STUDENT Name: Verity Bell House & Year: Hufflepuff, 6th year

CREATURE Name: Iroh Classification: Tanuki Rating: XXX

Today was not Verity's day. Breakfast had given her a nasty surprise and reverted her to a much younger state, resulting in her being in the body of a 5-year-old boy. She had managed to shrink her clothes to her new size, but it had possibly only made the stares worse as she now appeared as a young boy in a skirt. Her sun hat helped somewhat to give her a more feminine appearance, though with her short hair completely covered by the hat, she looked like a well-dressed ad for St. Jude's Medical.

Iroh, the tanuki she'd been training for the past couple months, had initially not recognized her until she scolded him for perving on the aged up younger years. The two sat next to each other, and Verity fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she feared drawing attention to herself in her current state. Before Professor Donovan called for quiet from the students, the Hufflepuff attempted to get a last minute pep talk in with her charge.

"Iroh, please don't transform into my current appearance. Remember how I normally look, and shapeshift into that form, and please don't forget the clothing. I am already mortified enough to last me a lifetime," she pleaded, her small hands clasped tightly together. The tanuki grinned at her, and she hoped beyond hope that it was meant to be reassuring, though he always seemed to have a mischievous glint in his eyes.

When Professor Donovan asked if anyone was missing, Verity looked around and noticed that Micah was not there, and was about to say as such when he came huffing towards them. She waved to him and patted the open seat between her and Ji-Hyun, and was glad that he had already seen her (though she had left the Great Hall in tears when the transformation set in) so he would hopefully recognize who she was. He thankfully did, and sat beside her and she gave him a small smile as an apology for her behavior that morning. Reverting to this form was not exactly pleasant for her, but it didn't give her free reign to behave so histrionically.

Despite her reluctance to be noticed, Verity's drive to be scholastically stellar forced her to raise her hand in hopes of going first. Plus, going first meant that she could leave sooner and retire to the safety and seclusion of her dormitory while she waited for the effects of whatever potion had been planted in the food to wear off. Verity took a deep breath when Professor Donovan chose her to go first, and she adjusted her hat before making her way down from the bleachers and towards the platform where presentations had been conducted. She gave a thumbs up to her friends as she passed them, letting them know that she wasn't on the verge of tears, though she despaired when she had to practically climb onto the platform. Once she and Iroh were both up, she smoothed out her skirt and took a deep breath.

"I know that I might be well unrecognizable, but I'm Verity, and this," she motioned towards Iroh, who took a deep bow, "is Iroh the tanuki." She spoke with a slight whistle due to missing a couple of her front teeth. "I have trained him diligently these past couple months, and we will demonstrate what I have taught him. Iroh?"

Iroh brought out a tea set from the basket he had been carrying and put the water on a boil. Verity crossed her fingers and attempted to even cross her toes in hopes that it might increase her luck even further.

"While the water heats up, he shall demonstrate one of a tanuki's most famous abilities," she nodded to the bipedal raccoon dog, and he smiled broadly before transforming gracefully into a carbon copy of Verity (how she normally appeared as a teenager), and she breathed a sigh of relief that he had included her school uniform. "Tanuki are known to be rather mischievous creatures, and there are stories in Japan of them kidnapping brides and taking their form in order to have access to the food and open bar at the wedding. Due to their similarities, they are thought to be related to kitsune, though tanuki are actually superior shapeshifters.  Now, the water is at a boil..."

The tanuki-Verity knelt down and poured a few cups of jasmine tea, and handed one to Verity and another to Shona. Verity gave Iroh a stern look, and he giggled while still in Verity's form and snapped his fingers. The tea cups that he had given her and Shona lost their glamour and returned to their actual form - rocks. The Hufflepuff grimaced and shook her head. "Like I said, they are mischievous. Iroh was showing another ability of the tanuki, which is glamouring. They are able to make ordinary objects, often leaves or rocks, appear as something else. Many tales exist of a tanuki giving a person a large sum of money, but when they try to pay for something they just have a pocket full of pebbles. But the actual tea should be finished steeping at this point."

Iroh gave Shona a real cup of jasmine tea, and Verity did a small curtsy before packing up the basket and climbing down from the stage. She headed back to her seat, having decided that staying and supporting her friends was more important than hiding away, and was ashamed that she had even considered doing such an act. So she stayed, clapping and cheering loudly for her friends when they finished their presentations. She would get through this day with their support.