Arsinoe had survived her first lesson with the fifth years that morning, and now felt that she was prepared to face anything else the day might choose to throw at her. The fifth years were rumored to be the rowdiest bunch, after all, and they'd been tolerably well behaved - with the exception of her nephew Nicky. He had kept slipping up and calling her Aunt Noe, which really wasn't a professional, classroom appropriate form of address. She was going to have to talk to him about that.

But first she had to make it through her next lesson - the third years. Arsinoe's own third year had been a rather turbulent one, and wasn't exactly something she remembered fondly. Here was hoping this batch of students was as well behaved as she wished she had been at that age.

Arsinoe stood at the front of the classroom, just in front of her desk, and watched as the students began to file in. At precisely nine o' clock, she shut the door with a flick of her wand. Tardy students would get no chance to slip in unnoticed. "Good morning, class, my name is Professor Hallett, and I will be teaching you transfiguration for the remainder of the school year," she began, speaking in a firm, clear voice to ensure that she caught their attention. "If you work hard and pay attention, I'm sure we will get along fine. On your desk you will find a sheet with information about classroom rules and policies. Please take a few minutes to look over it. If you have any questions, raise your hand and I will be happy to answer."

Transfiguration Classroom Information Sheet

Professor Hallett's Class Rules:

• You will recieve five points for attending, and five points will be removed for unexcused absences.
• You will arrive to class on time. I will deduct 2 house points for tardiness.
• Arrive prepared, with all class related materials.
• Disruptions are unacceptable. If you wish to speak on a class related manner, raise your hand and I will call on you.
• There will be no lollygagging, arguments, idle chit-chat, gum chewing, or unauthorized use of magic in my classroom.
• Turning in an assignment on time will win you 3 points, turning it in late will cause 3 points to be deducted
• Use your head. Some rules shouldn't need to be explicitly stated, they are just common sense.
• Violating class rules and etiquette will result in points loss, detention, or in extreme cases suspension.

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Required Materials
to be brought with you to every lesson

• A wand
• Transfigurations textbook
• Parchment
• Quills
• Ink
• An attentive, respectful attitude

((If your student is raising their hand, feel free to say that Arsinoe has called on them and have them go ahead and ask their question))

Winifred's feet dragged as she made her way to the transfiguration class room. They had another new professor. And it was for her least favorite class. Winnie was horrible at transfiguration- even worse than she was at charms and defenses. It was just so complicated and she hated it! The Hufflepuff shuffled her way very slowly to a desk near the back of the room.

She read the parchment on her desk and sighed, pulling her wand out and laying it on top of her desk. If she didn't touch it, then there was much less of a chance she would blow something up by accident out of her frustration. It seemed that negative feelings transferred sometimes even without words. Quite inconvenient. Almost as inconvenient as the fact that all of the rules on the new professor's list seemed to be ones that Winifred had a habit of breaking quite regularly- even if it was usually by accident.

When the professor asked for questions, Winifred raised her hand (as the sheet had indicated) and waited to be called upon before speaking. (A habit that would not last long for certain.) "I have two questions," she stated. "First- is it alright if I use a self inking quill? I spill my ink wells a lot. I don't mean to, I'm just clumsy. And second- are you in murderous cahoots with Professor Storm?"

Another new teacher? Bilius glanced at Niko and rolled his eyes. The two boys had sat at one of the double desks near the rear of the classroom, Bilius sitting on his legs so he could see better.

This new lady seemed like a tightass, too. He scowled lividly at the paper and let out an audible sigh, setting it aside. She'd have fun with Pepper and Oliver, that was for sure. Bet she'd have a hard time being professional when her poofy hair got turned into a cumquat by Pepper or set on fire by Oliver.

"And second- are you in murderous cahoots with Professor Storm?"

If his eyes had rolled any harder they'd have popped out of his head. "Ignore that second question, Professor Hallet," he said without being called on, realizing he'd been tempted to call her Professor Halibut. "Oliver's convinced all her teachers are trying to kill her. You could do us all a favor and put her out of her misery, if you'd like."

Erin was...not particularly excited to go to transfiguration.  It was not she was inept at the subject, so much as she almost always seemed to be distracted halfway through a swish or flick and inevitably changed a match into a brass needle or some other simple mistake.  Up till this point in her academic career though, she had not been able to do to much damage to herself or others.  It was not like charms, where she played around with gravity.  As she saw the list on the board, she invariably rolled her eyes.  While teachers were respected, she had the distinct feeling that this one was going to be stretching the limits of professional courtesy a bit much. 

