"I would think," Violet began, "that the closer a material resembled the thing you want to transfigure it into, the easier it would be to change. And vice versa."

He sort of knew Dahlia's response even before she said it...because he knew the answer. Mostly he asked these things so that someone could enable him to just go ahead with it. Probably not the best to ask that of a Ravenclaw, all things considered. Apparently the tiny ice cube in juxtaposition to the size of his face and tongue were entirely too obvious to the professor...who saw precisely what the Gryffindor was trying to do. But still...the tip of his tongue HAD touched the ice cube and his results were still entirely nonconclusive. He also now wondered if the enchanted ice cube and it's water had a large index of refraction...

So many questions and no time to ask them or else he would end up looking like Kinsay James.

Mumbling a half apology, only because he had been caught, Atlas straightened his posture and shrugged his shoulders at Dahlia.

His anxiety SPIKED a bit when there was all this bread passing and tearing going on, and not just because his deskmate was getting crumbs everywhere. "Don't eat that!" he hissed, nearly knocking it right out of her hand while she tried to pass it to the Slytherin behind them. He didn't care about whatever their dynamic was or wasn't, the bread was more important!

The first question was distracting enough not to dwell on his own anyway, though he remained silent through it while his brain went into overdrive. There were benefits to both, he figured. But the more broad a spell could impact the transformation of object, the weaker he presumed it would be. Whereas if there was a spell that was specific to one object, then all that magical butter could be sucked up over one slice of bread. Magical physics and all that, even magic had its limitations. But in terms of practicality and personal preference, having a spell that worked the same on anything would be optimal.

Which apparently strolled right into the subject matter of the next question and his hand popped right back up. "Well...I would suppose it would depend on the intended result. If you wanted to transfigure something that was hard and solid as an end result. Shape too. It's like...a hedgehog is soft and squishy and already has a shape that resembles a pin cushion. But maybe if there was a stone that was trying to be transfigured into a pin cushion, the magic would first have to change the stone to something soft as well as morph the shape a bit. Or something long and narrow like a log into a single pin cushion. There is so much more material and density there that...it all has to go somewhere. Would think you would need to aim for objects of similar mass to have the most effective transfigurations...otherwise there is a surplus or deficit depending on the original object. It's all right there in the Transformation Formula even! Transformation is directly influenced by the mass of an object, which is the 'a'...and your own wand plays a big party in it too...like wand flexibility. And that's the 'w'."

This is why he liked Transfiguration, there were some rules that had to be followed and there were equations to input towards a predictable conclusion. Individual skill aside, of course, which was the 'c' in the equation but at least he could run simulations in his head.

And then there was that other Slytherin boy talking about transmuting stuff, so Atlas was pointing again. "Transmutation and Transfiguration are separate branches of magic with separate magical laws, aren't they?"

It should be no surprise that Nem had so far opted not to answer. They had no interest in being here, nor in any of their other classes, and though this had been the case in the couple of months leading up to the holidays - longer, even, but usually concealed - there was a different edge to it now. Or maybe that wasn't the word, as neither really constituted as having an edge at all.

Didn't matter. Nem was here, wondering idly if the Headsman would retract the permission for them to take their Transfiguration NEWT early if they just stopped showing up again, and how much they'd care if he did. The second question was not a difficult one to come up with an answer for.

Until now, Nem had been looking at the maze while the discussion went on around them, their eyes following a path through until they'd done so twice in a row, at which point they let their gaze drift elsewhere. They'd moved on to the items in front of them, and had taken to nudging the ice cube so that it gently slid back and forth on the desk. Clearly it was charmed not to melt, given it was exactly the same shape it had been when Nem had sat down. They were just curious to see if it was protected from the ambient temperature alone, or if the friction of its movement along the desk would make a difference. So far, nothing.

They still had nothing they wanted to contribute. Nem couldn't admit to having much difficulty with one material more than another, though metal was one that was supposedly difficult to charm, had its own branch. It had taken some extra work, that was true, but Nem had soon managed it. Stood to reason that it might be a slightly more resistant material to magic in the area of Transfiguration as well. Of course, there was more than just the basics to consider - not all metals were made equal. A similar thing could be said for stones and leaves, and even ice cubes, Nem supposed. Depended what had been frozen. Not even just 'easy' or 'difficult' either, but other attributes could factor in.

There was something to look into. Nem had delved into it already, with their experiments in metallurgy, but the stone thing might be worth playing around with too, if they got around to it.

Ivy had indeed gone up to get some bread when they were allowed, but only one slice this time. It was nice having the bread in their classes, but it also meant that she didn't need to grab several slices at once since there would always be more later. So no need to worry about missing out on any! Or anything else either.

Anyway...what were they talking about? Oh right, materials for transfiguration.

"I agree that the size of the material probably counts, like Claudine mentioned," she said, raising her free hand. "But especially the size relative to what you wanna transfigure it into, maybe. A small animal and a goblet are pretty similar in size, but it might be more difficult to make a really tiny pebble turn into a big goblet."

SPOILER!!: Individual replies ^_^

Text Cut: Jenovick

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ginevra

Fiona thought for a good few moments about what her answer was going to be when it came to Professor Carton's second question. She then raised her hand and answered. "I think materials such as stone or brick would make it difficult because of the lack of flexibility in said materials. Maybe lighter materials such as I don't know.... a piece of cotton fabric might have the necessary flexibility needed."

Yeah, that answer didn't sound too bad in Fiona's mind.

Norman spotted Jenovick’s hand in the air first and called on her. He listened to her theory, nodding approvingly. “Sensible theory, Miss Jenovick,” he said. “Lighter materials generally are easier to transfigure and not only because of their flexibility. The weight of the material plays a part too.”

Text Cut: Donovan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Lia found it a little strange how Tadhg had literally walked right past her desk to get himself bread at the front of the room. Then past her again to sit at the desk behind her and not said one word to her. Not a hello, not a smile, a wave or anything. Nothing. Had she done something to upset him? He couldn't be that mad that he wasn't sitting beside her, could he? Unfortunately the lesson had already begun and there was no real time for her to ask him so she did the very next best thing that came to mind. She looked over her shoulder at him and gave him one of her brightest Lia smiles before turning back around to pay attention to professor Carton. Whatever the problem was, she would have to wait a bit longer to find out.

