Transfiguration Class: Spell Parameters (Third- to Seventh-Year Students)

[Nigel Dextera]

OOC: All Third- to Seventh-Year students are welcome to join this thread. As with the DADA class thread, this thread assumes that separate classes are held for students from different levels, so please treat students from other levels as unnamed NPCs. Do feel free to talk about anything specific to your student’s level of study, and reference what other students say where appropriate. For instance, a Seventh-Year NPC student could mention something that was taught during their Fifth Year, or an overachieving Third-Year NPC student could mention something that would only be taught to Fifth-Years.

This lesson takes place in mid-January 2006.

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Professor Nigel Dextera watched with amusement as the students streamed into Classroom 1B, perplexed by the prodigious number of dragon statuettes arrayed on the teacher’s and students’ desks – the very same ones that he had used to teach the Draconifors Spell to the Third-Years. From time to time he would introduce to the students an important concept in Transfiguration – or even magic in general – that wasn’t critical enough to be part of the syllabus, but would nonetheless still prove useful to the students. On the blackboard behind him, a single sentence provided the only other clue (albeit a cryptic one) as to what today’s lesson would be about:


“Form a clear mental picture of the object you are hoping to create before attempting a Transfiguring spell.”
Right on the dot, Nigel commenced his lesson. “As you might have guessed by now, today’s class involves the Draconifors spell,” he began. “But first, I will be nominating two students to assist with a demonstration.” He scanned the classroom, searching for someone well-versed in dragonology, and someone who was the complete opposite. “Miss Bryce McTaggart, and… Mr Kyle Winters. Please cast the Draconifors spell on the statuette in front of you.”

Confidently, Bryce drew her wand and performed a slashing motion as she recited the incantation. “Draconifors!” There was a flash of fiery orange light, and the clay statuette transformed into a tiny dragon, which promptly spread its bat-like wings and took to the air, snapping angrily at the students as it swooped past them. With its dark scales, arrow-tipped tail and aggressive disposition, it strongly resembled a Hebridean Black. An unsurprising choice, for the Scottish witch was an aspiring dragonologist and would likely be familiar with a dragon native to her homeland.

At the back of the classroom, a much more hesitant Kyle aimed his wand at the statuette, pausing for a half-second before casting the spell. “Draconifors!” This time round, the dragon was a bright crimson in colour, with two prominent rearward-pointing horns. It let out a little roar and a tiny tongue of flame, before it took wing and circled the classroom. Unlike the dragon that Bryce had transfigured, this particular specimen did not resemble any known species of dragon, extant or extinct, and its overall form was reminiscent of a Muggle's impression of the magical beast.

“Excellent work, Miss McTaggart and Mr Winters,” Nigel said, glad that the demonstration had turned out exactly the way he had expected. “Whenever we perform a transfiguration, it is imperative for us to have a clear mental picture of the intended result. Miss McTaggart, could you share with us what your mental picture was?”

“Yes, Professor. I had in mind a Hebridean Black.”

“Splendid. Thank you, Miss McTaggart,” Nigel nodded and turned to Kyle. “What about you, Mr Winters?”

“Um…” Kyle had a guilty look on his face as though he had done something wrong. “I had a mental picture of a dragon too, but it wasn’t any species in particular. It was just something that I thought of.”

“That’s perfectly alright. Another question for you, Mr Winters: does the dragon you transfigured match the picture in your mind?” Nigel asked.

“Yes, Professor.”

“Thank you, Mr Winters.” Sliding off the teacher’s desk, Nigel slowly strode down the middle of the classroom as he continued; he never quite liked to root himself behind his desk and distance himself physically from his students. “As we have seen, two people casting the same spell can end up with two different results, simply by virtue of having a different mental picture. This mental picture is an example of a spell parameter, a variable we can change to alter the effects of a spell.”

