SPOILER!!: individual questions ^_^

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Moose

...Huh Wha?...

Taliesin was so transfixed by Bombadil the Betta Bard swimming around in his fishbowl that he had missed the whole first question and the start of the class. It wasn't until he heard the soft, but quick scratching of chalk on the chalkboard with the incantation pronunciations and wand movement needed being written that the young Badger's attention snapped back into class and not on his betta fish.

He quickly scribbled what was written into his own notes and removed his wand from his pants pocket. Then he had a though and put his wand down and raised his hand. "Piscifors...'Pisc' is for Pisces yes? Like the fish constellation?"

Norman roamed the room as the students practiced. As he did so, he noticed Dane’s hand in the air. He nodded in reply. “Yes, Mr. Dane. Both Piscifors and the constellation Pisces are derived from the Latin word Piscis, meaning ‘fish’.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

Elena had been delighted to find fish on the desks when she arrived to Transfiguration. They were so cute! She was already wondering if they could keep them as pets at the end of the lesson. That would be so fun; to have a little fish friend in her dorm. She had pets at home and missed having them at school. Though a fish wasn't as cuddly as a dog, so it would be a poor substitute but it would still be fun. Except she probably should have remembered that this was Transfiguration, not Care of Magical Creatures. So the fish themselves were not the main focus of the lesson.

She was a bit distracted by watching the fish swim around and forgot to answer the first question. If she had, though, she would have probably said something about how color was important for the Transfiguration process. Of course there were ways to change the color of something, but it was probably easier to transfigure something into another thing of the same color. With that same logic, size was probably important too.

The spell they were learning being one to transform objects into fish raised a few questions in Elena's mind. The first being, were the fish already in the bowls real or had they also been transfigured from small objects? If they had been transfigured, did that make them any less real? It was sort of a confusing conundrum. It probably wasn't the point of the lesson, but Elena's curiosity got the better of her so she raised her hand to ask a question. "Professor, can you really transfigure an inanimate object into a living thing?" Could you create consciousness from nothing? Even if they couldn't take the fish at the end of the lesson, did this mean that she could make one of her own from something else?

Elena turned her focus toward practicing the incantation and wand movement. "Piscifors. PISK-i-fors. Piscifors." She said it aloud a few times to get a good feel for it. The wand movement was just a point, which seemed easy enough. Elena took a few moments to point her wand at different pebbles at the bottom of her fish bowl. She felt fairly confident in her ability to cast the spell, at least in theory.

Elsewhere he saw Petrova’s hand up. The question got a slight smile. “Good question, Miss Petrova,” he replied. “Transfiguration doesn’t create life in the traditional sense, no. It’s more of a magical simulation of life. In this case, it alters the molecular structure of the object to mimic that of a fish. The transfigured fish will look similar to a real one, but it can’t think for itself. It just does what the caster wills it to do.” He paused for a moment to allow time for the information to sink in, ready to elaborate further if necessary.

SPOILER!!: double trouble xD

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Calliope withdrew her hand from the fishbowl with slow, deliberate ease, offering the professor a perfectly polite expression - although very much seething beneath the surface.

“Of course, Professor,� she replied sweetly, fully compliant to the professor's chastising. She didn’t look at Maddox, but she could feel him next to her, still sitting there with his stupid fish face because it was admittedly pretty amusing - and was giving her ideas and even more amusing visuals. Naturally, she took advantage of the fact that Professor Carlton hadn’t explicitly said anything about knee tapping - just no tapping of the fish tank or conversing. Therefore, she shifted just enough under the table to nudge Maddox’s knee with her own. Not a hard kick just a quick, pointed little bump, while she listened to the lecture continue.