While more responses were being given from her peers, Lia took that time to take notes. Some more of her bread was eaten as well. A bit of it offered over her shoulder to Tad as she normally always shared half of her bread with him out of habit. Her hand went straight up into the air when the next question was asked. "I think the material being used does matter. A moving item could pose to be a lot harder to transfigure then one that is still because you have really focus and make sure you don't miss when casting the spell. Or maybe the larger something is that could make it harder to transfigure to? I'm not really sure.. how difficult is it to freeze the water of a lake so everyone can ice skate on it?" The last part was meant as a serious question. Her papa had done this many times and her big sister as well and they made it look so very easy.

Norman listened intently to Donovan’s theory, following along until the question about freezing water in a lake. “That would depend on how big the lake is, how deep, and how thick the caster wants the ice to be. The bigger the area to be covered, the more powerful the intent behind the spell needs to be,” he answered her question. “Though it should be noted that the spell to freeze a lake is a charm, not transfiguration. While it changes the water from a liquid state to a frozen one, it doesn’t turn it into a different object entirely, nor does it conjure ice.” He paused a moment to allow time for that information to sink in before continuing, “As to your theory, that’s very true. A moving target would require careful concentration and timing, which would make it more difficult.”

Text Cut: Mordrake

Quote:

Originally Posted by natethegreat

Kayne had to think really hard about the Professor's specific question to him. His mind immediately had raced to some mischievous scenarios, however, he knew it was best not to say those examples out loud. So, when he thought of an answer that would actually suffice, the Slytherin boy raised his hand saying with confidence "Well, let's say theoretically, you're in your house during a powerful storm; all of a sudden a window by you breaks due to...let's say the wind in this instance. You could use the glass to sand spell to ensure that you wouldn't get injured by the shards." Though, you'd then most likely end up with sand in your eyes, but Kayne didn't add that part to his answer.

Moving on to the other question posed, this answer came rather quickly. Still with his hand raised, just to make sure he didn't get called out for not doing so, Kayne mentioned "I believe that the material used in those kind of spells have a big part in the process to transmute it into something else." He took a moment before elaborating. "Things that could be considered ever-changing such as water, and other fluids would most likely be harder to work with, as you would then also have to be constantly shifting your focus to ensure the spell would work to it's fullest extent." The next part of what he had to say was a bit of a stretch, and most likely wrong, but that still didn't stop Kayne from also saying "I also think that, if you're including animals and people in this example, they could also be considered ever-changing due to the fact that: one, our bodies mostly consist of water, therefore, it could add that consistent movement pattern that would require more focus. And two: our bodies are more easily effected by the process of time, even though most of the time we can't actually physically see it. Like our hair and nails are constantly growing and changing while time moves forward." This answer was most certainly a stretch if he's ever seen one. But it was still at least something different than what his classmates were saying

Norman nodded approvingly at Mordrake’s answer. “Yes, that would be a good use for that type of spell,” he replied. He was also impressed with the boy’s answer to the second question. That was an answer he wouldn’t have expected! He wasn’t oblivious to the confusion of the words transmute and transfigure, but he saw no need to draw attention to it. He knew what the boy meant. “That certainly stands to reason, Mr. Mordrake,” he said. “If nothing else, ever-changing things would require more concentration to transfigure.”

Text Cut: Blaze

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Claudine was pleased with her answer and was not at all surprised that there were most students who agreed with the use of a variety of objects. Really, that answer made a lot of sense as opposed to the other one. The Snakette sat back pondering on the other questions while listening to responses. From observations, it seemed that quite a few of her classmates thought that moving objects would be more difficult to change. That was possible but there was another {and possibly more}.

She raised her hand and waited to be called upon. “Couldn’t bigger objects be more difficult? I mean, someone may be able to master changing a pebble into something else but let’s say… one of those dummies in the Dueling Arena... they could be a lot more difficult to manipulate into changing their forms.”

Blaze’s answer sounded a bit similar to Jenovick’s in the comparison of larger objects to smaller ones, but was no less sensible. “Good example, Miss Blaze,” Norman replied, stifling a smile at the thought of Malachi’s reaction to his dummies being transfigured. “Yes, bigger objects are more difficult to transfigure, mostly due to their weight.”

Text Cut: Blackthorne

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

"I would think," Violet began, "that the closer a material resembled the thing you want to transfigure it into, the easier it would be to change. And vice versa."

Blackthorne’s answer earned an approving nod. “Yes, there’s some truth to that theory, Miss Blackthorne,” Norman replied. “The closer an object is to its desired final form, the less concentration it takes to visualize it as such.”

Text Cut: Flamsteed

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

He sort of knew Dahlia's response even before she said it...because he knew the answer. Mostly he asked these things so that someone could enable him to just go ahead with it. Probably not the best to ask that of a Ravenclaw, all things considered. Apparently the tiny ice cube in juxtaposition to the size of his face and tongue were entirely too obvious to the professor...who saw precisely what the Gryffindor was trying to do. But still...the tip of his tongue HAD touched the ice cube and his results were still entirely nonconclusive. He also now wondered if the enchanted ice cube and it's water had a large index of refraction...

So many questions and no time to ask them or else he would end up looking like Kinsay James.

Mumbling a half apology, only because he had been caught, Atlas straightened his posture and shrugged his shoulders at Dahlia.

His anxiety SPIKED a bit when there was all this bread passing and tearing going on, and not just because his deskmate was getting crumbs everywhere. "Don't eat that!" he hissed, nearly knocking it right out of her hand while she tried to pass it to the Slytherin behind them. He didn't care about whatever their dynamic was or wasn't, the bread was more important!

The first question was distracting enough not to dwell on his own anyway, though he remained silent through it while his brain went into overdrive. There were benefits to both, he figured. But the more broad a spell could impact the transformation of object, the weaker he presumed it would be. Whereas if there was a spell that was specific to one object, then all that magical butter could be sucked up over one slice of bread. Magical physics and all that, even magic had its limitations. But in terms of practicality and personal preference, having a spell that worked the same on anything would be optimal.

