4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Tags: Casey O`Doherty Gloria Gibbon December 2009 December 14 2009 Transfiguration Class Read 577 times / 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] on October 05, 2012, 06:04:15 PM "This is the class you've all been dreading," Leopold announced, looking at his fourth year class. "Today you will be writing your transfigurations midterm examination. I'm going to mix things up a little bit, however. I will not be giving you a sheet of questions that you will be writing the answers on. I'm going to make you call on what you have learned up to this point. Transfigurations is a subject that crosses into many other forms of magic. I'm going to ask you to make use of that crossover and show me that you are capable of putting all forms of magic together to create a functional whole. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to make something for me. You will not be doing the actual construction, however. You will be putting down on parchment all the elements that would be required to create a simple security device. What shape that device takes is up to you but it must be something that will last past more than one use. The pumpkins you were working on in October will not be sufficient."Leopold moved around the class and began setting a sealed roll of parchment on each desk. "These parchments are enchanted to be as long as you need them to be. They are also enchanted so that anything written on them will be visible only from directly above, so no one will be able to copy the work of their neighbour. How detailed you want to be is up to you. If you want to use point form and list the spells or components necessary, that is acceptable but I will expect you to indicate how those components will be combined. Are there any questions at this point?"For students who were used to casting spells for their tests, this was going to be an unpleasant change. It was a test not just of their ability but also of their comprehension. Anyone could throw off a spell. it took real understanding to create. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #1 on October 11, 2012, 12:09:10 AM The second the word "writing" passed through Sandusky's lips, Nick felt his neck and shoulders loosen up. As the room around him seemed to erupt in groans, Nick broke the tedium with a sigh of relief. Given a that "fiasco" best described at least half of his transfiguration exams, Nick was relieved not to have to cast anything. Not that he couldn't do it, but "could" and "would" weren't always the same thing and being good enough at transfiguration didn't necessarily make one good enough at following directions. Since he didn't have to actually do it, though, just show that he knew how, this would hopefully go better. Or, at least, it would go better once he came up with an idea for a "security device." No way he'd pass with something as simple as an alarm on a door. A lot of the more specific, more creative items Nick could think of might not fly in a classroom setting. He wasn't keen on having his lighter stolen when he lent it to someone else, but a lighter that burned the hand of anyone but its owner might not go over well. Still, a good enough idea that he'd have to try it as, you know, an extracurricular exercise. A few other ideas like that crossed his mind, before one set him on a device that would actually work. Thinking of cigarettes charmed to vanish when an authority figure saw them, Nick realized the wide potential of vanishing. Any adolescent had secret messages, love notes and dumb poetry and angsty journals, that they wouldn't want the world seeing. Adults in professions as respectable as auror had things to keep secret, as well. Hopefully, the usefulness of the item, or at least the breadth of people who could use it, would be taken into account. So, the basic idea was to vanish writing. Of course, that might be too obvious; why would one guard or hide a blank piece of paper? So, one would have to conjure text, as well. Besides the practicality, it added some more complex transfiguration that could help to boost the score. Now, before he figured how the actual magic would work, there was the question of which "device" to use. If he were to use parchment or a scroll, the item would be a little more limited, since one would have to use the specific medium to safeguard secret information. If he chose ink, a lot of the little details might be harder to work out. Well, harder might be better if he could suss out how to do it, and it wasn't like Sandusky would let him leave until the exam was over, whether he was finished or not. Better to work than have to sit here twiddling his bloody thumbs. So, the simplest thing was the mechanism of secrecy; the message would appear to its writer and any person to whom it was addressed. Since the vanishing itself would be conspicuous, the false message would appear by default, vanishing and conjuring the proper message only for the reader to whom it was addressed. Of course, the name would appear in the real message and need not necessarily appear in the false one. The problem was how to tell one from the next. Nick's eyes darted around nervously, hoping he wasn't about to hit a road-block that forced him to start over. "Steady on, Nicky, can't be that hard," he muttered, looking around him. One thing he liked about exams here, nobody would accuse you of cheating if you looked around. Staring at a page never helped anyone think. Seeing his classmates writing with quills -- different quills -- did help. The ink would come with two quill tips, one for the real message, one for the false message. The real message would vanish when the tip was switched and would not re-appear until its intended audience, or original author, read the message. You could switch them out with the end of most any quill easily enough, so they'd do fine to transport, as well. Nick let a wide smile break over his face as he stretched out, cracked the knuckles of each hand in quick succession, and took out his quill, writing out the initial overview while the other details came together in his head; the writer would think of the intended reader's face and write their full name to avoid confusion; holding the quill with the "false" tip in place would allow the writer to see the false message so that s/he might check it for errors in spelling; a rune specific to the writer will ensure that the quill-tips only function for him or her so that recovering the quill would not reveal the message; and provisions for how the basic magic might be altered to accommodate secret messages in inherently magical kinds of ink other than, of course, invisible ink, which involved magic close enough to vanishing that it would make his "Bond Ink" (a pun on the meaning of "bond" and the famed muggle super-spy) less reliable. Towards the end of the period, Nick began to expect that he might not merely pass Transfigurations, but actually earn himself good marks, this term. Looking at the time left on the clock, he jotted down a tiny end-note that the ink and quill-tips as a set gave benefits that using quill-tips alone would not, thought it would be possible to achieve a more limited version of the same effect with tips alone, in a pinch. Seeing that he still had a few minutes, he added a list of materials and spells at the end, with asterisks to indicate which ones would be required for the inkless version or versions using ink that was already magical. As the period truly came to its end, Nick cracked his knuckles again and reflected that it was nice to have at least a few seconds to "twiddle his bloody thumbs," with a decent hope of high marks. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #2 on October 11, 2012, 02:18:58 AM Alvis's quill trembled as he lowered it to the page, not out of anxiety, but excitement. So many possibilities and such a broad assignment. Sandusky pitched it like some dreadful challenge, but it the whole thing was right up Alvis's alley. The hard part was figuring out an angle. He made a few sketches and a brief outline on scrap parchment before settling on an idea and starting to draw...Alvis Norling - Transfiguration MidtermDecember 14th, 2009Component One:A minimum of three (3) equilateral crystal tetrahedrons made of clear, colorless quartz. One, the Central, is exactly twice the size and dimensions of the rest. Otherwise, they are all identical. Because of the necessity for arithmantic precision and clarity of crystal, it would be best to create these components by transfiguring raw quartz into a liquid form, pouring the result into a series of precise molds, and then allowing the quartz to re-solidify naturally. Once the crystals are removed from the molds, silver is applied to one side, forming a smooth surface on which to inscribe runes. The exact formula would require extensive experimentation, but off the top of my head it would likely include ansuz, kenaz, and dagaz.