And something was remarkably nagging at her. The whole tone of things felt as though Piscifors actually created a fish, but that wasn’t how Transfiguration worked - right? Transfigured animals weren’t truly alive...they just mimicked it. They behaved like real creatures, sure, but they weren’t thinking, weren’t feeling. The moment the spell was reversed or wore off, they’d be nothing but pebbles and parchment or whatever again. Did this man want them thinking they were real so they would treat their spellwork more delicately or was this spell a backdoor into something more than just transfiguration? She hated to admit it, but it had actually peaked her interest - even if she couldn't care less about the fish swimming around in front of her. Her fingers itched to ask, to pick at the idea until she got an answer, but… well. There were more entertaining questions to be asked first.

She raised her hand with impeccable patience, waiting until she had Professor Carlton’s attention.

“Professor,� she began, voice smooth and measured - just look how focused and sincere she was about her education! “Since Piscifors - PISK-i-fors - transfigures small objects into fish… does that mean it could work on people with small brains as well?�

A perfectly reasonable question. Entirely academic. Cue another knock to Maddox's knee.

Folding her hands neatly on the desk, she waited for the professor’s response, the picture of innocence - just look up THAT in the dictionary and you would see her picture there, Maddox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiallNIP

Maddox didn't say anything in apology—he let Calliope speak for the both of them in that moment. Though he knew she wasn't sincere in her apology. To be fair, he wouldn't have been, either, but he wouldn't be able to cover it up as well. So he was appreciative for that.

What he was not appreciative of was her knee bump. A little harder than the one she gave him earlier, no? He cocked an eyebrow and knocked her back with his knee. Okay, maybe that was a little funny. But was it for fun or was it for real?

Maddox wasn't sure what the practical application of this spell was supposed to be, so he wasn't very interested in the lecture. They can turn a pebble into a fish? How delightful. Why would he ever want to do that? He rested his head on his hand and shook his knee, thinking of all the better ways he could be using his time while he listened to the rest of the students ask their silly little questions. But he figured he should probably pull out his wand and at least attempt the spell. He pointed it at one of the pebbles in the fish bowl. "Piscif—" he started, but he was interrupted by Calliope asking her question and bumping him with her knee, again.

Ha-ha. He wouldn't let that one slide.

"Professor," he said, jumping on Calliope's question, "if someone asks a stupid question can we turn them into a fish?" He bumped Calliope back, harder than she bumped him. It hurt his knee a little bit, but it was satisfying. No one with a brain bigger than his would ask a question like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Calliope didn’t react at first. Not to the bump, not to the teasing, not even to the smug little satisfaction in Maddox’s voice. Though she did twirl her wand between her fingers with a certain dangerous flourish a couple times before glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. How long would she serve detention for just trying her theory out with a simple point of her wand in Maddox's direction? It wasn't like a simple Finite wouldn't just set him right immediately or anything, easy fix for a well worth experiment.

And then someone else butted into the conversation, causing her head to snap around in his direction and glare - briefly - before letting that mood settle into something far more productive. Showing this older student the same polite composure she had given the professor earlier, Calliope tilted her head just slightly, as if considering their words with the utmost sincerity.

“Oh, I toooootally agree,� she said smoothly, twisting the situation to her whim like a steady kick drum beneath a chaotic melody. “That wasn’t very nice at all.� She exhaled, a small, performative sigh, before turning to Maddox with a look of exaggerated sympathy. "Everyone knows there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Just poorly thought-out answers.�

She batted her eyelashes a few times, an irritable flutter she had seem mum do on occasion when proving some point or another to day, turned back toward the fishbowl, tapping her fingers lightly against the desk - not the glass, of course - with her free hand. Her other casually practicing the pointing wand movement with a lazy flick of her wrist. She could have a whole aquarium in her dorm - Maddox and his school of tarot cards.

Norman was not at all fooled by Barrongton’s innocent act. He’d been teaching long enough to know what was going on… look for any loophole in the professor’s instructions and cause trouble by doing anything that wasn’t explicitly stated. He also caught the barely veiled digs at each other in the two young Slytherins’ questions, though he didn’t let on that he was onto them, yet. For now, he addressed the questions from a purely academic standpoint.

