and researched his fair share of Greek mythology, Woodson raised his hand.
He still didn't like this hand raising thing though. Weird.
"Greek mythology... Professor," the fifth year said somewhat confidently. "The tragic story of Niobe? She lost her entire family, fled and turned to stone. A symbol of eternal mourning."
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Rafe was thinking of all the muggle literature he had read. "Ooh sir, what about Robert W. Chambers' short story The Mask? It's about an artist that created a liquid that turned anything that stuck into it into stone. He killed a lot of flowers and bugs. Then his wife fell in. This petrification was also reversible, but by the time anyone found out, the artist had shot himself." Rafe was pretty proud of his little story. It was a little bit darker than the others.
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Cam thought for a moment. HMMMMM. Someone who could turn other people into stooooone. Well Medusa and that King Midas guy was taken and he didn't know any other of the examples on the list. OOOOH! Cam raised his haaand up high, "There was this real old comics bad guy dood uuhhh... the Grey Gargoyle I think? YEAAAH and he could turn other people into stone if he touches 'em!"
The wand was still rolling on top of his head but still... flamiiingooo he was a flamiiiiingooo.
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"Another one I wasn't expecting!" Svensson exclaimed. "But a marvelous example nonetheless. Two points." Quickly finishing the list, Svensson set the chalk down. "Jadis had a wand, did she not?"
"Before we move on, is there anything else I should add to the board?" the professor asked the class, stepping out of the way and pointing to the board.
Miranda smiled. Wow, she had finally gotten some points. Huh... "Yes, sir," Miranda answered the professors question, "Sir?" she raised her hand again, "Isn't there a story in the Bible... I think...where a woman turned to a statue of wax?" Miranda blinked. She couldn't remember where she'd heard of it, maybe it sounded to weird!
Blushing, she waited...
"That is quite right!" Svensson nodded at the girl's elaborations on the stories of Midas and Medusa. When the girl added a story he had not heard of, Svensson paused. "I haven't heard of The Raven," he admitted. "Would you like to give a quick summary for the class?"
She was supposed to give a summary?
Issy did not like summaries. She was very bad at them and tended not to tell the story properly or add too many details. Head boggled, she strained to remember the faint fairy tale.
"Uhm. Well," she began with a very bad start. "There was this man called Milluccio who once found a dead raven on this rock and he kind of fell in love with the idea one day having a wife as black as its wings, as red as its blood and as white as its stones or something." Had Issy mentioned that this story was not particularly happy? "And his brother, Jennariello, persuaded his brother to tell him of his dream. Once he had, the second brother set out by ship and went off somewhere and he proceeded to buy a falcon and a horse. He met up with this beggar who got him to tell his story and the beggar begged at someone's house who had a daughter called Liviella who looked just like Milluccio's dream of a wife did."
This was long winded. Ag.
"Basically, Jennariello kidnapped Liviella and at first she was all upset and despairing but he told her about his brother and she was actually really intrigued and curious to meet Milluccio. So, they're on their way home and these two doves fly over and they tell Jennariello that the first time the bird sees Milluccio, it's going to peck his eyes out and that if the second brother warns the first or does not bring the bird, Jennariello would turn to marble. He said something similar for the horse, who would break Milluccio's neck upon the first ride, and then said that a dragon would kill both Milluccio and Liviella on their wedding night, but gave the same forebodings if Jennariello was to warn his brother or not deliver the girl."
Merlin. People were probably getting bored.
"So, of course the second brother wanted to save the first. And he brought the horse and falcon to Milluccio, but then killed him. And after his brother and the girl were wed, he took a sword and fought the dragon. But this his brother woke and the dragon disappeared and Milluccio had his brother imprisoned for being a traitor and sentenced to die the next day and all. In order to die innocently, Jennariello told the truth and because of this, he turned to marble."
Pausing, Issy pursed her lips and glanced at the Professor, before peeking around the room.