[1] The formula would, most likely, be based primarily around a modified version of the Protean Charm, with the Central as the master object and the rest as slaves. But rather than changing the master object to effect its slaves, these runes would transmit magic from the slaves back to the master.As seen to the right, when seen from above, these components also form the shape of the Dragon's Eye, a symbol of protection and sight. Additional silver might be applied to the corner and edges to amplify this aspect, but without experimentation I've no way of knowing exactly what effect that might have. Component Two: A silver scrying bowl, its outside edge engraved with a runic formula complimentary to and resonating with the one on the crystals. This formula most likely contains a number of the same runes, with the addition of gebo and jera, to gather the information recorded by the crystals. Ideally, these runic formulas would be based on those of a pensive, which serves a similar purpose to what this component will provide. While the bowl can be theoretically made by hand, it is most important that it be perfectly smooth with no bumps, dents, or irregularities. Ergo, it's best to use magical methods for the forging process, such as fornax, the furnace spell, in tangent with aquamentai and pressure-based shaping spellsComponent Three:Scrying oil or, more probably, an oil-based potion with jobberknoll feathers as its most substantive ingredient. The exact ingredients will depend largely on the runic formulas There should be at least enough of it that, when the central crystal is placed in the center of the scrying bowl, it is completely covered and the surface of the potion remains smooth. For this example, I will be using Professor Sandusky's office as a hypothetical location because, while this has the potential to cover extensive ground and perhaps even multiple rooms, it while be easiest to explain using a small room with a single entrance and one window. Using a sticking charm, the two smaller crystal pieces are installed along the wall at positions A and B. (Do NOT use the Bonding Spell, it will disrupt the effectiveness of the runes.) These components would be installed with their silver bases facing the wall and one flat edge pointed upwards to form the 'Dragon's Eye', with the point of the crystal (the eye's 'pupil') facing towards the window and the door, respectively. The scrying bowl is then placed near the center of the room, where it will be undisturbed. The rectangle shown here is a hypothetical notch removed from the floor with a vanishing spell and concealed by a conjured stone that might be summoned and dismissed at will. This is necessary because it's important that the bowl and its contents be disturbed as little as possible. The Central crystal is placed in the very center of the bowl, silver against silver with one point facing up. The potion or oil is then added until the crystal is completely concealed and the surface of the liquid is smooth. This completes the set-up for the device, so long as the stone is replaced to conceal the bowl.Throughout the day, the secondary crystals located at points A and B maintain a clear view of the room's only two physical entrances and, between them, provide a decent picture of the overall room. Their runic formulas include a trigger spell based on videre mortus felis, the line-of-sight motion-activation trigger, which brings the crystals to 'life' for lack of a better term whenever something moves in front of them. When the crystal dragon's eyes are active, anything they observe will be transmitted to the Central crystal, which then works in tangent with the scrying bowl to modify the oil or oil-based potion and preserve the images. The result, theoretically, would be a recording of any movement made in the office over the period of time that the device was operational. Said recordings could then be reviewed at the leisure of the object's owner similarly to how memories may be reviewed by the owner of a pensive. How much time might be recorded would be dependent on the liquid used to contain it. A basic scrying oil would probably only hold one recording of a few minutes, which would then be erased the next time someone entered the room. However, an oil-based potion using jobberknoll feathers could, conceivably, hold several separate moments and hours of information, which could then be stored and transferred as memories sometime are. 1. Reference: http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.htmlAlvis hesitated on the last paragraph, nibbling the tip of his quill. Was it too detailed? Sandusky had said simple...or perhaps it was too hypothetical. He couldn't know the proper arithmancy ratios, runic formulas, or potion properties without experimenting. It was only a guess on his part that there was a way to make it all work. He didn't even know how to use fornax yet; he'd just seen Gran do it. Still, all of the concepts involved -- the runes based on the Protean Charm, the scrying bowl based on a pensive, the transmuted crystals as clear and watchful eyes -- were sound. The combination hadn't been done before, as far as he knew. And the assignment was to design an object, not build it...It didn't matter either way, he didn't have the time left to design anything else. Alvis proof-read the page one more time before putting down his quill, wondering idly if he might get the design back once it'd been graded. It wasn't a bad idea. Maybe, with a bit of effort, he could get it all to work. A project for this summer, perhaps. If he could find the time. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #3 on October 11, 2012, 08:59:37 PM Leopold wandered the classroom, looking over the shoulders of his students. Several of them looked like they wanted to be ill, while others seemed to be in their glory. He'd expected something like this. The students who were prepared to regurgitate information to answer list of questions were suffering, whereas those who worked to actually understand the subject were doing well. It was a midterm that bordered on having real world applications and if their teachers had done a decent job over the last four years of educating them, he would end up with any number of interesting ideas.The ones that would suffer would be those with utterly no imagination. "I'm not expecting a working model of the objects you are proposing," he said. "This is a test of your ability to put together all the things you have learned here. This is your chance to surprise yourselves. I expect you to astonish me." Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #4 on October 11, 2012, 10:13:06 PM What an odd midterm, Zoe had been expecting some spellwork. She had practiced actual methods of Transfiguration, now she was told to write an essay? No matter, the Ravenclaw opened up her parchment and removed a quill. What to write, what to write....Zoe TorretTransfiguration MidtermDecember 14Anti-Stealing CaseTo begin, first we, of course, would need a case. This particular design is for a display cabinet, though the same steps could be used on a regular cabinet. The end product will be a place where one can safely store their things without worry of robbery.The first step would be giving this cabinet a lock that can only be opened by certain people. A conditional enchantment (enchantment whose purpose is to perform a task on a given condition) would be the most efficient way to do this. The Unlocking Charm, made into an enchantment (Alohamora Incanto), must be cast on the doors of the cabinet. However, this conditional enchantment has two parts, the second being a condition. A Recognition Enchantment (Homo Recogno) must be combined with the Unlocking Enchantment to make this conditional enchantment. The enchantment is it will recognize a person and unlock when they, and only they, attempt to unlock the cabinet. This conditional charm is the best way for this certain security system, as you don't need a magical eye to monitor. The Recognition Enchantment will recognize the aura of the person.Note: It is of utmost importance that the conditional enchantment is made either by the individual the cabinet is made to unlock for or the unlocking ability is transferred to the person who owns the cabinet by means of magical contract.This by itself will make the cabinet pretty secure, but what if someone tried to break in under the influence of a Polyjuice Potion or by putting the owner in an Imperius Curse? The objects in the cabinet can be protected by a second conditional enchantment.This conditional enchantment, like the previous one, has two parts. It will be cast on the handles of the cabinet doors, and a tangent-based enchantment, meaning it will be an enchantment used when someone touches the handles. Tangent-based enchantments are the easiest to produce, as they don't rely on magical currents in a specific radius or area giving information to the object the enchantment is cast upon, the size of the radius or area providing the challenge. The first part is a Recognition Enchantment that, unlike the previous one, detects magical forces (Specialis Recogno). You can tailor this enchantment to recognize certain Polyjuice Potion and Imperius Curses. This must be cast on the handles, not the doors, so when one goes to open it it tests to see what the individual is under. The second part is an Activation Charm (Incanto Activus), which would be combined with the Recognition Enchantment. The Activation Charm itself will be made to activate an enchanted alarm system.The alarm system will have two parts. The first is an actual alarm, a Caterwauling Charm (Armoplore), the second is a Locking Charm (Colloportus). This will alert anyone in the area and lock the doors so whatever is inside could not be taken out. However, these are charms instead of enchantments because, if they were enchantments, they would last without stopping. The alarm system can easily be turned off with a Deactivation Charm (Incanto Fini), but cannot be deactivated to the point that it won't work.The final step to making this cabinet a very safe place is an Unbreakable Charm (Indamnum[1]) on the whole cabinet, so no one could enter it with brute force.So let's go through what the cabinet is enchanted to do:1. Allow one, and only one, person to open it.2. Not allow someone under the influence of Polyjuice Potion or an Imperius Curse to open it. If someone tries, it will sound a very loud alarm. The alarm can be stopped, but not deactivated.3. Withstand brute force to the point that it is unbreakable.Our finished product is a very secure Anti-Stealing Case. 1. And don't