“Technically yes, there is a variation of Piscifors for human transfiguration. It’s intended for use in incomplete transformation so the target retains enough mental ability to reverse the spell, and it requires thorough mastery of the basic Piscifors spell. We won’t be practicing it today-” Maybe sometime down the line when the class had more practice, but not now. “-and I highly suggest you don’t try it on your own. Transfiguring any student or staff without their consent is grounds for points loss and detention.” He gave the pair a warning look as he said the last sentence.

Norman was not one to micromanage his students; he preferred to let them figure things out on their own as much as possible. As such, he could overlook the desk tapping and even the knee knocking and sniping at each other to some extent… until it became a distraction to other students.

He glanced in Melo-Dreamer’s direction as the boy spoke up. “It’s alright, Mr. Melo-Dreamer. Focus on your own work.”

Turning his attention back to the pair of first years, he said sternly, “Miss Barrington, Mr. Robicheaux, this behavior is causing a disruption to others. I expect you to refrain from provoking each other - or anyone else - in the classroom, be it with your limbs, words, or otherwise. If you can’t do that, you two will be separated. Is that clear?” He chose his words very carefully to leave as little room for loopholes as possible.

With that matter settled (or so he hoped), Norman continued his rounds about the room, offering encouraging nods to Melo-Dreamer, Petrova, and both of the Atreyu-Rehman girls as he went. “Excellent practice, all of you!”

Reversing course, he returned to the room. A quick check of his watch told him it was time to move on. “Alright, class. Eyes up front,” he addressed the group, pausing to allow time for the students to refocus. “For our next activity, you’ll be using Piscifors to create a replica of the fish already in your bowl. Use the pebbles in the bottom of the fish bowl as your target. Take a minute to study your fish, visualize its features, and when you’re ready cast the spell.”

He demonstrated again, aiming his wand around the two swimming fish to the pebbles in the bottom of the bowl. “Piscifors!” In a flash of blue light, a third red and blue fish appeared in the bowl. “This spell won’t hurt the existing fish if you miss, but do try to aim carefully. You may practice multiple times if you like, though only once is required. These fish bowls can hold up to five fish comfortably. You have about thirty minutes, starting now!”

OOC: Thanks for sticking with us! We’ve reached the main activity. For this part, your student needs to try to create a copy of their fish by practicing Piscifors on the pebbles in the bottom of their fish bowl. They may produce multiple fish if desired, but only one is required for credit. If you need help, please indicate in the title of your post. You’ll have AT LEAST 72 HOURS for the main activity; part 2 will be posted in 36-48 HOURS.

“Thank you, professor,’’ Dy replied. She was feeling confident about this lesson and couldn’t wait to get started on actually transfiguring pebbles like Carton had done earlier, and was apparently demonstrating once more. The Hufflepuff was in awe of how easy he made the entire process seem; she and Ary knew how much more complicated Transfiguration was as they had often discussed the topic with each other.

Dynah focused on her fishy friend once more, taking in its colour and that majestic tail. At the same time, she couldn't help but think that yes, there were dumb questions. People saying that there weren’t were absolutely delulu; it was just something they said to not make others feel bad, or to validate themselves. But that wasn’t her problem; at least she always had good sense to do better. Imagine if she went around wasting the professors’ and Jude’s time by causing disruptions and asking ridiculous things. Dy wouldn’t have learned half as much as she knew today if that were the case.

Her gaze focused on the fins now and after a bit, felt she was ready to give the spell a shot. “Piscifors!” she thought, quite enthusiastically too. Her wand was carefully pointed at the Siamese Fighting Fish.

Elena was not entirely following Professor Carton's answer. Magical simulation, molecular structure... that was a lot for her to take in and process. But she got the gist of it. It wasn't a real living fish, but something that looked and acted like a fish. That was still cool. As far as animals went, she didn't think fish had the most independent thoughts. They mostly just swam around. So a pretend fish probably wasn't all that different than a real one. Transfiguring something like a dog or a cat, however, would probably be more dissimilar to its real life counterpart.