Which apparently strolled right into the subject matter of the next question and his hand popped right back up. "Well...I would suppose it would depend on the intended result. If you wanted to transfigure something that was hard and solid as an end result. Shape too. It's like...a hedgehog is soft and squishy and already has a shape that resembles a pin cushion. But maybe if there was a stone that was trying to be transfigured into a pin cushion, the magic would first have to change the stone to something soft as well as morph the shape a bit. Or something long and narrow like a log into a single pin cushion. There is so much more material and density there that...it all has to go somewhere. Would think you would need to aim for objects of similar mass to have the most effective transfigurations...otherwise there is a surplus or deficit depending on the original object. It's all right there in the Transformation Formula even! Transformation is directly influenced by the mass of an object, which is the 'a'...and your own wand plays a big party in it too...like wand flexibility. And that's the 'w'."

This is why he liked Transfiguration, there were some rules that had to be followed and there were equations to input towards a predictable conclusion. Individual skill aside, of course, which was the 'c' in the equation but at least he could run simulations in his head.

And then there was that other Slytherin boy talking about transmuting stuff, so Atlas was pointing again. "Transmutation and Transfiguration are separate branches of magic with separate magical laws, aren't they?"

Noting Flamsteed’s silence at the last question, Norman half-expected the boy to keep quiet this time as well. He was pleasantly surprised when that didn’t happen. He listened intently to the boy’s explanation, nodding in places. “Very good example, Mr. Flamsteed!” he said. “In that case, the stone’s texture and shape would have farther to change than those of a hedgehog would to become a pincushion. A general rule of thumb is the more different an object’s original form is from its end result, the more concentration - the ‘c’ in the Transfiguration Formula - it takes to transform it.”

He blinked, slightly taken aback by Flamsteed’s pointing and comment. So much for not drawing unnecessary attention to Mordrake! “Yes, they are. Transmutation is the conversion of one element into another, used in Alchemy.”

Text Cut: Upstead

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

It should be no surprise that Nem had so far opted not to answer. They had no interest in being here, nor in any of their other classes, and though this had been the case in the couple of months leading up to the holidays - longer, even, but usually concealed - there was a different edge to it now. Or maybe that wasn't the word, as neither really constituted as having an edge at all.

Didn't matter. Nem was here, wondering idly if the Headsman would retract the permission for them to take their Transfiguration NEWT early if they just stopped showing up again, and how much they'd care if he did. The second question was not a difficult one to come up with an answer for.

Until now, Nem had been looking at the maze while the discussion went on around them, their eyes following a path through until they'd done so twice in a row, at which point they let their gaze drift elsewhere. They'd moved on to the items in front of them, and had taken to nudging the ice cube so that it gently slid back and forth on the desk. Clearly it was charmed not to melt, given it was exactly the same shape it had been when Nem had sat down. They were just curious to see if it was protected from the ambient temperature alone, or if the friction of its movement along the desk would make a difference. So far, nothing.

They still had nothing they wanted to contribute. Nem couldn't admit to having much difficulty with one material more than another, though metal was one that was supposedly difficult to charm, had its own branch. It had taken some extra work, that was true, but Nem had soon managed it. Stood to reason that it might be a slightly more resistant material to magic in the area of Transfiguration as well. Of course, there was more than just the basics to consider - not all metals were made equal. A similar thing could be said for stones and leaves, and even ice cubes, Nem supposed. Depended what had been frozen. Not even just 'easy' or 'difficult' either, but other attributes could factor in.

There was something to look into. Nem had delved into it already, with their experiments in metallurgy, but the stone thing might be worth playing around with too, if they got around to it.

Norman was not the slightest bit surprised by Upstead’s lack of answers, nor did he mind the silence. He spared the Slytherin a cursory glance, his face devoid of emotion, as his eyes swept the room in search of more hands in the air, though he saw no need for a verbal acknowledgement at the moment.

Seeing no more hands in the air, Norman addressed the class once more, “You’ve all come up with some interesting theories on how the material used might impact the transfiguration process. Some of these factors, as Mr. Flamsteed touched on, are explicitly stated in the Transfiguration Formula. Among them are weight, viciousness, concentration, and although this one doesn’t pertain to the target of the spell, wand power.” He flicked his wand at the chalkboard, and the following information appeared:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chalkboard

Transfiguration Formula
The result of a transformation is affected by:

Weight (a) - the heavier the object, the harder to transfigure
Viciousness (v) - the more vicious, the more difficult (comes into play with animal and human transformations; inanimate objects will have 0 viciousness)
Concentration (c) - Bigger objects will require more concentration than smaller ones; similar objects to the end result will require less than drastically different objects
Wand power (w)
Unknown variable (z)

After pausing for a few moments to give the students time to copy the information down, he continued, “Today we’ll be examining the effects of different materials on transformation with a little experiment. In a few minutes, you’ll practice a transforming spell on each of the three objects on your desk and compare the results. Before we get into the casting, I’d like you to predict which of the three items will be hardest to transfigure and which one will be easiest. Take some time to look at the objects, and consider the information on the board. When you have your prediction, write it down. You may start now.”

OOC: Thanks for sticking with me so far! We’ve reached the mini activity, For this part, all your student needs to do is make and write down a prediction of which item (stone, leaf, or ice) will be hardest to transform vs which one will be easiest. The prediction can be as simple or detailed as you like. We’ll move on to the next part one the activity in ABOUT 18 HOURS.

Remy had been quiet for the duration of the lesson so far. Not that she was uninterested, it was just tiredness. She didn’t know why she was feeling it so much lately. Too much homework, probably.

Judging by the factors written on the board, Remy could only assume that the stone would be the most difficult to transform, due to its weight. Choosing which was easiest was the more difficult task. A leaf or an ice cube could both be pretty easy to change, Remy decided that technically in it’s ice form, that would be more heavy than a leaf, so that was the logic she went with.