She debated about telling the rest of the story. About the twin babies and killing them to use their blood to restore Jennariello and Livellia nearly jumping from a window and her father stopping her and restoring the lives of the babies, but she'd already been babbling and that was rather gruesome anyway. So, she tapped her fingers on the table. She was done.
Chris raised his hand. "Professor I know Cameron already said a comic book hero but the actual creature a gargoyle was said to turn into stone at will for protection." he said.
Carter raised his hand. "What about a cockatrice?" Carter asked. "There's different stories on what it did. Like it could have a lethal stare like a basilisk, or could turn people to stone like Medusa.
"A cockatrice?" Anna had never heard of that before and wondered what that was.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermione_loves_Ron
She was supposed to give a summary?
Issy did not like summaries. She was very bad at them and tended not to tell the story properly or add too many details. Head boggled, she strained to remember the faint fairy tale.
SPOILER!!: summary
"Uhm. Well," she began with a very bad start. "There was this man called Milluccio who once found a dead raven on this rock and he kind of fell in love with the idea one day having a wife as black as its wings, as red as its blood and as white as its stones or something." Had Issy mentioned that this story was not particularly happy? "And his brother, Jennariello, persuaded his brother to tell him of his dream. Once he had, the second brother set out by ship and went off somewhere and he proceeded to buy a falcon and a horse. He met up with this beggar who got him to tell his story and the beggar begged at someone's house who had a daughter called Liviella who looked just like Milluccio's dream of a wife did."
This was long winded. Ag.
"Basically, Jennariello kidnapped Liviella and at first she was all upset and despairing but he told her about his brother and she was actually really intrigued and curious to meet Milluccio. So, they're on their way home and these two doves fly over and they tell Jennariello that the first time the bird sees Milluccio, it's going to peck his eyes out and that if the second brother warns the first or does not bring the bird, Jennariello would turn to marble. He said something similar for the horse, who would break Milluccio's neck upon the first ride, and then said that a dragon would kill both Milluccio and Liviella on their wedding night, but gave the same forebodings if Jennariello was to warn his brother or not deliver the girl."
Merlin. People were probably getting bored.
"So, of course the second brother wanted to save the first. And he brought the horse and falcon to Milluccio, but then killed him. And after his brother and the girl were wed, he took a sword and fought the dragon. But this his brother woke and the dragon disappeared and Milluccio had his brother imprisoned for being a traitor and sentenced to die the next day and all. In order to die innocently, Jennariello told the truth and because of this, he turned to marble."
Pausing, Issy pursed her lips and glanced at the Professor, before peeking around the room.
She debated about telling the rest of the story. About the twin babies and killing them to use their blood to restore Jennariello and Livellia nearly jumping from a window and her father stopping her and restoring the lives of the babies, but she'd already been babbling and that was rather gruesome anyway. So, she tapped her fingers on the table. She was done.
This story interested Anna, but she found it so confusing that she was getting dizzy. It seemed like she would drop any minute now.
Last edited by Waddles; 09-24-2009 at 02:32 AM.
Reason: added a spoiler because that's a reeeally long quote
Carter raised his hand. "What about a cockatrice?" Carter asked. "There's different stories on what it did. Like it could have a lethal stare like a basilisk, or could turn people to stone like Medusa.
"Yes! Magical creatures can turn you into stone!" Svensson added it to the board. "Two points for your house."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waterloo
And again.. another class which was unexpectedly turning out to be fairly interesting. Heh. Having read and researched his fair share of Greek mythology, Woodson raised his hand.
He still didn't like this hand raising thing though. Weird.
"Greek mythology... Professor," the fifth year said somewhat confidently. "The tragic story of Niobe? She lost her entire family, fled and turned to stone. A symbol of eternal mourning."
"Niiii-ooobeee," Svensson said slowly as he scribbled the name on the board. "Two points for...Slytherin."