Elena spared a glance and a frown over at Calliope when she got told off for disrupting class. Then she tried to focus on the fish bowl in front of her. She felt pretty confident with her practice, and she was ready to try it out. She selected a pebble at the bottom of the bowl and pointed her want at it. "Piscifors." Aaaaand nothing. Well that was disappointing. Elena tried again. "Piscifors." Point. Point. Point. Still, nothing happened. She sighed, a bit defeated for a moment. Why wasn't it working?

Okay, Elena, focus. She stared at the fish in the bowl, focusing on its appearance and characteristics. Then she turned her attention to the pebble while keeping the image of the fish in her mind. "Piscifors." She pointed her wand at the pebble, focusing hard on the image of the fish. And then the pebble transformed into a small yellow goldfish with the largest eyes she had ever seen. Elena beamed at the fish proudly. "Hey there little guy."

Maddox gave Diego a sympathetic look at his shout. It's not that Calliope was being rude, she was just...messing with him. Did he sometimes wish she could joke without taking a dig at him? Maybe. But it was fun all the same. He hoped it wouldn't leave a bad taste in Diego's mouth. He did catch Calliope's glimpse and wand-twirling, knowing what she was thinking about. He rolled his eyes, not returning her gaze but clearly directing it at her. She just wanted to see him squirm and he wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

What he would respond to, though, was the next flimsy dig she made at him. And her batting her eyes oh-so innocently. He chuckled a little, about to respond when the professor started telling them off. He didn't say anything, just looked up at him with his wide eyes, like he did with most people he didn't want to talk to. Just put them on edge a little bit. A power move? Not intentionally, but he didn't mind if you called it that.

Once the spotlight was back off of them, he pulled out his wand and was practicing the movement to make it seem like he was on task, talking low so he wouldn't draw the attention again. "Don't talk to me about poorly thought out, Miss Falls-a-lot. If you'd thought about what you were doing more maybe you would've stayed in the air," he said smugly, looking down into his fishbowl to focus on a pebble. "Piscifors." One of the pebbles in the bowl did turn into a fish, but it was kind of...rocky. More like a fish statue that somehow gained sentience. He looked into the bowl at the new fish(?) he'd made. "And you'd need a big stinking tank for all those fish..." he mumbled to himself. 78 card fish plus a big Maddox fish? Yeah, right. No way she'd get one that big. And the professor just said that you couldn't turn a human into a full-on fish, if she was even listening. Maybe she should get her ears checked.

Calliope listened, hands folded neatly on the desk and even stilled her fingers for the sake of it, as the professor delivered his oh-so-carefully-worded warning. Her expression remained neutral, but in her mind, the accusations between the lines twisted into something else entirely. Ah, yes. Of course. Slytherins. Trouble. Instigators. What an utterly original concept right out of the 1990's. Merlin forbid one of them ask a question out of actual curiosity - no, that would be too generous an assumption. It must be some elaborate ploy to derail the lesson, some grand act of mischief. Never mind that she had learned something. That she had been engaged. That she was now turning over the implications of human transfiguration in her mind - because, really, what were the ethical limits of such magic? And why did this variation of Piscifors exist at all? It just so happened that her curiosity overlapped pleasantly with taking jabs at Maddox. Totally coincidental. Imagine that. She nodded, voice smooth, almost pleasant. “Of course, Professor.� Nothing sharp, nothing biting. Just enough to give the impression that the matter was settled. She had gotten actual information, knowledge, out of the situation and that was far more valuable than anyone’s approval.