Her answers felt really obvious so she wasn’t too confident with them. Maybe she was missing something.

Upon seeing a finger being pointed at him, Kayne couldn't help but chuckle a lit bit. The Slytherin boy lazily shrugged when the notion came up that transmutation and transfiguration were two separate things. Surely, the Professor still most likely understood what he had meant. Hopefully. Otherwise, Kayne really seemed dumb then. In which case he just had to step it up a bit to make sure that others weren't outshining him. Even though he knew that transfiguration was by far nowhere near his strong suit, Kayne still highly disliked being the worst at anything; including the things he didn't even really like.

When the Professor had announced the next activity for class, Kayne immediately got set to work, closely examining the three objects laid out before him.

First there was the leaf. In his mind, this would most likely be the easiest thing to transform. However, a question was raised inside the boy's head. Kayne couldn't help but wonder if this was some form of trick question. Was the leaf meant to throw the students off from the other two? Going down the list of information on the board, he cross examined the leaf with each variable. The weight was obviously lighter than both the ice cube and the stone. Viciousness had currently applied to none of the three as they were all inanimate in their current states. Concentration was the variable that tripped him up the most. Because concentration really also varied from person to person. Some people had it easier than others when it came to focusing on things, but, taking into account the rest of what was written down, the leaf would most likely be considered to be the smallest on the table. It had less mass than the other two, which Kayne also took into close consideration when coming up with his answer.

Then he moved onto the ice. Moving through that same process, the young rascal could tell that this was most likely going to either: A- the object that would be considered in the middle when it came to difficulty if the leaf was actually the easiest one to transfigure. Or B- that could actually be the easiest one to work with. One thing was certain about the ice cube, Kayne knew that there was a higher chance of the ice cube being easier to utilize than the stone. He was almost certain on this fact.

Lastly, he moved onto the stone. This object was by far, the heaviest of the three. So, using a form of point system for each variable, the stone would have the most points for weight. It all came down to concentration. After pondering over the information he thought about for the previous two, Kayne decided that the stone would most likely require the most concentration, so he was able to come to the conclusion, that the stone was definitely the hardest object to be subject to change.

Pulling out his quill and parchment, Kayne proceeded to write down his best guess at the answer to the question being posed.

SPOILER!!: Notes

Leaf:
a- 1 pt
v- N/A
c- 1 pt
w and z- unknown

Ice Cube:
a- 2 pts
v- N/A
c- 2 pts
w and z- unknown

Stone:
a- 3 pts
v- N/A
c- 3 pts
w and z- unknown

Final conclusion:
The leaf is the easiest to be subject to change, whereas the stone is the hardest.

Not for the first time Claudine wondered why that little Flamsteed Know It All hadn’t been sorted into Ravenclaw. She didn’t spare a thought about the boy any further though. The sixth year was now too busy making her meticulous notes. Why did it seem as though this was going to be a difficult lesson? Maybe it’s just the formula complicating things, she thought as she turned her attention to the three objects on her desk.

Quote:

Stone: Difficult of the lot as it’s heaviest and the biggest.
Leaf: Easiest because it's rather light and has a viscosity of 0. It’s also rather small.
Ice cube: Second easiest: since it is slightly heavier than the leaf.

The wand power would be dependent on the caster and the unknown variable would be dependent on the… environment? Something else? Hmmm...

The answer from the Flamsteed kid had left Fiona momentarily stunned. She had to refocus on the lesson with a quick little shake of her head. After listening to Professor Carton discuss the formula of Transfiguration, the Snakette began to write down her prediction.



After writing her prediction, Fiona began to reread what she had just written.

"Hey!" Lia frowned a bit at Atlas and the now crumbled strawberry bread that was in her hand. "What was that for?" Did he not know this was her favorite kind he had just mashed up on her and nearly knocked right out of her hand? The bread was yummy and warm and it made her happy when she ate some. What was so wrong with being happy? Seriously she was going to have to have a talk with him after class or something and find out what his problem was.

Anyhow, trying to keep the mess of crumbs only on her own desk, Lia returned to taking notes once again. Lots of notes. And that's right.. Transfiguration NOT Charms class. She really appreciated that Carton answered her question anyhow and gave him a very thankful smile for that, nodding her head in understanding.

Norman roamed the room, his blue-green eyes scanning the rows of desks as he went. He liked what he saw so far: quiet, working students. From what he saw of their theories so far, their reasoning was sound, but he refrained from offering critique so as not to give anything away. The experiment would be more fun if they made their own observations! Speaking of the experiment… He glanced at his watch, noting it was time to move on, and returned to the front of the room. “If you still need more time to make your prediction, you can come back to it in a minute. For now, eyes here.”

He paused to allow time for the students to find a stopping place and turn their full attention to him before continuing, “The spell we’re going to use on these items is Draconifors. This spell turns its target into a small dragon and can be used on a variety of materials. Because the dragons are small, their potential for violence and fire-breathing is limited.” He had to throw that last bit in for anyone who might be afraid of the dragons or on the flipside, those who might get ideas to use them to start fires.

He placed a stone, leaf, and ice cube on his desk, then aimed his wand at one of them at random (in this case, the ice cube). “To cast, make a slashing motion with your wand and say the incantation Drah-KON-i-fors. If you’ve done it correctly, the spell will emit a fiery orange light.” He made the slashing wand movement at the ice and said clearly and firmly, “Draconifors.”

A fiery orange light burst from the tip of Norman’s wand, and a tiny white dragon appeared where the ice cube once was. It flew in a circle around the room then perched on the professor’s desk, lazily curling up into a ball. He demonstrated the spell twice more on the leaf and stone, and soon two more dragons - a green one and a gray one - were napping on his desk. With a wave of his wand, the spell information appeared on the board behind him:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chalkboard

Draconifors
(pronunciation: drah-KON-i-fors)

Use: turns target into a small dragon
Wand movement: slashing motion at target
Light: fiery orange

“Practice this spell on each of the three items on your desk. There are extra items available up front in case of mistakes, but please be careful. As you practice, make notes of which transformations go easiest for you, which are most difficult, and anything unusual you notice in the transformation process. Then compare your observations to the prediction you made. Do your results match up?” He waited a moment or two to give the students time to process the instructions before turning them loose to work. “You have twenty minutes, starting now!”