worry, ALL of these new spells will be added to the Lexicon... soon enough.Zoe looked up at Sandusky as he talked, finishing her essay. She put down her quill and read over it. Is wasn't too short, right? She figured she went into enough detail, including incantations and explanations for some steps. It did seem creative, certainly Professor Sandusky would like it. Though, she didn't use any transfiguration terms.Thinking quickly, Zoe added:Possible additions:You could have the doors of the cabinet transfigure into other materials. For instance, using the Human Recognition Enchantment, you could charm the cabinet doors to transfigure to glass when it senses the aura of the trusted person, so that person can see inside, but when it does not detect the aura of the person it will transfigure back to wood. This would reduce any temptation of stealing by others, if they couldn't see valuable things inside.One could also include an exploding transfiguration as a safety feature. The handles of the cabinet could become fuel for an explosion using Magus Nobel, and the trigger could be magically sent, an immediate explosion. This, however, would be a one-time protection and you'd have to put new handles on the cabinet afterwards and re-enchant them.All of these are from timed transfiguration, transfiguring caused by having a spell ready to activate but made activate by certain circumstances.That should be satisfactory.She rolled her parchment up, waiting for her professor to call time to hand hers in. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #5 on October 11, 2012, 11:04:35 PM Written examination? What a blazing waste. Casey would rather have shown that he could construct the security enchantments himself, although there was no space to do so in the classroom and most of his security designs did not always have a basis in Transfiguration. Thus it took Casey a moment to think of a hypothetical situation before he structured his design:How to Trap Intruders in Your Front GardenMaterials Needed- Doorway (all counts based on applying this to one doorway).- Minimum 15 feet of 3 inches by 3 inches square cross section wooden beams.- Minimum 40 square foot area in front of doorway.- Garden plants (unassuming)Spells Used- Intruder Charm- Chaining Spell- Bonding Spell- Glisseo- Quagmire Transfiguration[1]ConstructionThe wooden beams, hereafter regarded as 'fencing' are the material for the transfiguration into chains of approximately equal volume. The Chaining Spell, Manicarcerous, is a useful conjuration for quick entrapment but even master casters cannot expect the spell to have long term duration for as a conjuration the material was "produced from nothing" and thus exhibits limitations not present in already present material transfigured for another purpose.The length of fence prepped to transfigure into chain can then be placed in any arrangement provided the pieces are connected to the door in question. Once the pieces are at desired length and shape for arrangement they are connected with a Bonding Spell, Epoximise, to form a single connected unit from the door. As the bouded together pieces are of the same base material and exhibit the same transfigured behavior it will unify the enchantments.Similarly, the ground in the area in front of the door is prepped with Paludis to turn into quagmire-consistancy ground.If there is a front step or raised front step, it is prepped with Glisseo.The proper warding of the door with an Intruder Charm will activate the three transfiguration triggers: Glisseo on the steps, Manicarcerous on the low fence, and Paludis on the area of the front yard.Flowers or other common front yard plants are planted in the garden sections made by the prepped fencing to distract from the transfiguration trap. Or for variation, use known security plants (Fanged Geraniums, Snargaluff, etc) to distract the intruder from the more dangerous trap.OperationWhen the intruder attempts to cross the threshold the Intruder Charm will trigger the transfigurations. Simultaneously the fencing will rise up as chains to shackle the intruder as the steps/walk slip them back towards the bog-like area of yard. The intruder will sink until they are up to their neck in the ground, the combined effect of shackles and being buried alive rendering them unable to move their limbs or use their wand.In the aftermath as the trap resets, the chains can retreat as the ground hardens around the intruder, keeping them trapped. Given the nature of the Intruder Charm combined with the Chaining Spell any number of the intruders will be caught and dragged to the quagmire area of yard, large enough to hold several intruders if necessary, regardless of order and timing of their attempted entry. Additional fencing to transfigure into chains may be needed.Whatever happens to the trapped intruders can be decided on by the owner of the dwelling. Depending on number of points of entry to the dwelling and available space, this can be applied to all entrances. 1. newly created just for this exam. Paludis is a latin variation of palus, quagmire Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #6 on October 15, 2012, 11:04:00 PM While not exactly welcome, Naomi didn't mind having a written exam, to her it seemed like a much lazier and simpler approach than having to cast any actual magic. However, the prompt Sandusky gave them seemed to be impossibly complicated, rather than impossibly simple--there were just too many ways to do the assignment, and Transfiguration seemed like it would be a secondary type of magic used in constructing such a device, rather than the primary type of magic used, especially when there were specific spells and enchantments that could be used instead.Naomi rolled her quill between her fingers for a moment before she took a breath, set her pen nib against parchment, and began scribbling away at an idea. It definitely didn't seem simple, not to her, but was the simplest thing she could think of, and it seemed much more amusing to write about than any complex artificer project her father could concoct. Naomi FoleyDecember 14 2009A Security Device for a BedroomA coconut, rune charm, and some transfiguration enchantments can be used to make a stuffed animal that guards one’s bedroom against various intrusions and snooping done by nosy cousins or older brothers. The process I detail would only require a few charms to customize the stuffed animal; for my purposes I will discuss how to customize the animal to be that of a blue dragon. The dragon will function by firing various projectiles, from its mouth, at anyone who enters the room without the dragon’s owner present, and it will float and roll around the room to better accomplish this goal. When it is not on the offense the dragon will idly sit upon the spot its owner last left it. There are a few steps to follow to accomplish this.First, prepare the coconut; this is accomplished by using a carving spell to carve a hole in the coconut, but do not drain any milk from it. After that is done, control and focus the carving spell so that one is able to carve a rune charm on the inside of the coconut shell without breaking it. The charm must have the following runes and layout: Berkano (growth) and Algiz (protection), that loosely surround Othila (home), which should be the charm's central rune, then that rune should channel Raidho (journey), Dagaz (transformation), and Tiwaz (warrior), towards and around the hole that was first carved in the coconut shell. The first two runes will make it so the toy is able to grow material from its interior to produce any projectile, while the central rune and Algiz define its primary function to guard a living space and who or what resides there, and the final three runes make it so the creature can fire various types of projectiles. However, the rune charm cannot function on its own, but any magic cast on the stuffed animal will use the rune charm as a guideline to determine how magic affects and changes the coconut. As a finishing touch, the coconut should be turned a different color with the color-changing charm, should one desire the stuffed animal to be a different color than brown. Next, transform the coconut; the different types of materials that make up the coconut make it easier to transform each material in its own unique way, so the outer layer can transform into the fuzzy exterior of the stuffed toy while, simultaneously, the meat and milk of the coconut can transform into the interior of the stuffed toy. Then, with magic being restricted by the rune charm, a well-chosen spell can transform the coconut into the stuffed dragon while also giving it the ability to shoot projectiles from its mouth. Therefore, I believe the spell, Crepundia[1] Draconifors[2], which is a combination spell using a spell from one of the older spellbooks in the library, is most appropriate. By following the rune charm, the spell will have the capability to transform the coconut into a toy dragon that can breathe, spit, or shoot fire. However, I would like the toy to fire other various projectiles and would like it to move around, so this design could benefit from some fin-tuning. Finally, add any finishing enchantments; imbuing the spells Glacius[3] into the toy dragon's mouth, a sand summoning spell into its stuffing, and a levitation charm onto the whole toy will give it the extra features I desire. Imbuing Glacius into the mouth of the dragon allows for the toy to have control over the temperature of the flame as well as giving it the ability to produce water to freeze, resulting in it gaining the ability to shoot fire or ice from its mouth. A sand summoning spell, imbued into its stuffing, will allow for the runes to use and combine the sand with the water, the fire, and/or the temperature change to create a variety of projectiles for the dragon to spit, breathe, or shoot from its mouth. Finally, a levitation enchantment allows the toy to move and roll around the room in order to better guard the room. Altogether, these steps make a cuddly blue companion that also turns into a security device that can keep nosy siblings out of your room. With the rune charm guiding any magic cast on it, the toy is capable of protecting a bedroom by moving around a room and by wielding transfiguration spells to breathe, spit, or shoot fire, ice, and sand, as is needed to keep intruders at bay. And, in its idle time, it can comfortably perch between other stuffed toys and against the pillows of a neatly made bed until its owner returns home, making it an effective and lovable security device. 