Did not mean that she did not feel the urge to argue - because of course she did. She could have argued. Pointed out that her question had been perfectly valid. That she had listened to his answer. That the very fact she now knew more than she had five minutes ago should have been proof enough that she wasn’t just making trouble. Calliope turned her focus back to her wand, rolling it lightly between her fingers. No tapping, no sharp remarks, no reaction beyond what was required, and lazily continued practicing the wand movement with equally lazy mutterings of the incantation. She did catch a glimpse of one of her fellow first years out of the corner of her eye, however, and was not sure if that look was meant as a silent reprimand or a flicker of sympathy. Hard to tell. Calliope held Elena’s gaze for a beat longer, searching for an answer she didn’t particularly need. If it was meant to chastise her, well - how predictable. If it was pity, that was almost worse. Either way, she simply arched a brow before turning her attention back to her wand, wholly unbothered.

And were you listening, Maddox? The professor literally just said there was a variation of Piscifors for human transfiguration - duh. She did roll her eyes at his jab. Oh sure, because a magical snowstorm and flimsy school brooms played absolutely no part in any of that. “Mm, fascinating,� she mused. “Remind me, Maddox...how many tarot readings have you done in the middle of a snowstorm? Just thinking you might want to test that out before you start handing out advice on weather-related decision-making. Professor Adara apparently likes to make them for fun, so you can go as her for help with that.� Calliope flicked a piece of imaginary lint off her sleeve, letting a slow smirk creep onto her face - relishing in what she felt to be quite the mic drop.

"Oh, Maddox, what a relief," she drawled with a theatrical sigh, leaning over so they were shoulder to shoulder as the poked at the glass towards his attempt. "Only mimic life, so none of your spectacular flops are coming back to haunt you." Like the half-stone, half-disappointment variation he had just delivered. "I'll make sure your tank is extra roomy to accommodate for the big ego," she nodded sagely - not at all in possession of any black cauldrons here, mind you. "Or maybe just toss you and the whole school in the lake. You can come visit me by way of the underwater windows in the common room." It was an amusing thought - one that almost made her find fish endearing and not-so-bad.

Almost. No one get ahead of themselves here.

Turning her attention back to the tank, the brunette selected a particularly smooth looking pebble from the bowl and with a flick of her wand, she pointed it. “Piscifors.� A burst of blue light wrapped around the stone, and for a brief moment, it shimmered with the promise of success. Then - plop. Instead of a graceful, swimming fish, she was left with what could generously be described as a half-melted lump with fins, its bulging eyes blinking slowly before it flipped over and floated belly-up. Calliope blinked. Then, with the poise of someone who absolutely meant for that to happen, she gave a curt nod. “A bold artistic choice,� she mused. “An avant-garde interpretation of a fish.�

Never mind. Fish were gnarly.

A split second before the spell hit, it registered in Dy’s mind that she was pointing her wand at the poor fish. She quickly made a detour so that it was pointing at a pebble but the break in her concentration made her attempt unsuccessfully. Of course it did. She puffed out her cheeks quite comically, a way of dealing with her moment of failure. Jude’s voice resonated in Dynah’s head a split second, offering her encouragement. The cheeks deflated and a small grin hovered on her face. Her Stage Mentor offered the best advice, even if said advice was used to correct one of her dance moves!

Motivated even further, the seventh year braced herself to give the spell another shot again. “Piscifors!” This time she made sure her wand was pointing at a pebble, one directly at the front of the bowl {the part of the bowl that was facing her, anyway} after zoning in on the purple fish’s features. Blue light shot from the wand and… hey! Now she had two of the creatures! The fact that Dy did not have to try many times to accomplish this made her extremely thrilled! So thrilled that she was sure if she had her violin with her, she’d start serenading the class with the new piece she had composed herself.

Seeing the Professor blinked at her giggle she blushed in embarrassment, okay... she was definitely a odd one that was for sure. Nodding at his instructions, she looked down at her notes she took in her notebook biting her lip. "Okay... Lils you can do this, Transfiguration was one of your best subjects at Illvermorny. " She told herself looking at the stone that was before her. Straightening up her posture, she pointed her wand at the pebble. "Piscifors!" As the spell came out she seen it wasn't quite a fish but a stone with fins and tail.

