Class #3: R&H / 4&5

[Professor Minerva McGonagall]

INTRODUCTION

Group #1: Ravenclaw Fourth and Fifth Years
Group #2: Hufflepuff Fourth and Fifth Years
Discussion: Transfiguring Pincushions into Hedgehogs

Oh, she wouldn't have admitted, but Professor McGonagall would have been happy if the day could have been over then. Her last class, a rowdy bunch of Gryffindor and Slytherin First years, had been absolutely uncooperative in every which way possible, and even the deduction of points from both Houses hadn't managed to result in any work being done satisfactorily. It also left her in the best of moods by any means and yes, she would have much appreciated if her day could have been over then and there. But she had one class left, the last of the day, a group of younger years, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Fourths and Fifths, she reminded herself, who would thankfully be more contained than her previous class. She certainly wouldn't have any patience with them if they weren't. Folding her hands in her lap, she watched them enter the classroom and find their seats. She was expressionless, only getting to her feet once everyone had sat down. "Hello, students," she greeted with a nod. "As you can see, you've all received a pincushion for today's class." One sat upon each student's desk, ready for the task that awaited them. "Today, you'll be attempting to Transfigure those pincushions into hedgehogs." It was always a challenging task, transfiguring something non-alive to something alive, but they'd working towards it with other, generally smaller, creatures all year so far and she was quite hopeful in terms of their competence. "See," she instructed, pointed at the pincushion that sat on her own down and flicking her wand at it once, determinedly. A hedgehog then stood in its place and she managed a brief smile to her students as she looked to them, nodding again. "Exactly like that."

[Michaela Petrova]

I wouldn't say Mica was a terrible student, but I also wouldn't say she was a good student. She found herself somewhere in that awkward middle that many people laid - the average joe. Because her priorities were piano first and everything else second, Michaela didn't study as much as she ought to. She was an amazing pianist and song writer, she could take anything thrown at her and learn the piece within a day. Give Mica a transfiguration problem and it was another matter. It came at a harder price, but it was not completely unachievable - as we said, average. Her grades were adequate, nice, simple. That was good enough for her any day. Michaela listened to Professor McGonagall, a teacher who's age seemed perpetually fixed at "old" and never ancient or dead. She wondered if the woman had aged a day in the last twenty years. Turn the pincushion into a hedgehog. Lovely. The idea of having a hedgehog running around on top of her desk was not attractive. Mica pulled out her wand, craning her head around to see if others were doing the same. With half-hearted effort, she flicked her wand at the cushion. Nothing happened. Mica tried again, and still nothing happened. She made the attempt three times with no change what-so-ever, and by the fourth time Mica was so focused on just making the cushion do something, anything, that she forgot all about having her mind will it into a hedgehog, and apparently the animal at the front of her brain took shape instead. Tweet tweet. Mica looked alarmed at first, and she searched the room to see if McGonagall could see her error. She didn't want to lose points and their professor was definitely not looking to be in a good mood. "Why did you have to do that?" She whispered at the bird who was turning its head in all different directions. Then her eyes narrowed, because the bird on her desk was not just any bird, it was a woodpecker. She had a woodpecker who had been taunting her for the past week outside of her bedroom, and obviously her brain was full of thoughts about it. "Clever," she muttered, glaring at it. Maybe she could turn it back. Flicking her wand again, she tried her best to change but no, nothing.

[Professor Albus Dumbledore]

POINT COUNT

TALLY	Gryffindor	Ravenclaw	Hufflepuff	Slytherin
Attendance	00	00	05	00
Earned	00	00	00	00
Total	00	00	05	00