1. Latin for toy or plaything 2. reference 3. referenceThe essay took a little longer than she would have liked, though Naomi had a short attention span to begin with, but she was satisfied. She then rolled the quill between her fingers again before she began to sketch a rather cartoonish drawing of the stuffed toy in the upperhand left corner of the paper as she waited for the professor to excuse them. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #7 on October 26, 2012, 10:03:21 AM Oooh! The mid term didn't really require any wand work! That made Winifred excited. It meant she was likely to get a better score than she would have otherwise. Of course, the mid term itself sounded a bit complicated. Professor Sandusky must have faith in most of his students if he thought they could do something so cool and advanced-sounding. That sounded like NEWT level stuff! Hopefully Winifred would be able to pull off something fun and interesting for her mid-term and he would appreciate her creativity.She quickly set about drawing on her bit of parchment. Winnie decided she would make a diary that needed to be secured as her project. Of course, she didn't know the names of the kind of spells she'd want to use- but hopefully she would at least get some credit for having an idea of what she wanted the spells to do.It wasn't particularly well thought out. Winifred finished her doodle[1] and the exact things that she wanted to be done to the diary in about fifteen minutes. There wasn't much explanation on her parchment, either. Just a quick sketch and a few numbered details that lacked anything particularly in depth. But Winnie thought that it was a pretty neat idea! And, to her, it seemed like something other people would actually want to buy. When you lived in Hogwarts, it was hard to keep your diary a secret and figure out a way to keep everyone out of it! 1. Click here for Winifred's drawing. It's huge so I didn't want to link it in the post.[/url] Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #8 on October 29, 2012, 04:15:46 PM Leopold wandered the room, occasionally looking over someones shoulder and making the occasional comment. Mostly they were positive suggestions or complimentary comments. He chuckled when he looked over Winifred's shoulder. He learned closer. "You might want to consider listing some of the spells you would use, even in the most general of ways," he said. "I'm curious as to how you are going to prevent the ribbon from leaking all over the page after it has performed its highly illegal attack."Winifred would understand but it was an obscure enough reference that those around her would garner very little about her project. Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #9 on November 19, 2012, 12:36:18 PM Gloria GibbonGryffindorDecember 14 2009I remember reading about a eyeball curse[1] where a Dark Artist would use floating eyes trapped in a spell to ward off doors. I mean ick, why would you want use eyeballs anyways? I guess it's for the shock value. Are they taken from the victims and stripped of their eyelids?But there's probably a nicer way to harvest eyeballs, like the unused creature parts for potions. If the eyeball is fresh enough you could theoretically use it for the spell. Only instead of freaking people out with eyeballs floating around a door, be descrete on where you transfigure them to be. Like the eyes of a statue or piece of taxidermy, that way you don't have to enlarge the eye to get it to work, which incidently was a way of weakening this eyeball ward thing if the eye was too big and easier to hit.I guess a Switching Spell would be needed to fix the eyes in whatever "sockets" you choose to use. And whatever preserves the eyes, whether that's part of the curse or something different to keep them preserved. So instead of having a floating eyeball scarring someone off you could ward in another spell to trigger whenever the eye sees someone going somewhere they shouldn't. Like theoretically, say you have a prize solid gold toliet you don't want anyone to steal. A giant eyeball looks out of place in a bathroom but not a fish mounted to the wall! Because besides liking solid gold plumbing you're a fishing enthusiast and you have a bunch of fish in the hall. It fits. But the other spell you trigger into the repurposed eyeball curse could be anything, maybe a Stunner to kock them away or, to keep with a transfiguration theme, turn them into slugs!You can do that right, set up a transfiguration on a delay to only target somebody snooping where they shouldn't even though you may never know what they looked like to begine with because you weren't around at the time?Well, this is all theoretical I guess since I wouldn't think you have the materials on hand to work it out. Eyeballs out of something's head kind of freak me out anyways. But if you do ever get it to work I get partial credit for creating the method, right? You have to say that a student of yours first had the idea, don't you Professor Sandusky? How does one go about patenting a spell, anyways? No one seems to do it anymore, the real money must be in new potions. 1. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Floating_eyes_curse Skip to next post Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #10 on January 28, 2013, 06:14:57 AM No spells, oh thank Merlin. At least he wasn't going to blow anything to pieces. To Ambrose, Transfiguration was akin to a very hard maths class, taught in a language he didn't know. He'd torn up and thrown away countless pieces of their written homework all term trying to work out what to write, and been consistently scoring low acceptable and more often poors and troll, detention when he simply decided that what he had wasn't even worth submitting. The prospect of no spells was therefore only partially relieving. Next would be a written test then. Ambrose listened to the task with a sinking heart. Invent some sort of reusable security device? His classmates pondered and then soon set to work whereas Ambrose sat re-reading the question, brushing the end of his quill back and forth on his lip, glancing up every now and then with increasing anxiety. Everyone seemed to be really busy writing or drawing, including Winnie, whereas his piece of parchment remained untouched. With a grumpy sigh, Ambrose looked to the windows and frowned, trying to find inspiration in an increasingly vacant mind as the panic was setting in that he'd run out of time. Windows needed securing? If you left one open someone could try and climb in? Man-eating window then? Ambrose snorted to himself and realising he'd shown hilarity at his own ridiculous suggestion he sank down in his chair a little and clapped a hand to his mouth. Man eating window? He'd not had any better ideas so far. This stuff came so easily to Theta and Dad, but to Ambrose he felt as uncreative and unimaginative as a slug. It didn't help that the likes of Alvis Norling had a piece of parchment stretching off the table now - the ink charmed as Professor Sandusky said, to stop anyone else reading it. Ambrose could hardly cover his murderous expression of jealousy.Reusable simple security device. A Pepper, TransfigurationMan-eating window.Ambrose scratched the words across the page, considered a rather flamboyant doodle of a man being eaten by said window, and although enjoyable, remembered he probably wouldn't be marked on it. When people leave windows open in summer, criminals can climb inside and steal things, which makes other people unhappy. A man-eating window would squeeze or bite down on someone trying to climb in the window, which is ok if you are a burglar, well, not for them, but the owner of the house, but really bad if you have a cat that climbs in and out the window, or you have forgotten your keys.I'm not a security expert, or the world's most creative, and because I've only five minutes to write this now I'm not going to find all the answers. Besides, I'm a fourth year. The window would need some sort of human detection charm, actually, that might stop it eating the cat, but not someone who is an animagi, or you if you forgot your keys. If the charm detected a human the window would try to close on their fingers, or however much of their body they'd tried to fit in. It could crush them, so it would need some sort of shrinking, or crushing charm, or well, this is transfiguration so it could change into something else, like a pair of stocks. They used to put people who had been bad in stocks and people used to throw rotting vegetables at them. Ok, so the window will transfigure into a pair of stocks because like, I imagine burglars all generally put their arms or their head in a window first, so that would be logical. Then if they got caught I suppose something else in the room could throw rotting vegetables at them until the person came home and caught them. Ambrose realised in horror he'd not even alluded to any named charms or transfigurations, but he had no time, having spent ages struggling to think of anything, he had typically had a last moment thought. Bugger. Skip to next post