"Okay... no biggie, the movements was probably wrong Lily try again." Taking a deep breath she looked at stone again. Maybe she needed to calm down and stop trying to be so perfect at all the subjects she was at Ilvermorny, clearly she wasn't there anymore. "Okay... let's do this...Piscifors!" As the blue light wrapped around the pebble, she seen two fishes one a purple color and another one a green color. "Yes! I did it!" Happy with herself she looked at the fishes happily.

She supposed there was some satisfaction to be had in forcing an inanimate object into something resembling life. Her gaze flicked to the original fish in the bowl, blissfully unaware that it was being used as a template for its strange, malformed brethren. It stared back at her with dull, unblinking eyes, mouth opening and closing in a slow, repetitive motion that made her stomach twist. Gross. Major ew. There was something deeply wrong about fish. Too silent, fishy, always watching. She huffed, eyeing the monstrosity she’d just transfigured and scrunched her nose as it sunk to the bottom of the tank and reverted back to its stone state - well, at least there was that. This spell was only mildly worth a knut, maybe two, if she considered the applications beyond the dull, gilled flops in hers and Maddox's tanks. But besides her silly fantasy of revenge, Calliope wasn't sure it had many other practical uses for her.

Still, she persisted, and picked another stone - the first one was obviously not going to work and had probably been tampered with by someone - and pointed her wand at it with a disinterested, "Piscifors." The blue light flashed again, and this time, the result was slightly more promising. Slightly. The transfigured fish was, at least, the right shape. However, it lacked any real color and was rather twitchy as it zigged and zagged around in the water. It even seemed to flicker in and out of existence, like a poorly cast Disillusionment Charm, like it wasn’t entirely sure it belonged there. Which it didn't, but that was entirely beside the point. Calliope exhaled through her nose. “Draaaaaaaaaaamatic,� she said, rolling her eyes.

JT was admiring the fish in his bowl, so he was very distracted at first when Professor Carton asked them all a question. He did though pull his gaze and attention up front to answer, knowing that he probably repeated someones elses answer in his distration from earlier. "The fish's size, appearance, texture of it's body, and of course the gills must matter when you want to transfigure something else into a fish."

JT did his best to ignore, and not get involved in the teasing that was getting out of hand between his housemates Maddox and Calliope. They might suffer house point loss for their bickering so he focused soley on his own work. After some note taking they were set the task of practicing their new spell Piskifors which transfigured small inaminate objects like pebbles into fish. "Piscifors…PISK-i-fors…piskifors..PISK-i-fors...Piskey-i-fors-PISK-i-fors!" JT practiced over and over and over to perfect the pronounciation of the incantation.

Soon enough the were tasked with turning one of the pebbles in the bowl into a lookalike of the fish already floating in the bowl. JT immediatley got nervous. What if he his spell hit his fish, would it hurt it? Luckily Professor Carton assured them that if their spells hit wrong then their fishes wouldn't feel any pain. It was a relief, but JT still felt a bit anxious as he unholstered his wand.

Fingers getting sweaty he took a moment to dry them off on his robes before gripping his wand. Watering his dry lips he aimed his wand at one of the pebbles inside the bowl and with the image of a second silvery green fish floating in the bowl clearly in his mind he casted "Piskifors!" After a second a blue light surrounded the intended pebble and next second an equally silvery, and green fish appeared, but with three too big fins. "Oh wow. Hi little guy. Sorry for any inconveniance. I'm still learning.."

Looking up front at Professor Carton JT waved asking "Um Professor I think I accidentally gave my new little fish one too many big fins can I fix that somehow? I don't want him to feel pain.."

Diego relaxed after seeing how the interaction earlier had been handled. He couldn't just ignore it, after all. So he went back to focusing on Sparkle. And their potential fish partner. They were purple, "How about... Venom! They have that black and purple look going on." He smiled at the thought, maybe they could have fish babies together. After their experimenting.

