Transfiguration-T:III-L:I

[Deputy Head Morley]

Imelda nodded at the class, "Very good, very good. Now then, seeing as you're all upper classmen, I do expect the you'll be able to handle my lesson with some class and dignity..." she shot an incendio spell onto Laylas desk, the flames enveloping her parchment before the Professor continued, "And without passing m.a.s.h. notes the whole time?" She gave the Slytherin and Gryffindor both pointed looks, then pocketed her wand and began walking around the room, in no particularly orderly fashion. Especially seeing as there were no specific rows of desks or chairs, per say, that she could walk through, so she merely meandered.

"Animagi through history have been very important members of both our Wizarding society, and that of Muggle lore. Almost any muggle fairytale you've ever read having to do with talking animals, helpful animals, or really any sort of animal that has a major role in the plot line, was probably an Animagus." She paused at the back of the room to straighten a picture of herself in the Sahara Desert, then turned and strode back towards the front of the class again.

"Now then, can anyone think of a fairytale they believe may contain the story of an Animagus, or Animagi? Bonus points if you guess at who the Animagi might be," all of these students seemed rather sharp, with quick wits about them. They also all had a well-read air about them. That would be good for her classes, and this lesson especially.

[Girty Hubbles]

Girty thought hard about what the professor had said. She had grown up in the muggle world and her mother had read her so many stories about Princes and Princes and the evil witch who tries to ruin their happiness. Straining her memory to try and pick out certain stories, Girty could not believe how fickle they were.

“I suppose the famous one is ‘The Princesses and the frog'. The princes kissed the frog and a handsome prince appeared. ‘The swan princesses’ and would the fairy Godmother in Cinderella, she would have been a witch. I doubt all the little mice were wizards ready to turn into humans agin to drive a pumkin coach”

Girty gave a shrug. This was harder then she thought it would be, and naming the people was just as tricky. The frog could have been any wizard wanting to find a future wife.

[Deputy Head Morley]

"Ah, very good Miss Hubbles! Five points to Hufflepuff," the wand writing against her desk changed to match this statement. "Yes, the Princess and the Frog is most definatly one of the most well known, though who the frog is can be speculated on. The Swan Princess, however, is a little easier to guess at. Although it's not known for sure, the mostlikely chance is that Cliodna, and Irish druidess who kept birds for companions, is the very same swan Animagus. Cinderella is also a speculative story, as there are different versions of it in every culture. The more modernized American version has the Fairy godmother and mice that turn into footmen and lizards that turn into horses, but the older versions are more liekly to contain true Animagi in them. For instance, one of the Asian versions of the story tells of a girl who saves a fish's life, the fish in turn gives her all the neccesities to go to the ball, but in the end it is actually one of Cinderellas sisters that wins the Prince. Cinderella tells the fish how sad she is about this and he turns out to be a prince himself. Another version is that where Cinderella befriends the birds her father kept in an aviary, and when she lets them go free they return with the ball gown and shoes and lovely things to go to the ball. These birds may very well be Cliodne's, acting under her instruction, but we can't be for sure." She blushed slightly, noticing how long she'd rambled about Cinderella, "But I digress."

"Yes, very good Miss Hubbles. So now you can see how Animagi can affect the Muggle world for the greater good, but they also can have a negative impact. Think of Sleeping Beauty. Although the version most people know is modernized, it is still a very close representation of the old tales. Instead of the evil Malifecent being a dragon that breathes fire at Sleeping Beauty and her Prince, she was in actuality a blackbird. A raven to be precise, and her name was not Malifecent either. It was Morgana Le Fey," she smiled. "That's why the Minsitry likes to keep a record of Animagi and their markings, so that whenever a witch or wizard attempts to throw the Muggle world into chaos they can tell who it is and what they've done."

She looked at her students, then began pacing the room again, "Now that we've gotten a general idea of the use of Animagi, how about everyone tell me a bit about what they know of Animagi?" She paused mid-stride and looked at Girty, "A little bit."

[layla]

Layla started when the sheet went up in flames in her hands. She dropped it and watched as the precious little information disappeared into a pile of darkened ash. Her eyes grew wide and she picked up a bit of the charred paper in dismay. She shot an icy glare at the Professor, but quickly let herself calm down again. This was not the time nor the place to draw attention to herself. No, instead she merely leaned back in her chair and acted as if the lesson held any intrest for her.