4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] on October 05, 2012, 06:04:15 PM "This is the class you've all been dreading," Leopold announced, looking at his fourth year class. "Today you will be writing your transfigurations midterm examination. I'm going to mix things up a little bit, however. I will not be giving you a sheet of questions that you will be writing the answers on. I'm going to make you call on what you have learned up to this point. Transfigurations is a subject that crosses into many other forms of magic. I'm going to ask you to make use of that crossover and show me that you are capable of putting all forms of magic together to create a functional whole. Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to make something for me. You will not be doing the actual construction, however. You will be putting down on parchment all the elements that would be required to create a simple security device. What shape that device takes is up to you but it must be something that will last past more than one use. The pumpkins you were working on in October will not be sufficient."Leopold moved around the class and began setting a sealed roll of parchment on each desk. "These parchments are enchanted to be as long as you need them to be. They are also enchanted so that anything written on them will be visible only from directly above, so no one will be able to copy the work of their neighbour. How detailed you want to be is up to you. If you want to use point form and list the spells or components necessary, that is acceptable but I will expect you to indicate how those components will be combined. Are there any questions at this point?"For students who were used to casting spells for their tests, this was going to be an unpleasant change. It was a test not just of their ability but also of their comprehension. Anyone could throw off a spell. it took real understanding to create. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #1 on October 11, 2012, 12:09:10 AM The second the word "writing" passed through Sandusky's lips, Nick felt his neck and shoulders loosen up. As the room around him seemed to erupt in groans, Nick broke the tedium with a sigh of relief. Given a that "fiasco" best described at least half of his transfiguration exams, Nick was relieved not to have to cast anything. Not that he couldn't do it, but "could" and "would" weren't always the same thing and being good enough at transfiguration didn't necessarily make one good enough at following directions. Since he didn't have to actually do it, though, just show that he knew how, this would hopefully go better. Or, at least, it would go better once he came up with an idea for a "security device." No way he'd pass with something as simple as an alarm on a door. A lot of the more specific, more creative items Nick could think of might not fly in a classroom setting. He wasn't keen on having his lighter stolen when he lent it to someone else, but a lighter that burned the hand of anyone but its owner might not go over well. Still, a good enough idea that he'd have to try it as, you know, an extracurricular exercise. A few other ideas like that crossed his mind, before one set him on a device that would actually work. Thinking of cigarettes charmed to vanish when an authority figure saw them, Nick realized the wide potential of vanishing. Any adolescent had secret messages, love notes and dumb poetry and angsty journals, that they wouldn't want the world seeing. Adults in professions as respectable as auror had things to keep secret, as well. Hopefully, the usefulness of the item, or at least the breadth of people who could use it, would be taken into account. So, the basic idea was to vanish writing. Of course, that might be too obvious; why would one guard or hide a blank piece of paper? So, one would have to conjure text, as well. Besides the practicality, it added some more complex transfiguration that could help to boost the score. Now, before he figured how the actual magic would work, there was the question of which "device" to use. If he were to use parchment or a scroll, the item would be a little more limited, since one would have to use the specific medium to safeguard secret information. If he chose ink, a lot of the little details might be harder to work out. Well, harder might be better if he could suss out how to do it, and it wasn't like Sandusky would let him leave until the exam was over, whether he was finished or not. Better to work than have to sit here twiddling his bloody thumbs. So, the simplest thing was the mechanism of secrecy; the message would appear to its writer and any person to whom it was addressed. Since the vanishing itself would be conspicuous, the false message would appear by default, vanishing and conjuring the proper message only for the reader to whom it was addressed. Of course, the name would appear in the real message and need not necessarily appear in the false one. The problem was how to tell one from the next. Nick's eyes darted around nervously, hoping he wasn't about to hit a road-block that forced him to start over. "Steady on, Nicky, can't be that hard," he muttered, looking around him. One thing he liked about exams here, nobody would accuse you of cheating if you looked around. Staring at a page never helped anyone think. Seeing his classmates writing with quills -- different quills -- did help. The ink would come with two quill tips, one for the real message, one for the false message. The real message would vanish when the tip was switched and would not re-appear until its intended audience, or original author, read the message. You could switch them out with the end of most any quill easily enough, so they'd do fine to transport, as well. Nick let a wide smile break over his face as he stretched out, cracked the knuckles of each hand in quick succession, and took out his quill, writing out the initial overview while the other details came together in his head; the writer would think of the intended reader's face and write their full name to avoid confusion; holding the quill with the "false" tip in place would allow the writer to see the false message so that s/he might check it for errors in spelling; a rune specific to the writer will ensure that the quill-tips only function for him or her so that recovering the quill would not reveal the message; and provisions for how the basic magic might be altered to accommodate secret messages in inherently magical kinds of ink other than, of course, invisible ink, which involved magic close enough to vanishing that it would make his "Bond Ink" (a pun on the meaning of "bond" and the famed muggle super-spy) less reliable. Towards the end of the period, Nick began to expect that he might not merely pass Transfigurations, but actually earn himself good marks, this term. Looking at the time left on the clock, he jotted down a tiny end-note that the ink and quill-tips as a set gave benefits that using quill-tips alone would not, thought it would be possible to achieve a more limited version of the same effect with tips alone, in a pinch. Seeing that he still had a few minutes, he added a list of materials and spells at the end, with asterisks to indicate which ones would be required for the inkless version or versions using ink that was already magical. As the period truly came to its end, Nick cracked his knuckles again and reflected that it was nice to have at least a few seconds to "twiddle his bloody thumbs," with a decent hope of high marks. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #2 on October 11, 2012, 02:18:58 AM Alvis's quill trembled as he lowered it to the page, not out of anxiety, but excitement. So many possibilities and such a broad assignment. Sandusky pitched it like some dreadful challenge, but it the whole thing was right up Alvis's alley. The hard part was figuring out an angle. He made a few sketches and a brief outline on scrap parchment before settling on an idea and starting to draw...Alvis Norling - Transfiguration MidtermDecember 14th, 2009Component One:A minimum of three (3) equilateral crystal tetrahedrons made of clear, colorless quartz. One, the Central, is exactly twice the size and dimensions of the rest. Otherwise, they are all identical. Because of the necessity for arithmantic precision and clarity of crystal, it would be best to create these components by transfiguring raw quartz into a liquid form, pouring the result into a series of precise molds, and then allowing the quartz to re-solidify naturally. Once the crystals are removed from the molds, silver is applied to one side, forming a smooth surface on which to inscribe runes. The exact formula would require extensive experimentation, but off the top of my head it would likely include ansuz, kenaz, and dagaz.