So Diego stared at Sparkle, thinking of all the colors and fin count. There were so many. After which, he took his wand to aim at one of the small pebbles.. "Piskifors!" Thinking about Sparkle as he saw the blue light. Another fish appeared! It was red too, but not as many sparkles and the fins are a little chunky. Like it just survived a bad fight. "Oh.. well, they don't look so bad." He thought, probably was the best that it wasn't a perfect twin.

"Why would I do a tarot reading in a snowstorm? That's the beauty of tarot—you can do it anywhere you like." A mischievous smile crept across Maddox's face. "If you dislike unpleasant weather so much, maybe you should've thought that out before you decided to do quidditch," he finished with a mocking pout. Maddox picked that mic back up and dropped it himself.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, watching Calliope's multiple failed attempts at making fish. "Awh," he said, clicking his tongue. "Avant-garde, artistic, and wrong. I don't think I'll need to worry much about that tank," he teased with a slight chuckle. "Don't worry, your spectacular flops won't haunt you, either." A little taste of her own medicine. It may be very annoying sometimes to deal with Calliope's jabs, but it was so satisfying to get some back at her. Maybe that was the appeal he found in their friendship? He still wasn't sure. He just knew that he liked being around her. Even if she was frustrating. And he knew she was going to say something just to rile him up again, and he wouldn't think any of that anymore, but oh well.

Maddox decided to try, once more, to perform the spell. He pointed his wand at another one of the pebbles. "Piscifors." The pebble flashed again, and this time...yeah, there was a fish. The colors were a little off compared to the actual fish in his bowl, but it was definitely a step up from the rock fish he made. He smiled just a little, vaguely proud of himself, until one of the little fins on the side of the fish popped back into a pebble again. The side of the fish was weighed down and it turned sideways in the tank, floating down towards the bottom. His smile turned into the small frown and he huffed a bit. Okay, maybe Transfiguration wasn't quite his thing. He was good at plenty else, alright?

Alaric settled into his seat, resting his elbows on the table as he observed the fish in the bowl before him. It was a sleek, silver-blue creature with shimmering scales that caught the light whenever it darted about. Its gills flared rhythmically as it swam, its small, round eyes scanning its watery world with what seemed like an endless curiosity. He noted how effortlessly it moved, maintaining its balance and speed with quick flicks of its tail.

Right. Gills, movement, buoyancy, size, eyes, scales… he mentally listed, his fingers tapping idly against the desk. The spell seemed simple in theory, but he knew Transfiguration was rarely that easy in practice.

He adjusted his grip on his wand and pointed it at one of the pebbles in the bowl. Taking a deep breath, he pictured the silver-blue fish in his mind, focusing on every detail. Its shape, its scales, the way it moved. Then, with firm intent, he cast:

“Piscifors!”

A small flash of blue light erupted from his wand, and for a moment, he thought he had done it. But instead of a shimmering fish, the pebble only trembled violently before settling back down, unchanged.

Too much force? Not enough focus? Alaric frowned slightly but wasn’t discouraged. If anything, failure just made him more determined. He adjusted his grip again, this time rolling his shoulders back to relax.

“Piscifors!”

Another flash. This time, the pebble stretched and morphed, but instead of a fish, it turned into a… blob. A vaguely fish-shaped, motionless lump.

“Huh.” He tilted his head, poking it lightly with his wand. The blob gave a weak jiggle before dissolving back into a pebble.

“Alright, third time’s the charm.” He muttered, inhaling deeply. This time, he took an extra moment to really visualize the fish—how its gills fluttered, how it glided so effortlessly. With renewed focus, he aimed at another pebble.

“Piscifors!”

A brilliant blue flash. The pebble shimmered, stretching once more. Only this time, it solidified into a small, silver-blue fish identical to the one in the bowl. Its gills flared as it took its first breath of water, and then, with an eager flick of its tail, it darted forward, joining its twin.