OOC: For the second part of the mini activity, your student needs to do the following: 1) Practice Draconifors on the stone, leaf, and ice cube on their desk 2) Observe and take notes on the transformations and 3) Compare their notes to the prediction they made in part 1. Spells and predictions do not have to be correct to receive credit, so feel free to have your student struggle, make mistakes, etc. As always, catching up is allowed. We’ll move on to the main activity in about 48 HOURS .

Attention being drawn back to the board, Kayne listened and watched carefully as the Professor did his demonstration for the spell that they'd be learning today. It was one that he had wanted to learn for a while too, so the boy was ecstatic knowing that he'd be able to finally transfigure something into a dragon. A small dragon, but it was still a dragon! Eying up the white one as it flew around the room before landing back on the desk at the front, Kayne cracked a grin.

Now, it was his turn to play. Pulling out his wand, Kayne wanted to try it right away. Going over the syllables quickly in his head, he made a slashing motion at the stone with his wand, while confidently saying "Draconifers!" Nothing happened. Not even a little puff of light came out of the wand. Growling a bit at the mistake, Kayne pondered over the object. Was it his concentration maybe? Focusing a bit more on the stone this time, the Mordrake boy repeated "Draconifers!"...still...nothing...he couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit. He was most likely making an absolute fool of himself.

Keeping his cool though, Kayne just relaxed his mind. Maybe, if he tried one of the objects that he predicted to be easier to transfigure, it would actually work? So, his focus then shifted to the one he thought would be the easiest to work with: the leaf. Taking a few seconds to steady his breathing, Kayne closed his starry, hazel eyes. Then, with the same slashing motion at the leaf this time, he said once more with confidence "Draconifers!" A flash of orange light emerged from his wand. Lo and behold, once Kayne's eyes fluttered back open, there was a small green dragon sitting there on his desk! "Yes!" He exclaimed, finally happy that the results were finally there. Third time's really are a charm apparently.

With the thought of the spell actually working on the leaf, Kayne came to the decision that he would try the ice cube next, hoping for the same results. He went through with the same process as before instead of rushing into it this time. First, steadying his breath. Then closing his eyes and putting his focus into transforming the ice. With another slashing motion, he opened them suddenly and stated with conviction in his voice "Draconifers!" And boom, just like magic (because it was magic), he marveled as the ice cube altered itself into a white dragon. This dragon then swiftly flew towards Kayne, and perched itself up on his shoulder. Letting out it's best little dragon roar, he laughed in amusement. "Awwww, aren't you the cutest thing." He said to it. To his surprise, it had made another little screech back to him and started nestling it's head against Kayne's cheek. This literally sent Kayne into cuteness overload. Cheeks turning now bright red, the boy couldn't handle the adorableness of the petite creature.

Eyes darting back and forth from the two dragons, Kayne said to them "It's time to give y'all your other sibling." Hopefully, that was at least. He didn't speak that hopefully part because Kayne wanted to seem confident with what he was doing after the first two times failed miserably. Turning back towards the stone, this was the moment he was waiting for. Taking a deep breath in, and slowly releasing it, Kayne put all of his concentration into this attempt. Wand in hand, a slashing motion was made. "Draconifers!!" The orange light trailed as the wand went from one side to the other, and the stone transformed. Watching as it seemingly became sculpted like a statue, until it reached it's end result of the last dragon. Kayne let out a sigh of relief, as he had finally done it.

For the most part, his predictions had seemed correct. At least for himself, that was. So, carefully putting the other dragon back down on his desk, Kayne wrote in his notes.

SPOILER!!: Notes

Leaf:
a- 1 pt
v- N/A
c- 1 pt
w and z- unknown

Ice Cube:
a- 2 pts
v- N/A
c- 2 pts
w and z- unknown

Stone:
a- 3 pts
v- N/A
c- 3 pts
w and z- unknown

Final conclusion:
The leaf is the easiest to be subject to change, whereas the stone is the hardest.

Testing the theory:

First two attempts on the stone failed, possibly meaning that it was indeed the hardest to concentrate on. Then the attempts that followed were all successes, with that little nuance on the last one with the light actually trailing with the motion of the wand. The weight of the objects certainly played a part in the amount of concentration required.

Eyes where? Claudine glanced up from her parchment where she’d been studying her answers. Carton’s words made her face light up and got her excited. Dragons! Small ones… but still. The best part? There would be no, or barely, any issues since they were going to be little itty bitty smol dragons. She watched with interest as Carton transformed his ice cube into a cute bby. Claudine was in love, and couldn’t wait to get started on her own practice.

“Drah-KON-i-fors. Drah-KON-i-fors.Drah-KON-i-fors,” Claudine muttered as she put her writing materials to the side of her desk. She decided to go with the leaf and set it infront of her. The ice cube and stone were placed besides her books and quill. Slashing movement, right? Did it matter if the slashing started from the left or the right? Carton hadn’t said nor mentioned it in his notes. A few slashes of practice and she was ready to actually ready to get things going.

“Draconifors.” Cue the wand movement. Claudine was picturing a Swedish Short-Snout in her mind as she did so.

Fiona watched with contained excitement as Professor Carton demonstrated the Draconifors Spell to the class. The teenager felt confident enough to just go for the spell without practicing beforehand. She decided to perform the spell first on the lightest object and then finishing with what she deemed the heaviest object.

Aiming her wand at the leaf, Fiona made the slashing movement and firmly said, "Draconifors!" An orange fiery light emitted from the Snakette's wand and very soon a tiny version of a Hebridean Black had replaced the leaf that had been on Fiona's desk. The dragon looked at Fiona with its brilliant purple eyes before giving its wings a little stretch.