“Spell parameters exist in all branches of magic,” he continued, watching the reaction from some of his students, especially the faster ones put had already independently put two and two together. “Another common way to alter the effects of a spell is to modify the incantation. For instance, one can use the incantation Protego to cast a basic Shield Charm and protect themselves. By appending the appropriate suffix, one can ward their immediate vicinity with Protego Totalum, or even an extended area with Protego Maxima”

The tiny dragons were still flitting around the classroom. Pointing his wand at the little critters, he continued to speak as he reverted them to their original form and returned them to Bryce’s and Kyle’s desks. “While Transfiguration is a very precise branch of magic, there is ample room for you to exercise your creativity and alter the spell to achieve the desired effect.” That said, it was time to start the practical part of the lesson. “Now, I would like all of you to experiment with the Draconifors spell. It’s a fairly straightforward spell, and as Miss McTaggart and Mr Winters have demonstrated, your dragon may take on whatever form you choose, so long as your mental picture is sufficiently clear.”

[Astrid Osborne]

Astrid dreaded Transfiguration class, as it was a wand-intensive class, meaning she particularly struggled with it as she was magically weak. Occasionally in such classes, other students would suggest that maybe she'd merely been fitted with an incompatible wand. Sometimes they even offered to let her try casting with their own wands to see if it made any difference, but it never did. She was convinced it had something to do with her half-giant mother's blood messing things up, meaning there a was a limit to what she could do.

Regardless, she took notes as Prof. Dextera spoke. It was easy enough for her to study; she never had a problem with the written parts of exams. It was just the practical portions that she consistently got below-average scores.

When the students were instructed to practice, she stared at the dragon statuette on her desk, and tried to form a clear image in her mind of a Welsh Green dragon.

As her nearby classmates all seemed to be making progress with their spells, she reluctantly drew her wand out and incanted, "Draconifors!". To her frustration, and nobody's surprise, her statue barely flapped its wings before it reverted to being a statue.

She tried again, speaking as clearly as she could through her Scottish accent, but met with the same result.

[Nigel Dextera]

As the practical portion of the lesson began in earnest, Nigel observed his students and their wandwork as he walked down the middle of the classroom. Having an entire class of youngsters casting spells at the same time was usually a chaotic affair, even without the multitude of tiny dragons flitting around in the air. But there was no cause for concern: as long as the students abided by the safety guidelines he had laid down and ensured that their wands were never pointed in the general direction of their classmates, nobody would be hit by a stray spell.

As for the growing horde of miniature dragons, he had a simple solution. Removing a golden ring that was shaped like a stylised dragon, Nigel tossed it high into the air. Immediately the enchantments placed on the ring flared to life as the ring transformed into a dragon with shimmering golden scales and gemstone-like amethyst eyes. Snapping at the other dragons, it quickly began to herd them into a neat ring. Before long the messy swarm was circling in an orderly fashion overhead, with the occasional individual breaking ranks to return to the students who had transfigured them.

Most of the students were doing well, save for a few who were weaker at Transfiguration. Nigel watched closely as Astrid attempted to cast the spell, only for the statue to move briefly before returning to its original state. As far as he could tell, there was nothing wrong with the way she had cast her spell, and the most likely reason for the spell’s failure was its strength – or more precisely, its lack thereof. “Keep the heid, Miss Osborne,” he encouraged her, his native Edinburgh accent coming out a little more strongly than usual in his bid to get her to lighten up and not stress herself out excessively. “Don’t tense up – relax, take a deep breath, and focus on the image of the dragon in your head.” Drawing his wand, he continued, “When you’re ready, perform the wand movement and recite the incantation confidently like this. Draconifors!”

With a small burst of orange light, the statuette transformed into a tiny Antipodean Opaleye, its pearly scales catching the light and glittering as it stretched its wings and flapped them tentatively a couple of times. Just before it launched itself into the air, Nigel swiftly and wordlessly untransfigured it, reverting it back to an inanimate form. “Your wand movement and incantation were correct, so don’t worry about those,” he said. “If you're ready, would you like to attempt the spell again?”