After she heard Spleen and Oliver, Erin could not help but laugh out loud.  Maybe this class would not be so bad afterall.  She was going to add something along the lines of 'everybody tries to kill Oliver, not just the proffesors' but Spleen had beat her to the punch-line. 

"Even if you don't kill her, could you at least put a silecning charm on her?  She never shuts up," Erin asked the teacher before resuming her doodling. 

Ambrose took his seat at the back of the classroom with Winifred. They'd usually consider sitting apart so as not to combine forces and cause severe desk damage, but having caught wind of a new professor, Ambrose had found himself stumbling over words ever since breakfast, petrified.

Beside him Winifred put her hand up to question their new professor.
"I have two questions, first- is it alright if I use a self inking quill? I spill my ink wells a lot. I don't mean to, I'm just clumsy. And second- are you in murderous cahoots with Professor Storm?"

Ambrose, despite himself, let out a loud snort and clapped his hands to his mouth, flushing red. He hadn't meant to laugh at that, but the brazen question and his nerves had combined into vocally explosive consequences.

"Ignore that second question, Professor Hallet," Billy drawled from nearby. "Oliver's convinced all her teachers are trying to kill her. You could do us all a favor and put her out of her misery, if you'd like." Ambrose narrowed his eyes at Billy, that wasn't nice. He dropped his hands from his mouth and frowned.

"Even if you don't kill her, could you at least put a silencing charm on her?  She never shuts up," Erin chipped in.

"You'll be sorry when you find out she's right!" Ambrose hissed, his hands forming fists. "Everyone knows that Storm poisoning the seventh years is true."

Nikolas eyed the new teacher curiously from his vantage point in the back of the classroom. Having another new teacher was almost commonplace now. He glanced down at the paper when Professor Hallett mentioned it, skimming it over. 'Wonder how long this one will last.'

"And second- are you in murderous cahoots with Professor Storm?"

"Ignore that second question, Professor Hallet. Oliver's convinced all her teachers are trying to kill her. You could do us all a favor and put her out of her misery, if you'd like."

"Even if you don't kill her, could you at least put a silecning charm on her?  She never shuts up."

You'll be sorry when you find out she's right! Everyone knows that Storm poisoning the seventh years is true."

Nikolas sighed, 'And we're off to a almost standard start.' He smirked and proped his elbow on the desk and reasted his head against his hand. 'Well, if she can't handle this then she defiantly won't make it. "Ah, come on Ambrose. You know that's a load of bollocks. Besides if Professor Storm was actually was poisoning anyone Madam Tulo would take her cane and beat the crap out of him for it."

Merlin, but they were chattery things, weren't they? Arsinoe's eyes narrowed, lips pressing together in a firm line. Hadn't she stated clearly in the new class rules that she would not tolerate disruptions? Children. They were so unruly.

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat loudly, to get their attention. "As Miss Oliver appears to be the only one to actually read the information sheet, I see no reason to ignore her. Two points to Hufflepuff for setting a good example for the class. The rest of you," she shot stern looks at the handful of students who had spoken out of turn, "may consider yourselves fortunate that I do not deduct points from your houses. As this is our first day together, I will let it slide with a warning. I won't be as lenient in future."

Arsinoe perched daintily on her desk, crossing one leg over the other and resting her clasped hands on her knees. "Yes, Miss Oliver, you may use a self-inking quill, if it will prevent messes. I have no murderous intentions, nor, to my knowledge, does Professor Storm." Where did they even get these ideas? She shook her head, slightly. Ignan Storm seemed a man one didn't want to cross, but she didn't think it likely he would actually be in 'murderous cahoots' against his students. "Are there any more questions? Remember," she added, "I expect you to raise your hands."

Baxter liked Transfiguration- but then again, the Ravenclaw boy liked all of his classes, so that was no surprise. He found his way into the room, and glanced at the new professor. She was... pretty. Tiny, but pretty. (But Baxter was a bit tall for his age anyway, so he was used to towering over people he associated with regularly.) Odd to think such a thing, but the boy pushed the thought away and slipped into a seat near the front of the room. He sat, quietly, as the drama unfolded around him- naturally brought on by Oliver, who had to be the most idiotic student in the entirety of Hogwarts. Even first years seemed to be smarter than she was.