Fiona now was ready to attempt the spell on the ice cube. Once again, she moved her wand in a slashing formation at the ice cube as she said in a clear voice, "Draconifors!" The orange light signifying a correctly done spell emitted from her wand but it took a couple of milliseconds longer for the ice cube to transfigure into a dragon. Since the newest "addition" had two golden horns and was dark green in colour, Fiona knew that it was a Romanian Longhorn. The two dragons seemed to be looking at each other warily and Fiona was grateful that they were not the size of "real" dragons.

It was now time for the stone to be turned into a dragon. Fiona made the slashing motion with her wand towards the stone but just as she was going to say the incantation, the Hebridean Black gave a little hiccup, and two tiny trails of smoke emitted from its nostrils. Stifling a small laugh, Fiona once again made the slashing motion and cast, "Draconifors!" A Common Welsh Green had now replaced the stone. The tiny dragon seemed quite shy and distanced itself from the other two dragons by lying closer to Fiona.

Fiona carefully grabbed her notes and began to write down her observations.

Huh?

Notes? What notes?

Crumbled smushed up strawberry bread that she had wanted to eat but now wasn't going to. Yeah, that was forgotten about to.

It was all forgotten about. Everything. Even Atlas' whispered hissed warnings of 'not eating the bread'. Large bright blue eyes stared in awe at the itty-bitty wittle dragon that flew about the room. Dahlia squealed the moment she seen it unable to pull her gaze away from it, though she heard every single word Professor Carton had said. Almost becoming dragon food last term didn't stop her love for the creatures one bit.

"Professor," Lia raised her hand. She already had a few questions that she needed to ask before getting started. "Can we transfigure any type of dragon we want? How long will the dragon last if we don't change them back? And am I control the dragon.. or does it.. move about on its own?" It appeared as if the dragons were flying around on their own?

Would you know it… on her very first attempt that leaf turned into a dragon, exactly as she had pictured in her head. Claudine sat there blinking in amazement, the dragon blinking back at her. Once past the surprise, the sixth year grinned at the little fellow. “Hi. Aren’t you the cutest?” Swedish Short Snout sneezed and a bit of black smoke was expelled from its nostrils. “Bless you.” The dragon blinked as if to say ‘thank you’ with its eyes then sauntered over to her books to lie next to them. That was fine with her.

Onto the ice cube then. Claudine opted to stick with transfiguring Swedish Short Snouts as she figured if she did a variety of species, they might not get along and end up wrestling each other on her desk… or something of the sort. “Draconifors.” The slashing movement brought about no orange light, much less a bby dragon. “Draconifors.” Nothing. Mustering all her focus, the Snakette gave it another try. “Draconifors.” There we go!

Two bbies down.

So...much...information.

Serena's eyeballs were swimming in her head as she tried to absorb everything. This is why she didn't appreciate Transfiguration as much as other subjects. There was a lot of information and formulas. The only formulas she rolled with was potion related ones. At least transfiguration wasn't as bad as Astronomy or Divination.

Taking notes from the first few questions, Serena flipped the page on her notebook to write down her predictions.



Setting her quill down, she picked up her wand from the table and practiced the wand movement. First cautious, then with more gusto. "Draconifors," she sounded out without any wand movement. Being from a well polished pureblood family, Serena has studied plenty of spells. Magic is engrained in her in all aspects. Due to her age and lack of wand, she hasn't cast majority of the, yet. Thus, school has been steady. If only making friends was the same.

Meh. It's not like she cared all that much about making friends. Meh...meeeeeeh.

"Draconifors!" There it was.

His answer to her answer intrigued her. Transfiguration was just so… thought provoking!! She loved it. She had never expected an item that was in abundance to like that…. It made SENSE now or so she willed herself to get there.

She remained quiet for the second question and opted to scribble some notes down. When Professor Carton started speaking about the formula, Lisa became intrigued. Say what now? She was ALL EARS. It made ACTUAL sense that the concentration (cause Noah Jedi Master had taught her that), weight, and viscous ness all played a factor. Wand power was intriguing too.

Anyway she picked up her quill, dipped it in ink, and then began predicting the outcome. She quickly decided the order from easiest to hardest would be: leaf, ice, and then stone. “Professor, does the temperature of an object impact the transfiguration formula? What if the ice began to melt? Would the viscosity of the liquid have an impact on the ability to transfigure?”



SHE GASPED IN PURE DELIGHT WHEN HE MENTIONED JUST WHAT THEY WERE TRANSFORMING THEIR OBJECTS INTO. NO WAY!!! COOLEST ACTIVITY EVER. She was going to make three different toothless’ and it was going to be perfect. As soon as he mentioned that they could start practicing, she started with the wand movement. Make a slashing motion with your wand LIKE A LIGHTSABER! (Merlin knows that she has been practicing this motion for her entire LIIIIFE! All those days of play fighting with plastic lightsabers and swords had FINALLY come in handy!! ) Then they just had to say the incantation. Got it.

She didn’t spend much time on the wand movement. Lisa proudly considered herself a professional (whether or not she was … was a different story but she was decent - no need to inflate said ego). She shifted her focus to the incantation. “Dray-KON-IH-fours.” That didn’t sound right at all. “Dr-AH KON i FOR S. DRAHKONIFORS! DRAHH KON I FORs!”

Apollo had been distracted lately.... distracted especially by the three objects that were sitting on his desk that he REALLY wanted to touch and if ten year old Apollo would have walked into this classroom, he undoubtedly would have touched all of them without hesitation. But he was older now - almost a TEENAGER, BELEAF IT OR NOT! - and with that also came experience. Experience from a year where he'd witnessed peers and innocent victims being cursed for innocently exploring and adventuring. A year that had definitely toned down his hyperactivity to the point where he had to talk himself into speaking aloud.

He listened as Professor Carton spoke, trying to absorb the information. It was obvious and did it really require an answer that a transformation working on VARIETY would be more useful?? That was the consensus of his opinion matched with his classmates as well. What materials would be easier or more difficult to work with? The harder objects would probably be the more dense objects. Maybe even moving objects. Could moving objects be transformed? Wasn't there some law about objects in motion?

Oh they needed to decide which of the objects would be easiest to transform. Were they allowed to pick the objects up now? Also, could they learn more about why this ice cube wasn't melting? Because Apollo was ninety percent certain that would be a super useful spell in the summertime when he had ice cream melting all over his hands.