Quote:
Originally Posted by unicornkeeper07
Rafe was thinking of all the muggle literature he had read. "Ooh sir, what about Robert W. Chambers' short story The Mask? It's about an artist that created a liquid that turned anything that stuck into it into stone. He killed a lot of flowers and bugs. Then his wife fell in. This petrification was also reversible, but by the time anyone found out, the artist had shot himself." Rafe was pretty proud of his little story. It was a little bit darker than the others.
"Okaaay..." The professor scribbled the word liquid on the board. "Take a point for your house."
Quote:
Originally Posted by dingDong
Cam thought for a moment. HMMMMM. Someone who could turn other people into stooooone. Well Medusa and that King Midas guy was taken and he didn't know any other of the examples on the list. OOOOH! Cam raised his haaand up high, "There was this real old comics bad guy dood uuhhh... the Grey Gargoyle I think? YEAAAH and he could turn other people into stone if he touches 'em!"
The wand was still rolling on top of his head but still... flamiiingooo he was a flamiiiiingooo.
"I have never heard of the Grey Gargoyle but I will take your word for it if you will take a point for your house." Hey. He just realized that he could spell the chalk to write these things down itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luna Laufghudd
Miranda smiled. Wow, she had finally gotten some points. Huh... "Yes, sir," Miranda answered the professors question, "Sir?" she raised her hand again, "Isn't there a story in the Bible... I think...where a woman turned to a statue of wax?" Miranda blinked. She couldn't remember where she'd heard of it, maybe it sounded to weird!
Blushing, she waited...
"Is there?" Lars glanced at the board and manually added the word 'wax'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermione_loves_Ron
She was supposed to give a summary?
Issy did not like summaries. She was very bad at them and tended not to tell the story properly or add too many details. Head boggled, she strained to remember the faint fairy tale.
looooong summary
Professor Svensson was silent for a moment. So much for brief. "So...okay. Take a point for Ravenclaw." Adding the necessary details of the story to the board, he stuck the chalk in his pocket.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BOARD
Medusa - stone - direct eye contact
Midas - gold - touch
Lot's wife - salt - looked back
tribe and dwarves - statues -
Jadis - stone - wand
magical creatures - stone/statues - various ways
Niobe - stone - mourning
liquid
Grey Gargoyle - stone - touch
wax statue
Italian fairy-tale - marble - honesty
He could tell that others wanted to share their stories, but his point had been made. "Moving on!" Svensson exclaimed, slightly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm radiating from some students. "As you can see, things turning into stone is a concept that fascinates storytellers. I hope it fascinates you because today... we will be turning things into stone."
But no people. They were most definitely not turning people into stone.
"From the stories, we learned how things were turned into stone. And oftentimes we heard the reason as well. But in this day and age, why would anybody want to turn something into stone? Aren't there enough rocks around the lake, that you wouldn't want to bother turning you shoe into a stone?"
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waddles
""From the stories, we learned how things were turned into stone. And oftentimes we heard the reason as well. But in this day and age, why would anybody want to turn something into stone? Aren't there enough rocks around the lake, that you wouldn't want to bother turning you shoe into a stone?"
Cela raised her hand cheerfully.
"Actually sir, I find in a duel, using Duro to turn a shoe into stone is really useful. It slows down your opponent and if you use the toenail growing hex as well it makes it really really really uncomfortable for them. Also if you turn stuff into stone, you can then levitate it and lift it up really high and let it fall down on people."
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originally posted by Waddles
"From the stories, we learned how things were turned into stone. And oftentimes we heard the reason as well. But in this day and age, why would anybody want to turn something into stone? Aren't there enough rocks around the lake, that you wouldn't want to bother turning you shoe into a stone?"
Chris thought for a moment and raised his hand, "Well perhaps, Professor, a person had something of extreme value and they couldn't bring it with them when they left their home to do something? Or something to the effect of that. They could turn the object t ostone to protect it from any type of burglers who would mistaken the valueable for a stone." he suggested.