When she asked if there were further questions, Baxter raised his own hand into the air- not wanting to find himself losing house points, and still baffled that Winifred had won any at all. After being acknowledged, he cleared his throat quietly. "I was just curious about your own background in transfiguration," he stated. "What you were doing before finding your way to teach here at Hogwarts." It was always nice to know a little about a professor's past- it gave Baxter a place to come from if he needed to suck up for one thing or another.

Winifred was nearly preening when she earned house points. She wanted to stick her tongue out at everyone and laugh- and be like HAHAHAHHA I GOT POINTS BECAUSE I FOLLOWED THE RULES! ....... But she didn't. Winnie was fairly certain doing that would turn around and lose the points she had earned, and she had to be extra careful not to lose anymore after her whole Professor-Storm-is-a-Murderer fiasco.

"Thank you, Miss Hallett," was her only response before falling quiet and digging out her self inking quill. Hopefully today would not have very many practical applications. New professors tended to enjoy finding out where their students' particular skill sets were, and if Winnie had to demonstrate different spells for the professor she would be mortified. It was better to let a professor find out slowly you were horrible with a wand than all in one gigantic heap.

"... I have no murderous intentions, nor, to my knowledge, does Professor Storm..." The Professor told Winnie.

Ambrose added quickly in a whisper behind his clasped hands, elbows resting on the desk.

"Has she even met him?" He looked sidelong to Freddie.

Spurred on by his friend's success, Ambrose raised his hand, tempted to ask what they were actually going to do today in class, but instead, opted for the rather more tame,
"What does... lollygagging mean, Professor? It sounds like when someone like, sucks on their lollipop too hard and, like, chokes..." He suggested in definition. His dad would be proud of him, he always told Ambrose to try and work out what words meant from similiar words. This had to be right, like?

Erin wondered if Oliver's was sick.  She was usually the first one to talk to anything, but she actually seemed to be polite and respectful to the professor.  Of course, it was unsurprising that Fox was respectful but at least he requested useful information.  After all, this teacher might prove useful if she could transfigure chairs into needles.  She had gotten a crash course on transfiguring anything into needles and bobby pins at her last shoot.  Maybe the teacher might actually know something about their subject?  Given the amount of times professors had changed recently, Erin wondered if she would ever find out.

Of course, then Oliver had to suck up to Hallet, and Erin wondered what her game was.  Then Pepper asked for a question about lollygagging.  Ironically, this made her respect for Pepper shoot up.  He was deliberately wasting class time by asking an inane question.  Apparently, she had underestimated the Gryffindor.  Wondering if she should add something useful to this discussion, Erin opted not to.  Rather than that, she followed Pepper's lead.  After being acknowledged, she asked,

"Is gum chewing really that distracting?  I've heard of people being unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, but I always thought it was an exaggeration."

Even though little imaginary demon horns should be sprouting on Erin right now, she was doing her best to ensure butter would not melt in her mouth.

Late, late, late, were the thoughts running through Amber's head as she rushed to class. She hated being late more than anything else. She'd much prefer to arrive early, take a seat in the back, and stay unnoticed. She disliked being called on in class. She didn't mind some attention, but disliked being the center of attention. She wouldn’t mind so much if she’d just get a private reprimand, but teachers seemed to enjoy calling a student out on the carpet in front of the entire class, inflicting humiliation. It was just a good thing she’d outgrown the horrible blushing she would do as a child. Getting in trouble at home had taught her well how to avoid the red face, simply by putting on an attentive face and only paying half-attention to the words.

She opened the door and slipped in, closing it behind her. “Sorry, I was side-tracked.” She didn’t offer any other explanation, and didn’t plan on it. She only hoped this professor would accept that. She so didn’t want to talk about what side-tracked her.

Imogen stared down at her classroom information seat and read it quietly. Golly, that seemed like an awful lot of rules. Professor Hallett was pretty, but judging from this she was also going to be strict. No idle chit-chat? But Imogen lived on chit-chat!

She shot a glare in Bilius' direction, then Erin's, when they spoke. Winnie wasn't that bad! Imogen didn't exactly agree with her that Storm was going to murder all of them (probably just some of them), but it wasn't like it was that far out of the realm of possibility. He was from Durmstrang. Professors there were really scary! At least, that's what she'd heard.