Right, predictions. Ice already changed forms quite easily.... from liquid to solid and didn't the water even change to a gas? So if it could change forms WITHOUT magic, wouldn't that make it one of the easiest to transform?

He dipped his quill in his ink and began to write...

SPOILER!!: Apollo's predictions

Ice < Leaf < Stone

Ice would be easiest because as the only object here that can change forms without magic, based on the temperature, I would imagine that when you add magic it would be quite easily manipulated.

Leaf is lighter than stone and less dense, which is why that would be second easiest to transform

Oh, moving on... they were transfiguring these objects into DRAGONS?!??! Also, Dahlia had some valid questions. He glanced over to her, impressed by those questions and back to Professor Carton, his gaze passing over Serena and gave her a consolation smile at her efforts, which seemed to be ineffective thus far.

Draconifors, he wrote down on his parchment, muttering it under his breath. Bit of a tongue twister.

Violet had been lost in thought, brooding about the increasing strangeness in the castle, but caught herself after a short while and began jotting down notes about the objects.

Stone--hardest to transfigure, due to its weight and density
Leaf--in between; it's light, but also a living thing and more complex
Ice--easiest--though heavier and denser than a leaf, if it gets above freezing, it practically transfigures itself

Maybe bby dragon number two saw that bby number one was fast asleep and that influenced the former’s decision to follow suit. Whatever the reason, Claudine was left in peace to practice on the stone. Like she had reasoned, she was having trouble with this object, a lot more than she’d had with the previous two. But was it just all in her head? Was this simply mind over matter? Was it because she expected to have trouble with the stone that in turn led her to have trouble in actuality? Hmmm…

“Draconifors.” This was her fifth attempt, by the way. So far, the stone had not changed not even in the slightest bit. Here went attempt number six. Claudine took a deep breath, pictured the Swedish Short Snout… “Draconifors.” Hey! Something was happening. The stone was reshaping, recoloring and all the other things until there was another dragon before her. Finally.

Claudine was thrilled with herself, and thrilled with the little bbies on her desk. She patted the head of the third dragon then went to finish off her notes.

Quote:

Stone: Difficult of the lot as it’s heaviest and the biggest.
Leaf: Easiest because it's rather light and has a viscosity of 0. It’s also rather small.
Ice cube: Second easiest: since it is slightly heavier than the leaf.

Notes: Each transformation started differently. Meaning, sometimes a claw was the first noticeable appearance, or a snout. As predicted, the easiest transformation came from the leaf and the toughest from the stone.

Norman roamed the room as the students worked, monitoring their progress. As his blue-green eyes swept the room, he saw Mordrake’s successful transformations and nodded approvingly. A small smile played at his lips as he overheard him talking to the dragons. “Excellent transformations, Mr. Mordrake,” he said. Elsewhere, he saw Jenovick having similar successes, and her efforts earned a beam from the professor. “You too, Miss Jenovick. Great work!”

He paused to observe Blaze’s work for a minute, ready to offer advice if she needed it, but she was doing well on her own. There were already three Swedish Short Snouts on her desk. Between her work and the sweet way she spoke to the dragons, her efforts got a smile from him. “Very good, Miss Blaze!” he said.

As he continued his rounds around the room, Norman noticed Adara-Stark and Blackthorne still writing. He gave them each an encouraging nod but said nothing so as not to break their concentration. He overheard Balthazar-Dos Santos and Nam practicing the incantation and gave both girls an approving nod. “Nice pronunciation, Miss Balthazar-Dos Santos. You too, Miss Nam.” As to Nam’s question, he replied, “No, the temperature doesn’t impact the transfiguration formula. This ice has been charmed not to melt, but if that were to happen, generally speaking, the thicker the liquid, the more difficult it is to transfigure.”

Elsewhere he saw Donovan’s hand in the air. Wow, that was a lot of questions! Not that he minded, of course. Curiosity was a good thing. “Yes, although the dragons will always be small, what they look like beyond that is up to the caster,” he said, “They’ll last until either someone changes them back or they encounter something that would realistically kill a small dragon, like starvation or a well-aimed spell. As for movement, they’ll move on their own unless specifically directed by the caster to do something.” Did that answer her questions?


As he made his way back to the front, Norman checked his watch and saw it was time to move on. “Eyes here, please!” He addressed the class, allowing a few moments for them to find a stopping place and turn their attention to him. “Now that we’ve compared the ways different materials impact the transformation process, we’re going to conduct another experiment to compare the way objects transformed from different materials behave. In a few moments, you’ll have each of your dragons run the maze, but first, you’ll need to predict which dragon will finish the maze the fastest. Go ahead, do that now, and write it down.”

After allowing some time for the students to write, he continued, “Once you have your prediction, come up front and get a stopwatch to time your dragons.” He placed a box on top of his desk and pulled out one of the stopwatches, holding it up for the class to see. “These are pretty straightforward. Push the left button to start and the right one to stop.” He demonstrated by timing ten seconds on the stopwatch. “When it’s your turn, place your first dragon at the start of the maze here-” He gestured to an opening in the maze at the front of the room. “Time them with the stopwatches, and observe them along the way. There will be obstacles along the way, so pay attention to how the dragons react to them. When the dragon finishes, write down their time, as well as anything you noticed about their behavior in the maze. Repeat the process for your other two dragons; then compare your results with your original prediction. Don’t worry if you weren’t able to transfigure all three dragons. In that case, partner with someone else. The important thing is that you have one dragon from each type of material between you. YOu have the rest of class to do this activity, starting now!”

OOC: Main activity time! For this activity, your student needs to do the following:

1. Predict which dragon will finish the maze fastest and write it down.
2. Collect a stopwatch.
3. Place their dragon at the start of the maze (You do not have to wait to do this. Just play as if it’s your student’s turn.)
4. Time the dragon using the stopwatch, and observe their behavior in the maze.
5. Write down those observations, as well as the dragon’s time.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 for the other two types of dragons.
7. Compare their findings to the original prediction.