Meanwhile she also looked in the drawers of her desk... If there were mice in the Ravenclaw boys desk she could only imagine what would be in hers... "Paper. Paper, paper, paper." She grimaced. It didn't help her a lot... or maybe it did. She pulled out a piece of paper, then continued digging through the drawer until she found a quill. She began writing furiously.

To most it probably looked like she was taking rapid notes on the lesson, when in actuality she was recalling everything she could about what she'd just read on the Deputy Head Teacher. She didn't have a photographic memory by any means, so she didn't get everything back, but she had a majority of it she was fairly certain.

She then heard the Professors question about Animagi. She was going to ignore it, but when no one else volunteered to share their knowledge she decided this might be achance for her to get in good with one of her authority figures, "Animagi have the ability to transform entirely from their human form into that of one specific animal while retaining their human mentality. Their Animagus form has specific markings that define them from other Animagi and animals." That was all the effort she was willing to put into this class at the moment. She wondered about the Professors unusual animagus markings... what they meant...

[Deputy Head Morley]

"Quite right, Miss LeMoine. You see, Transfiguration can turn you into an animal, the specific type of magic it takes to just turn your body into that of an animal is something else entirely. That is Animagus. Many Witches and Wizards have tried to take short-cuts to becoming Animagi, the results ending in horrendous ways; the Quintaped being one example," she gave wary looks at each of her students, saying no more vocally, but her eyes said 'I had better not find any Quintapeds or otherwise faulty Animagus related animals on campus because of you.'

She swept back up to the front of the room and began fiddling with a little golden telescope on her desk, back turned to the students as she continued to speak, "Now then, what information do any of you have as far as the actual transformation of an Animagus goes? Obviously a human gains the appearance and abilities of an animal, but do any of you know how that happens?" It was a rather vague question to be sure, but she wanted to hear some of the students theories and/or what kind of research any of them had done on the subject.

[crash]

Adair leaned in his chair indifferently as the lesson progressed, before suddenly widening his eyes at the burst of flame that took place right behind him. He smelled the distinct scent of something burning, and for a brief moment thought his hair was on fire and raised a hand quickly to his head.

Then, realising the Professor had sent a pointed glance toward the parchment, he turned around and sent Layla an exasperated look. He noticed her scribbling once again, rolling his eyes and positioned himself back around. Leaning his face in his hands, he stared crossly at the Professor as the lesson continued and listened as Layla answered the question brightly.

He, himself, had no idea about Animagi and listened to the lecture indifferently. "All I've heard is it's ridiculously hard," he said unhelpfully.

[Girty Hubbles]

Girty thought long and heard about how to answer the question but the Slytherin got there before she did. And his answer did sum it up.

“It is difficult. I was taught you had to get into a state of mind that was free from thought and worry. She called it the void, where you were able to travel though past memories to help find your inner animal.”

Girty stopped talking, she was convinced what she was saying sounded total rubbish and was not even sure if she had been taught correctly. Girty had never got to the stage of transformation.

[Deputy Head Morley]

"Quite right, Adair. It's insanely difficult. That's why no one under the age of fifteen is allowed to access anything having to do with Animagi, point blank; and no one under the age of sixteen is allowed to begin learning the actual process except in very extreme circumstance. Even then, if you're a minor you must have the strict written permission of not only your parents, but your school administrator, and your teacher to make sure that you will not kill yourself in the attempt. It usually takes months, even years to gain the ability unless..." she paused and waited to see if anyone had an answer, then heard exactly what she'd wanted to from Miss Hubbles.

"Exactly, Girty. Fifteen points to Hufflepuff!" She looked around the class and smiled. She doubted that her students kne wwhat had transpired, or what was so important in what Girty had said, so she began explaining. "The first and most important thing to remember about Animagus is this; It is one of the most dangerous forms of magic that is not classified as Dark. The second most important is knowing how to forget all about that and be able to focus solely on the magic itself. The third and final point I'm going to make about Animagi in this lesson is this: It is impossible to become an Animagus without either an insanely amazing gift in Transfiguration and Charms, or a very, very good teacher, with the previous experience of having become an Animagus themselves."
She looked up at the sunburst clock at the back of the room and nodded, "Very well, you're all free to go."