But aside from shooting nasty looks at nasty people (although she didn't usually mind Erin, actually), and an extremely judgmental glance at Ellison, who had come in late, Imogen kept quiet. She was willing to let everyone else do the question-asking. She'd just listen to the answers.

Ivie was excited to be meeting the new Transfiguration Professor. She loved the idea of transfiguring things, so she was ready to get started on what would be the rest of the school year in the classroom. Having moved into the classroom, Ivie found a place to sit, and began to place her notebook, quill and textbook on the table. As the class began, she listened with excitement in her eyes. This professor looked and sounded nice. Hopefully she would stick around.

When told to read the paper on her desk, the third year looked down and began to read the information that was there. She was rather glad to see the rules were so clearly written out. There was no way anyone could say they didn't understand was was required of them. Ivie would have been shocked if there had been a question about those rules. She then noticed the required materials. She made a mental check by everything she would need that she already had. 'Well so far so good' Ivory thought. She was already doing well in the class.

And then the normal atmosphere of the room was shattered by that familiar voice of Wini Oliver. Ivory sighed and then did her best to hide her disbelief of the questions that the girl asked. Not so much the self inking quill, that was a handy device if you were to ask Ivory, but the second question got a very soft groan from the Ravenclaw. When would Oliver give up that stupid theory about the professors?

And then it got only worse. 'Is everyone in my year vocal trash can idiots?' She couldn't believe that people were just breaking so many of the rules. She looked around trying to figure out if they were going to cause issues, and to double check to make sure none of them were from Ravenclaw. If they were she would have to ask them what the hell they were thinking once they got back to the tower.

As the class time ticked by, Ivory was torn between looking at the other classmates (Pepper and Erin) like they were idiots, to actually giving Baxter a thumbs up for his question. At least his was a sane question and not something that sounded like it belonged out of the mouth of a first year witch or wizard. Had those two skipped first and second year somehow? Oh this was going to be a long class time, she was just sure of it.

At the sound of the door to the class room opened, Ivory's head turned toward its direction. She sighed as Ellison slipped inside. 'Oh that's going to hurt her house and hurt her most likely. Wonder why she's late?' Of course it really wasn't her place to wonder about such things. She did wonder when the lesson would actually begin as this was getting a bit boring.

"That is a very good question, Mr. Fox," Arsinoe sent an approving nod in Baxter's direction. Not only was it class-pertinent, it showed the young man had common sense as well. It was always a good idea to know the credentials of someone who was supposed to be in charge of you, and particularly when they would be in charge of your education in an important area. "Prior to being employed here, I worked as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries for ten years, studying spell research and development with an emphasis in Transfiguration."

Unfortunately, the next round of questions appeared to be less thought out. Arsinoe suppressed a sigh - she was going to have to get used to dealing with children, who were not always as on task as they should be. Patience was required if she was going to survive her new line of work.

"To lollygag is to waste time. Class time should be spent in work and studying, not idling. And not," she added, turning towards Miss Dark, "with gum chewing. To answer your question, yes it most assuredly is distracting. Candy has no place in the classroom, your focus should be on your work."

The door opening signalled the entrance of a tardy Slytherin. Arsinoe frowned and folded her arms, eyes narrowing at the girl's explanation - or, rather, lack of one. Honestly, the girl couldn't even try? Pepper and Dark might appear to be born distractions, but at least they had shown up. "Two points from Slytherin. Hopefully you will realize in future that your education is important enough to be a priority." If not, Miss Elison would find out that Professor Hallett had no intention of letting such behavior slide.

"If any of you have more questions, you may see me after class. But now that we've all arrived," she stated dryly, "I would like to move on. Before we move forward with the curriculum, I would like to have a better idea of what you have all learned this year. Please put your wands away, we won't be needing them for this lesson. Instead, I would like each of you to write a brief essay - three or four paragraphs in length - about a spell you have learned in Transfiguration this year. Include details about the incantation and accompanying wand movements the spell requires, what it does, and a bit about your own experience practicing it. I will be walking the room to ensure you are all on task, and if you have any questions about the assignment remember to raise you hand. You may begin."

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OOC Resources
AO's List of Canon Spells
AO's List of Writer Created Transfiguration Spells
HP Lexicon's Encyclopedia of Spells
HP Wiki's Article on Transfiguration (includes a spell list)