Group/partner work is allowed, as is rping for the dragons. Please be aware that there are obstacles in the maze, and I’ll be posting periodically to throw some curveballs at your dragons. Catchup is still allowed. Feel free to PM/VM me if you have any questions. You’ll have until 11:59 PM EDT June 25 for this activity.

Dahlia was all kinds of patient. Usual. Sometimes. Okay, not really. She tried to be. It was hard when you had lots of energy. She did her best to take down notes. Very incredibly detailed notes when Carton answered her questions. Did the professor know he was a saint? Seriously?! Bright blue eyes shone with delight as she heard all that he had to say but.. wait. What?! Her little itty-bitty tiny wittle dragon could die?! It could starve? So theoretically speaking what he was telling her was that she could keep her dragon if she managed to create one? "Professor, if.. it could starve that means if needs to eat? And it could get sick and injured too just like an actual dragon. So really it IS a real dragon just very tiny?" That is what he was telling her, correct? Cause that's what her young adolescent ears were hearing.

Happy with all the answers she had gotten and her predictions on difficulty she was ready. "drah-KON-i-fors.. drah-KON-i-fors..drah-KON-i-fors" Over and over and over again until it flowed from her lips like a hummed tune. The wand movement was easy, a slashing motion at the target. That she could do without even thinking about it. Now came the hard part. Actually getting herself a dragon.

Think it. See it. Feel it. First she needed to visualize what she wanted. Closing her eyes she pictured it in her head perfectly and then opened her eyes again. She could do this. Pulling her wand from its holster she aimed it at the leaf on her desk and gave a slash like motion. "drah-KON-i-fors!"

Nothing. Not a shudder from the lead not a talon. Nothing. "Drah-KON-i-fors!" Lia tried again, giving another slash of her wand as she pictured the dragon in her head. She poured all her focus into seeing it before her, giving the leaf life. And there it. Well sort of. The leaf shook and quivered, it wanted to change. She could see it. Come on, come on!

"Drah-KON-i-fors!" Third time was a charm! Scarlet. The color was undeniable. Her heart began to race as what was once a small leaf was now a tiny dragon. Correction. A tiny Chinese Fireball. The exact dragon she had come talons to shoulders with only a year ago. Well.. not the EXACT one but the species. Yellow eyes stared into her blue ones as if it knew what she was thinking when even SHE didn't know what she was thinking. It watched her curiously before walking around her desk, climbing up onto the pencil box and laying down on top of it like it was guarding it.

Well alright then. One down. Two to go.

"Dra-KON-i-fors, Dra-KON-i-fors..." Violet had practiced the incantation and wand movements a number of times until she felt she had them right, and then began first on the ice cube. That was the one she thought would be easiest, and, she noticed, it was the one the teacher had started with.

Drakonifors! Violet said, moving her wand toward the ice cube. For a moment it seemed like it was going to just sit there melting, but then what seemed to be melting turned into a metamorphasis into a small blue-white dragon with droopy wings. It regarded her coldly as she stared at it. "I love magic!" Violet whispered, as she looked at it.

Next she pulled over the leaf, moving it carefully so as not to tear it. "Draconifors!" she cast again, with more confidence this time. The leaf seemed to fold in on itself in a spiral and emerged as a slender, beautiful green dragon the size of a dragonfly. Observing it was being watched, the dragon preened and began folding and unfolding its wings, as if it were asking to be admired. The white dragon observed it with what seemed to be disdain.

"Okay, one more," Violet muttered, moving the rock directly in front of her. "Draconifors!" Nothing happened. "Draconifors! Draconifors! The rock sat solidly in front of her, refusing to move. 'Stubborn as a rock'--that should be a new saying, she thought. "Dra-KON-ifors!!" [/i][/b] she cast again, louder and more firmly than before, and with just a touch of anger. Finally, finally! the rock seemed to begin to sort of melt into a puddle, moving as slow as a glacier, and then the puddle pulled itself together, with agonizing slowness, into a squat, grey, grumpy looking little dragon with short wings. It looked at her like she was the most detestable creature on earth. Violet might have felt offended, but the grey dragon gave an equally displeased look to each of the other dragons.

Hmm--now for the maze. Violet decided to start with her leaf-dragon, since that seemed the most cooperative, so she got a stopwatch and walked over to the maze and carefully laid the dragon in. "Now, this won't be too hard or dangerous of anything," she said to it. Just...just do your best." Violet started the watch and stepped back, expecting to see her dragon take off.

Which it did--at first. But the leaf-dragon kept getting distracted by admiring its own wings and mincing along like it was at a fashion show, so it really didn't make good time. Well, at least it was moving.

While the first two dragons were taking a nap, the third - she now noticed he had three spikes on his tail- was exploring her desk. Hearing Carton’s compliment, Claudine looked up and smiled back. “Thank you, professor.’’ Did he see how enthusiastic and happy she was? When conjuration was not involved, she was at her best in Transfiguration. While she waited for things to move on, the girl played with bby 3 by booping its snout continuously.

She gave him one last boop then shifted her attention to Carton. Oh. So that’s what the maze was for. Claudine was excited about the race. But which dragon of hers did she think would win the race? She sat there mulling over the question. There was no way of knowing which was fastest or slowest. The only thing she knew was that two were sleepy bbies… That’s it! The first two could possibly be more interested in sleeping than racing. Claudine eyed dragon three. He was very much full of energy as he was back to exploring the contents of her desk. Yes, she predicted that he would win. This was written down.

“If anyone wants to be my partner, speak now or forever hold your peace.” Claudine was in a good mood enough to actually be willing to work with someone. After grabbing a stopwatch then moved to the maze. Anyone could join her now or wait for her to take a turn with the remaining two dragons. The Snakette had opted to start with dragon three. “So, you start here… then make your way through the maze until you come to the end. There’ll be stuff blocking your path but you’re smart. You’ll figure it out.” He was smart and cute! Could she just snuggle him?

Claudine gazed arounch, checking for anyone who might want to be her partner. She was going to wait for one minute then get this show on the road, partner or not.