[1] The formula would, most likely, be based primarily around a modified version of the Protean Charm, with the Central as the master object and the rest as slaves. But rather than changing the master object to effect its slaves, these runes would transmit magic from the slaves back to the master.As seen to the right, when seen from above, these components also form the shape of the Dragon's Eye, a symbol of protection and sight. Additional silver might be applied to the corner and edges to amplify this aspect, but without experimentation I've no way of knowing exactly what effect that might have. Component Two: A silver scrying bowl, its outside edge engraved with a runic formula complimentary to and resonating with the one on the crystals. This formula most likely contains a number of the same runes, with the addition of gebo and jera, to gather the information recorded by the crystals. Ideally, these runic formulas would be based on those of a pensive, which serves a similar purpose to what this component will provide. While the bowl can be theoretically made by hand, it is most important that it be perfectly smooth with no bumps, dents, or irregularities. Ergo, it's best to use magical methods for the forging process, such as fornax, the furnace spell, in tangent with aquamentai and pressure-based shaping spellsComponent Three:Scrying oil or, more probably, an oil-based potion with jobberknoll feathers as its most substantive ingredient. The exact ingredients will depend largely on the runic formulas There should be at least enough of it that, when the central crystal is placed in the center of the scrying bowl, it is completely covered and the surface of the potion remains smooth. For this example, I will be using Professor Sandusky's office as a hypothetical location because, while this has the potential to cover extensive ground and perhaps even multiple rooms, it while be easiest to explain using a small room with a single entrance and one window. Using a sticking charm, the two smaller crystal pieces are installed along the wall at positions A and B. (Do NOT use the Bonding Spell, it will disrupt the effectiveness of the runes.) These components would be installed with their silver bases facing the wall and one flat edge pointed upwards to form the 'Dragon's Eye', with the point of the crystal (the eye's 'pupil') facing towards the window and the door, respectively. The scrying bowl is then placed near the center of the room, where it will be undisturbed. The rectangle shown here is a hypothetical notch removed from the floor with a vanishing spell and concealed by a conjured stone that might be summoned and dismissed at will. This is necessary because it's important that the bowl and its contents be disturbed as little as possible. The Central crystal is placed in the very center of the bowl, silver against silver with one point facing up. The potion or oil is then added until the crystal is completely concealed and the surface of the liquid is smooth. This completes the set-up for the device, so long as the stone is replaced to conceal the bowl.Throughout the day, the secondary crystals located at points A and B maintain a clear view of the room's only two physical entrances and, between them, provide a decent picture of the overall room. Their runic formulas include a trigger spell based on videre mortus felis, the line-of-sight motion-activation trigger, which brings the crystals to 'life' for lack of a better term whenever something moves in front of them. When the crystal dragon's eyes are active, anything they observe will be transmitted to the Central crystal, which then works in tangent with the scrying bowl to modify the oil or oil-based potion and preserve the images. The result, theoretically, would be a recording of any movement made in the office over the period of time that the device was operational. Said recordings could then be reviewed at the leisure of the object's owner similarly to how memories may be reviewed by the owner of a pensive. How much time might be recorded would be dependent on the liquid used to contain it. A basic scrying oil would probably only hold one recording of a few minutes, which would then be erased the next time someone entered the room. However, an oil-based potion using jobberknoll feathers could, conceivably, hold several separate moments and hours of information, which could then be stored and transferred as memories sometime are. 1. Reference: http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/meanings.htmlAlvis hesitated on the last paragraph, nibbling the tip of his quill. Was it too detailed? Sandusky had said simple...or perhaps it was too hypothetical. He couldn't know the proper arithmancy ratios, runic formulas, or potion properties without experimenting. It was only a guess on his part that there was a way to make it all work. He didn't even know how to use fornax yet; he'd just seen Gran do it. Still, all of the concepts involved -- the runes based on the Protean Charm, the scrying bowl based on a pensive, the transmuted crystals as clear and watchful eyes -- were sound. The combination hadn't been done before, as far as he knew. And the assignment was to design an object, not build it...It didn't matter either way, he didn't have the time left to design anything else. Alvis proof-read the page one more time before putting down his quill, wondering idly if he might get the design back once it'd been graded. It wasn't a bad idea. Maybe, with a bit of effort, he could get it all to work. A project for this summer, perhaps. If he could find the time. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #3 on October 11, 2012, 08:59:37 PM Leopold wandered the classroom, looking over the shoulders of his students. Several of them looked like they wanted to be ill, while others seemed to be in their glory. He'd expected something like this. The students who were prepared to regurgitate information to answer list of questions were suffering, whereas those who worked to actually understand the subject were doing well. It was a midterm that bordered on having real world applications and if their teachers had done a decent job over the last four years of educating them, he would end up with any number of interesting ideas.The ones that would suffer would be those with utterly no imagination. "I'm not expecting a working model of the objects you are proposing," he said. "This is a test of your ability to put together all the things you have learned here. This is your chance to surprise yourselves. I expect you to astonish me." Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #4 on October 11, 2012, 10:13:06 PM What an odd midterm, Zoe had been expecting some spellwork. She had practiced actual methods of Transfiguration, now she was told to write an essay? No matter, the Ravenclaw opened up her parchment and removed a quill. What to write, what to write....Zoe TorretTransfiguration MidtermDecember 14Anti-Stealing CaseTo begin, first we, of course, would need a case. This particular design is for a display cabinet, though the same steps could be used on a regular cabinet. The end product will be a place where one can safely store their things without worry of robbery.The first step would be giving this cabinet a lock that can only be opened by certain people. A conditional enchantment (enchantment whose purpose is to perform a task on a given condition) would be the most efficient way to do this. The Unlocking Charm, made into an enchantment (Alohamora Incanto), must be cast on the doors of the cabinet. However, this conditional enchantment has two parts, the second being a condition. A Recognition Enchantment (Homo Recogno) must be combined with the Unlocking Enchantment to make this conditional enchantment. The enchantment is it will recognize a person and unlock when they, and only they, attempt to unlock the cabinet. This conditional charm is the best way for this certain security system, as you don't need a magical eye to monitor. The Recognition Enchantment will recognize the aura of the person.Note: It is of utmost importance that the conditional enchantment is made either by the individual the cabinet is made to unlock for or the unlocking ability is transferred to the person who owns the cabinet by means of magical contract.This by itself will make the cabinet pretty secure, but what if someone tried to break in under the influence of a Polyjuice Potion or by putting the owner in an Imperius Curse? The objects in the cabinet can be protected by a second conditional enchantment.This conditional enchantment, like the previous one, has two parts. It will be cast on the handles of the cabinet doors, and a tangent-based enchantment, meaning it will be an enchantment used when someone touches the handles. Tangent-based enchantments are the easiest to produce, as they don't rely on magical currents in a specific radius or area giving information to the object the enchantment is cast upon, the size of the radius or area providing the challenge. The first part is a Recognition Enchantment that, unlike the previous one, detects magical forces (Specialis Recogno). You can tailor this enchantment to recognize certain Polyjuice Potion and Imperius Curses. This must be cast on the handles, not the doors, so when one goes to open it it tests to see what the individual is under. The second part is an Activation Charm (Incanto Activus), which would be combined with the Recognition Enchantment. The Activation Charm itself will be made to activate an enchanted alarm system.The alarm system will have two parts. The first is an actual alarm, a Caterwauling Charm (Armoplore), the second is a Locking Charm (Colloportus). This will alert anyone in the area and lock the doors so whatever is inside could not be taken out. However, these are charms instead of enchantments because, if they were enchantments, they would last without stopping. The alarm system can easily be turned off with a Deactivation Charm (Incanto Fini), but cannot be deactivated to the point that it won't work.The final step to making this cabinet a very safe place is an Unbreakable Charm (Indamnum[1]) on the whole cabinet, so no one could enter it with brute force.So let's go through what the cabinet is enchanted to do:1. Allow one, and only one, person to open it.2. Not allow someone under the influence of Polyjuice Potion or an Imperius Curse to open it. If someone tries, it will sound a very loud alarm. The alarm can be stopped, but not deactivated.3. Withstand brute force to the point that it is unbreakable.Our finished product is a very secure Anti-Stealing Case. 1. And don't worry, ALL of these new spells will be added to the Lexicon... soon enough.Zoe looked up at Sandusky as he talked, finishing her essay. She put down her quill and read over it. Is wasn't too short, right? She figured she went into enough detail, including incantations and explanations for some steps. It did seem creative, certainly Professor Sandusky would like it. Though, she didn't use any transfiguration terms.Thinking quickly, Zoe added:Possible additions:You could have the doors of the cabinet transfigure into other materials. For instance, using the Human Recognition Enchantment, you could charm the cabinet doors to transfigure to glass when it senses the aura of the trusted person, so that person can see inside, but when it does not detect the aura of the person it will transfigure back to wood. This would reduce any temptation of stealing by others, if they couldn't see valuable things inside.One could also include an exploding transfiguration as a safety feature. The handles of the cabinet could become fuel for an explosion using Magus Nobel, and the trigger could be magically sent, an immediate explosion. This, however, would be a one-time protection and you'd have to put new handles on the cabinet afterwards and re-enchant them.All of these are from timed transfiguration, transfiguring caused by having a spell ready to activate but made activate by certain circumstances.That should be satisfactory.She rolled her parchment up, waiting for her professor to call time to hand hers in. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #5 on October 11, 2012, 11:04:35 PM Written examination? What a blazing waste. Casey would rather have shown that he could construct the security enchantments himself, although there was no space to do so in the classroom and most of his security designs did not always have a basis in Transfiguration. Thus it took Casey a moment to think of a hypothetical situation before he structured his design:How to Trap Intruders in Your Front GardenMaterials Needed- Doorway (all counts based on applying this to one doorway).- Minimum 15 feet of 3 inches by 3 inches square cross section wooden beams.- Minimum 40 square foot area in front of doorway.- Garden plants (unassuming)Spells Used- Intruder Charm- Chaining Spell- Bonding Spell- Glisseo- Quagmire Transfiguration[1]ConstructionThe wooden beams, hereafter regarded as 'fencing' are the material for the transfiguration into chains of approximately equal volume. The Chaining Spell, Manicarcerous, is a useful conjuration for quick entrapment but even master casters cannot expect the spell to have long term duration for as a conjuration the material was "produced from nothing" and thus exhibits limitations not present in already present material transfigured for another purpose.The length of fence prepped to transfigure into chain can then be placed in any arrangement provided the pieces are connected to the door in question. Once the pieces are at desired length and shape for arrangement they are connected with a Bonding Spell, Epoximise, to form a single connected unit from the door. As the bouded together pieces are of the same base material and exhibit the same transfigured behavior it will unify the enchantments.Similarly, the ground in the area in front of the door is prepped with Paludis to turn into quagmire-consistancy ground.If there is a front step or raised front step, it is prepped with Glisseo.The proper warding of the door with an Intruder Charm will activate the three transfiguration triggers: Glisseo on the steps, Manicarcerous on the low fence, and Paludis on the area of the front yard.Flowers or other common front yard plants are planted in the garden sections made by the prepped fencing to distract from the transfiguration trap. Or for variation, use known security plants (Fanged Geraniums, Snargaluff, etc) to distract the intruder from the more dangerous trap.OperationWhen the intruder attempts to cross the threshold the Intruder Charm will trigger the transfigurations. Simultaneously the fencing will rise up as chains to shackle the intruder as the steps/walk slip them back towards the bog-like area of yard. The intruder will sink until they are up to their neck in the ground, the combined effect of shackles and being buried alive rendering them unable to move their limbs or use their wand.In the aftermath as the trap resets, the chains can retreat as the ground hardens around the intruder, keeping them trapped. Given the nature of the Intruder Charm combined with the Chaining Spell any number of the intruders will be caught and dragged to the quagmire area of yard, large enough to hold several intruders if necessary, regardless of order and timing of their attempted entry. Additional fencing to transfigure into chains may be needed.Whatever happens to the trapped intruders can be decided on by the owner of the dwelling. Depending on number of points of entry to the dwelling and available space, this can be applied to all entrances. 1. newly created just for this exam. Paludis is a latin variation of palus, quagmire Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #6 on October 15, 2012, 11:04:00 PM While not exactly welcome, Naomi didn't mind having a written exam, to her it seemed like a much lazier and simpler approach than having to cast any actual magic. However, the prompt Sandusky gave them seemed to be impossibly complicated, rather than impossibly simple--there were just too many ways to do the assignment, and Transfiguration seemed like it would be a secondary type of magic used in constructing such a device, rather than the primary type of magic used, especially when there were specific spells and enchantments that could be used instead.Naomi rolled her quill between her fingers for a moment before she took a breath, set her pen nib against parchment, and began scribbling away at an idea. It definitely didn't seem simple, not to her, but was the simplest thing she could think of, and it seemed much more amusing to write about than any complex artificer project her father could concoct. Naomi FoleyDecember 14 2009A Security Device for a BedroomA coconut, rune charm, and some transfiguration enchantments can be used to make a stuffed animal that guards one’s bedroom against various intrusions and snooping done by nosy cousins or older brothers. The process I detail would only require a few charms to customize the stuffed animal; for my purposes I will discuss how to customize the animal to be that of a blue dragon. The dragon will function by firing various projectiles, from its mouth, at anyone who enters the room without the dragon’s owner present, and it will float and roll around the room to better accomplish this goal. When it is not on the offense the dragon will idly sit upon the spot its owner last left it. There are a few steps to follow to accomplish this.First, prepare the coconut; this is accomplished by using a carving spell to carve a hole in the coconut, but do not drain any milk from it. After that is done, control and focus the carving spell so that one is able to carve a rune charm on the inside of the coconut shell without breaking it. The charm must have the following runes and layout: Berkano (growth) and Algiz (protection), that loosely surround Othila (home), which should be the charm's central rune, then that rune should channel Raidho (journey), Dagaz (transformation), and Tiwaz (warrior), towards and around the hole that was first carved in the coconut shell. The first two runes will make it so the toy is able to grow material from its interior to produce any projectile, while the central rune and Algiz define its primary function to guard a living space and who or what resides there, and the final three runes make it so the creature can fire various types of projectiles. However, the rune charm cannot function on its own, but any magic cast on the stuffed animal will use the rune charm as a guideline to determine how magic affects and changes the coconut. As a finishing touch, the coconut should be turned a different color with the color-changing charm, should one desire the stuffed animal to be a different color than brown. Next, transform the coconut; the different types of materials that make up the coconut make it easier to transform each material in its own unique way, so the outer layer can transform into the fuzzy exterior of the stuffed toy while, simultaneously, the meat and milk of the coconut can transform into the interior of the stuffed toy. Then, with magic being restricted by the rune charm, a well-chosen spell can transform the coconut into the stuffed dragon while also giving it the ability to shoot projectiles from its mouth. Therefore, I believe the spell, Crepundia[1] Draconifors[2], which is a combination spell using a spell from one of the older spellbooks in the library, is most appropriate. By following the rune charm, the spell will have the capability to transform the coconut into a toy dragon that can breathe, spit, or shoot fire. However, I would like the toy to fire other various projectiles and would like it to move around, so this design could benefit from some fin-tuning. Finally, add any finishing enchantments; imbuing the spells Glacius[3] into the toy dragon's mouth, a sand summoning spell into its stuffing, and a levitation charm onto the whole toy will give it the extra features I desire. Imbuing Glacius into the mouth of the dragon allows for the toy to have control over the temperature of the flame as well as giving it the ability to produce water to freeze, resulting in it gaining the ability to shoot fire or ice from its mouth. A sand summoning spell, imbued into its stuffing, will allow for the runes to use and combine the sand with the water, the fire, and/or the temperature change to create a variety of projectiles for the dragon to spit, breathe, or shoot from its mouth. Finally, a levitation enchantment allows the toy to move and roll around the room in order to better guard the room. Altogether, these steps make a cuddly blue companion that also turns into a security device that can keep nosy siblings out of your room. With the rune charm guiding any magic cast on it, the toy is capable of protecting a bedroom by moving around a room and by wielding transfiguration spells to breathe, spit, or shoot fire, ice, and sand, as is needed to keep intruders at bay. And, in its idle time, it can comfortably perch between other stuffed toys and against the pillows of a neatly made bed until its owner returns home, making it an effective and lovable security device. 