Anna looked at the teacher and said, "What if the one changing the things or people into stone was immortal. They would have all their friends and loved ones . . . leave one by one while they lived on. An immortal can never get close to anyone because it would hurt more when those friends keep going away. They could've turned the people into stone so that they would always be there. Statues can't leave on you, they stay for all eternity. It may be a sad situation for the immortal, but any friend, even a statue can be better than living your life in eternal loneliness because everyone is leaving you behind." She looked down again at her turtle. "And things could also be important to you. Like a love letter from your first crush. You would want to keep that forever. Or maybe a . . . note that your dad left you before he was gone." She looked at Akihiko. "Or a picture of your family before your mom left. Wouldn't anyone want to perserve the happy times of your life?"
Issy raised her hand and instantly blushed. What if the Professor didn't call upon her because she was such a babbler? Nevertheless...
"Maybe, like the su--er... like Celandine said, you could use it in a duel. Stone is heavy, after all. Or, you could use it to turn your treasured items into stone so that no one would know its value or think it just a rock and let it be. Maybe in a fight, one partner would turn someone's favourite item into stone, just for spite? As we saw in many of the stories, emotions often played a bit of a role in turning something or someone into stone."
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Copernicus raised his hand. "I would think anytime you want an object to become nearly impermeable or heavier, turning it to stone would be a good technique. If I wanted to be sure something would remain undamaged for a period of time, maybe I could turn it to stone until I needed it again."
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Jack tapped his chin in thought before raising his hand. "If someone was chasing you and there was something big nearby, you could turn the big object into a stone to block their path so they couldn't get you," he said.
That was probably not the most practical use but it was still a use, right?
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Abby raises her hand. "Professor, muggle artist throughout the ages have carved statues out of stones. They generally used humans and animals as models. By turning objects into stone, we could also make works of art."
Was that a rhetorical question? Delana thought to herself... but answered anyway...
Other than the reasons already mentioned, I think it would be useful in art, or in preserving something. As anyone with experience rock-carving will tell you, it takes time to form a stone into something... so if you were able to instead form something into stone, it would save time and offer more possibilities for creative uses. Or, to aid in building of walls and other such things for protection of homes or cities..." Delana didn't know if this would make sense... but it did in her mind, so she waitied to see what the Professor would say.
Cam raaaaised his hand up high again, this time trying to make sure the wand would still be placed on top of his head. Statue. Flamingo. Jahhh. "Weeee could turn garbage into a huge block of stone, right??? SOOO like liiiike it helps stop pollution and all." GO GREEN PEOPLE. GO GREEEEEENN!!111
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Tibi scribbled down notes furiously. There were so many stories about turning to statues or stone!
But why would we want to? Tibi was asking himself that very question when the professor asked the class. Tibi pondered and puzzled and scrunched up his face.
Raising his hand, he offered "Maybe if you need to make something big out of stone, but it would be easier to make it out of something else and then turn it to stone?"
Did that even make any sense?
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You can fly above the rain clouds
Close your eyes
Let the melody carry you
Leave all your fears behind
You can float across a rainbowsky
to once upon a time
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Waddles
He could tell that others wanted to share their stories, but his point had been made. "Moving on!" Svensson exclaimed, slightly overwhelmed by the enthusiasm radiating from some students. "As you can see, things turning into stone is a concept that fascinates storytellers. I hope it fascinates you because today... we will be turning things into stone."
But no people. They were most definitely not turning people into stone.
"From the stories, we learned how things were turned into stone. And oftentimes we heard the reason as well. But in this day and age, why would anybody want to turn something into stone? Aren't there enough rocks around the lake, that you wouldn't want to bother turning you shoe into a stone?"
Carter thought for a moment and then raised his hand. "What about for protection? Like if someone, or something, is chasing you you can turn their shoes into stone."
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Transfiguration Lesson 1 
x8
x8