Alaric smirked in satisfaction. Not bad. He leaned back in his chair slightly, watching the two fish swim side by side. There was still a slight variation in their movements—his transfigured fish seemed a bit stiffer at first—but it was nothing a little refinement wouldn’t fix with practice.

Still, for a first attempt? He’d take it.

Not one to stay in one place for long, Norman roamed the room while the students practiced. He saw that Atreyu-Rehman had successfully transfigured a fish. “Excellent work, Miss Atreyu-Rehman,” he said with an encouraging nod. Petrova’s goldfish transfiguration likewise got an approving nod. “You too, Miss Petrova.”

Norman’s head turned as he heard Moonstone’s voice, just in time to see the girl successfully produce a fish, “Well done, Miss Moonstone,” he said with a slight smile. Elsewhere, he saw Melo-Dreamer and Ashcombe were doing well with the transformation as well. “Very good, Mr. Melo-Dreamer. You too, Mr. Ashcombe.”

His eyes flicked toward Barrington and Robicheaux and saw the pair were making good progress with the spell. He didn’t expect exact copies of the real fish. As long as the students were on task and making an effort, that was good enough for him. “Nicely done, you two,” he said, giving each of the two first years an approving nod.

SPOILER!!: JT ^_^

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

JT was admiring the fish in his bowl, so he was very distracted at first when Professor Carton asked them all a question. He did though pull his gaze and attention up front to answer, knowing that he probably repeated someones elses answer in his distration from earlier. "The fish's size, appearance, texture of it's body, and of course the gills must matter when you want to transfigure something else into a fish."

JT did his best to ignore, and not get involved in the teasing that was getting out of hand between his housemates Maddox and Calliope. They might suffer house point loss for their bickering so he focused soley on his own work. After some note taking they were set the task of practicing their new spell Piskifors which transfigured small inaminate objects like pebbles into fish. "Piscifors…PISK-i-fors…piskifors..PISK-i-fors...Piskey-i-fors-PISK-i-fors!" JT practiced over and over and over to perfect the pronounciation of the incantation.

Soon enough the were tasked with turning one of the pebbles in the bowl into a lookalike of the fish already floating in the bowl. JT immediatley got nervous. What if he his spell hit his fish, would it hurt it? Luckily Professor Carton assured them that if their spells hit wrong then their fishes wouldn't feel any pain. It was a relief, but JT still felt a bit anxious as he unholstered his wand.

Fingers getting sweaty he took a moment to dry them off on his robes before gripping his wand. Watering his dry lips he aimed his wand at one of the pebbles inside the bowl and with the image of a second silvery green fish floating in the bowl clearly in his mind he casted "Piskifors!" After a second a blue light surrounded the intended pebble and next second an equally silvery, and green fish appeared, but with three too big fins. "Oh wow. Hi little guy. Sorry for any inconveniance. I'm still learning.."

Looking up front at Professor Carton JT waved asking "Um Professor I think I accidentally gave my new little fish one too many big fins can I fix that somehow? I don't want him to feel pain.."

As Norman reversed course, he noticed Forsfelle’s wave. “Good question, Mr. Forsfelle,” he said, standing beside the boy’s table. He spoke a little louder so the rest of the class could head the answer, in case anyone else needed it. "If you need to reverse your transformation for any reason, use the spell Reparifarge. The wand movement is a smile-shape; it produces a white light.”


Returning to the front of the room, Norman addressed the class again,” You have about ten minutes to continue practicing. While you’re doing that, take a moment to observe your fish, the real one and the transfigured one. Pay attention to their similarities but especially their differences. Make a mental note of it or jot it down if you like; we’ll be discussing it shortly.”

OOC: For part 2 of the activity, your student needs to observe the similarities and differences between their real fish and transfigured one. You may continue practicing Piscifors or catch up on anything else. There are ABOUT 24 HOURS left for this activity.