1. Latin for toy or plaything 2. reference 3. referenceThe essay took a little longer than she would have liked, though Naomi had a short attention span to begin with, but she was satisfied. She then rolled the quill between her fingers again before she began to sketch a rather cartoonish drawing of the stuffed toy in the upperhand left corner of the paper as she waited for the professor to excuse them. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #7 on October 26, 2012, 10:03:21 AM Oooh! The mid term didn't really require any wand work! That made Winifred excited. It meant she was likely to get a better score than she would have otherwise. Of course, the mid term itself sounded a bit complicated. Professor Sandusky must have faith in most of his students if he thought they could do something so cool and advanced-sounding. That sounded like NEWT level stuff! Hopefully Winifred would be able to pull off something fun and interesting for her mid-term and he would appreciate her creativity.She quickly set about drawing on her bit of parchment. Winnie decided she would make a diary that needed to be secured as her project. Of course, she didn't know the names of the kind of spells she'd want to use- but hopefully she would at least get some credit for having an idea of what she wanted the spells to do.It wasn't particularly well thought out. Winifred finished her doodle[1] and the exact things that she wanted to be done to the diary in about fifteen minutes. There wasn't much explanation on her parchment, either. Just a quick sketch and a few numbered details that lacked anything particularly in depth. But Winnie thought that it was a pretty neat idea! And, to her, it seemed like something other people would actually want to buy. When you lived in Hogwarts, it was hard to keep your diary a secret and figure out a way to keep everyone out of it! 1. Click here for Winifred's drawing. It's huge so I didn't want to link it in the post.[/url] Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #8 on October 29, 2012, 04:15:46 PM Leopold wandered the room, occasionally looking over someones shoulder and making the occasional comment. Mostly they were positive suggestions or complimentary comments. He chuckled when he looked over Winifred's shoulder. He learned closer. "You might want to consider listing some of the spells you would use, even in the most general of ways," he said. "I'm curious as to how you are going to prevent the ribbon from leaking all over the page after it has performed its highly illegal attack."Winifred would understand but it was an obscure enough reference that those around her would garner very little about her project. Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #9 on November 19, 2012, 12:36:18 PM Gloria GibbonGryffindorDecember 14 2009I remember reading about a eyeball curse[1] where a Dark Artist would use floating eyes trapped in a spell to ward off doors. I mean ick, why would you want use eyeballs anyways? I guess it's for the shock value. Are they taken from the victims and stripped of their eyelids?But there's probably a nicer way to harvest eyeballs, like the unused creature parts for potions. If the eyeball is fresh enough you could theoretically use it for the spell. Only instead of freaking people out with eyeballs floating around a door, be descrete on where you transfigure them to be. Like the eyes of a statue or piece of taxidermy, that way you don't have to enlarge the eye to get it to work, which incidently was a way of weakening this eyeball ward thing if the eye was too big and easier to hit.I guess a Switching Spell would be needed to fix the eyes in whatever "sockets" you choose to use. And whatever preserves the eyes, whether that's part of the curse or something different to keep them preserved. So instead of having a floating eyeball scarring someone off you could ward in another spell to trigger whenever the eye sees someone going somewhere they shouldn't. Like theoretically, say you have a prize solid gold toliet you don't want anyone to steal. A giant eyeball looks out of place in a bathroom but not a fish mounted to the wall! Because besides liking solid gold plumbing you're a fishing enthusiast and you have a bunch of fish in the hall. It fits. But the other spell you trigger into the repurposed eyeball curse could be anything, maybe a Stunner to kock them away or, to keep with a transfiguration theme, turn them into slugs!You can do that right, set up a transfiguration on a delay to only target somebody snooping where they shouldn't even though you may never know what they looked like to begine with because you weren't around at the time?Well, this is all theoretical I guess since I wouldn't think you have the materials on hand to work it out. Eyeballs out of something's head kind of freak me out anyways. But if you do ever get it to work I get partial credit for creating the method, right? You have to say that a student of yours first had the idea, don't you Professor Sandusky? How does one go about patenting a spell, anyways? No one seems to do it anymore, the real money must be in new potions. 1. http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Floating_eyes_curse Skip to next post
Re: 4th Year Transfigurations: Midterms [Dec 14] Reply #10 on January 28, 2013, 06:14:57 AM No spells, oh thank Merlin. At least he wasn't going to blow anything to pieces. To Ambrose, Transfiguration was akin to a very hard maths class, taught in a language he didn't know. He'd torn up and thrown away countless pieces of their written homework all term trying to work out what to write, and been consistently scoring low acceptable and more often poors and troll, detention when he simply decided that what he had wasn't even worth submitting. The prospect of no spells was therefore only partially relieving. Next would be a written test then. Ambrose listened to the task with a sinking heart. Invent some sort of reusable security device? His classmates pondered and then soon set to work whereas Ambrose sat re-reading the question, brushing the end of his quill back and forth on his lip, glancing up every now and then with increasing anxiety. Everyone seemed to be really busy writing or drawing, including Winnie, whereas his piece of parchment remained untouched. With a grumpy sigh, Ambrose looked to the windows and frowned, trying to find inspiration in an increasingly vacant mind as the panic was setting in that he'd run out of time. Windows needed securing? If you left one open someone could try and climb in? Man-eating window then? Ambrose snorted to himself and realising he'd shown hilarity at his own ridiculous suggestion he sank down in his chair a little and clapped a hand to his mouth. Man eating window? He'd not had any better ideas so far. This stuff came so easily to Theta and Dad, but to Ambrose he felt as uncreative and unimaginative as a slug. It didn't help that the likes of Alvis Norling had a piece of parchment stretching off the table now - the ink charmed as Professor Sandusky said, to stop anyone else reading it. Ambrose could hardly cover his murderous expression of jealousy.Reusable simple security device. A Pepper, TransfigurationMan-eating window.Ambrose scratched the words across the page, considered a rather flamboyant doodle of a man being eaten by said window, and although enjoyable, remembered he probably wouldn't be marked on it. When people leave windows open in summer, criminals can climb inside and steal things, which makes other people unhappy. A man-eating window would squeeze or bite down on someone trying to climb in the window, which is ok if you are a burglar, well, not for them, but the owner of the house, but really bad if you have a cat that climbs in and out the window, or you have forgotten your keys.I'm not a security expert, or the world's most creative, and because I've only five minutes to write this now I'm not going to find all the answers. Besides, I'm a fourth year. The window would need some sort of human detection charm, actually, that might stop it eating the cat, but not someone who is an animagi, or you if you forgot your keys. If the charm detected a human the window would try to close on their fingers, or however much of their body they'd tried to fit in. It could crush them, so it would need some sort of shrinking, or crushing charm, or well, this is transfiguration so it could change into something else, like a pair of stocks. They used to put people who had been bad in stocks and people used to throw rotting vegetables at them. Ok, so the window will transfigure into a pair of stocks because like, I imagine burglars all generally put their arms or their head in a window first, so that would be logical. Then if they got caught I suppose something else in the room could throw rotting vegetables at them until the person came home and caught them. Ambrose realised in horror he'd not even alluded to any named charms or transfigurations, but he had no time, having spent ages struggling to think of anything, he had typically had a last moment thought. Bugger. Skip to next post