Gryffindor		Hufflepuff		Ravenclaw		Slytherin
Emily Carter Grace Eddy Chance Ryker George Carter Brett Abraham		Dax Fayette Dion Fayette Eveline Chancelier Fauna Blake		Waker Nolan Edmund Klint		- - - - -

Profesosr Didymus Tawse was standing in the middle of the Entrance Yard. Drizzle had begun to fall over the Hogwarts castle and the Professor's hair had turned frizzy, as well as wet. Today the 7th years would learn one of Didymus's favourite spell. A spell that had been very important in the defence of Hogwarts a decade ago. Piertotum Locomotor. Behind Didymus were ten statues of knights. They each stood eight foot tall and were made of the same stone. Five of the statues held a sword facing downwards to the floor while the other five each held a spear, in their right hand, facing towards the sky.

The Professor had told the students to meet him in the entrance yard instead of the Transfiguration Classroom in their last lesson. As they had to leave the castle he expected some of them to be later than usual. He was wearing his usual bright colours, today he had chosen all red, in varying shades. His clothes seemed like a patch workd quilt of scarlet, ruby and crimson. As the first of the students arrived he addressed them with his usual smile. "Hello. I'm sorry about the rain but it shouldn't last long. I would leave this lesson for another day but this spell is a very interesting and important one. Also it's fun standing in the rain," well the Professor thought so. In a thunderstom he would stand outside and let the rain soak him to the bone.

"Today we shall learn how to cast a spell that will animte the suits of armour behind me. This spell was used in the defence of Hogwarts when You-Know-Who attacked with his army. Now I never expect any of you will have to use this spell in such a situation but it can be useful."

"Now the incantation. Piertotum Locomotor." He said it slowly and then he repeated himself. He then turned to the statues, pointed his 6'' wand at them and spoke. "Piertotum Locomotor." The ten statues raised their heads. The ones with the swords spun them upright in unison while the five with the spears pointed them forwards towards the Professor and his class. He then waved his wand and turned them back to their original state.

"We have ten statues here so you may all try the spell. Once you are ready stand infront of a statue, though not to close, and attempt the spell please."

"And Good luck, this spell isn't easy."

Making giant Knights come to life, with this lot? Oh dear. This lesson was either going to be brilliant, or someone was going to lose an eye. Or an arm.

Dion was one of the first to arrive, to the surprise of absolutely no one. He stood in the rain, uniform perfect and ironed, prefect's badge gleaming on his breast - gleaming so cleanly and brightly one could properly suspect he might have enchanted it to subtly stand out. He stood ramrod stiff, wand drawn, and watched the tiny teacher. If ever a man needed a makeover, Tawse was it. The man had apparently read the classic 'when in doubt, wear red' tip...and then experienced plenty of doubt this morning.

Stepping forward on command, he eyed the knight on the far right, pointedly ignoring his brother as Dax stumbled in late. When the Professor let them have at, he raised his wand, summoning his will, and focused. His wand swished in the perfect arc. His voice, as he spoke was calm and confident. "Piertotum Locomotor-"

The sudden pound of a hand on his back made him jump, and the spell went off, hitting the Knight...who stood straighter and opened his hand. The spear, no longer held, fell towards Dion, and he jumped out of the way as it hit the ground with a heavy thud, the point sticking into the ground and the shaft vibrating.

"Sorry," said Dax, semi-sheepishly, from behind him. Dion shot him a glare, but it was met only with a broad grin from his twin. "That was pretty good," Dax said. "Maybe next time you can get him to drop his spear in the other direction, though."

Transfiguration was definitely one of Brett's favorite classes. She was good with her wand, and had always performed better than people expected. Even the rain didn't dampen her spirits as she came to a halt by the Fayette twins, listening to their tiny professor as he explained about the spell they were going to learn. The Gryffindor had to admit that sounded particularly exciting!

Brett couldn't help the way she laughed when Dax slapped Dion on the back, making his spell fire off prematurely. The suit of armor dropped its spear in front of Dion- almost taking the twin down.

She moved over to one of the suits of armor that was wielding a sword. (Because really, swords were pretty awesome.) Brett had confidence she would perform the spell well- but wasn't going to underestimate the professor's statement that the spell wasn't easy. Then again, they were at the end of their seventh year- hopefully things they would be practicing wouldn't be too easy.

Brett leveled her wand at the suit of armor. "Piertotum Locomotor!" she called out. The suit of armor shook a little- and it lifted the sword from it's side- pointing it outward. But the animation didn't last long, and the armor fell limp again, the arm falling by its side. But at least she had managed to get it to move- even if it had not been smoothly. (And at least it didn't throw the sword at her.)

Crunch time was not being particularly nice to Matty. He had been rather reclusive as of late only leaving his dorm room or library for class and meals and the occasional (when he found time between mass amounts of studying) trips out amoungst the halls with his girlfriend. He was actually rather surprised at how well Adelia was handling all this but then he supposed she had stresses of her own to deal with given that the NEWTs were only a month away. He had even stopped noticing the glares of jeers he got from his room mates - who were clearly on Sophie's side when it came to the whole flirting while having a secret girlfriend thing.

The rain wasn't helping as it plastered Matty's long brown hair to the sides of his face. He had even stopped grooming his goatee which had grown bushy with a layer of stubble where he was normally clean shaven. He was starting to look much older than his seventeen years. He supposed it would help him in his career next year, not to look like the rookie. Perhaps when the stress of NEWTs passed and he got an internship at the Ministry he'd let his goatee grow out and let Adelia point it for him. She'd find that hilarious.

Matty shambled up to the closest Knight who happened to be wielding a spear, "Piertotum Locomotor!" He shot the spell at the stone giant. There was a grinding sound as the knight turned it's head and bent it in Matty's direction. Although it had no actual face, being covered in a helmet Matty got the distinct feeling that the now animated statue was giving him an 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

Edmund let out a sigh of disappointment when he learnt that Transfiguration was to be held outside. It wasn't exactly ideal weather for a field trip. Following Professor Tawse's instruction and meeting in the courtyard, the Ravenclaw stood close with his fellow students, upturning a jacket collar to help prevent any more drizzle flecking his cheeks. It was already pre-NEWT season (which was alarming in itself), and Edmund had been putting in an incredible extra effort by pushing thoughts of wayward ex-girlfriends to the back of his mind; his parents would adore another academic overachiever in the family after Clarissa's abysmal display.

He snorted with quiet laughter at the Professor's inclination to standing in terrible weather, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "Yeah, it's the most fun I've had all week..." he murmured, a hushed voice only audible to nearby students. Holding his wand, he glared up at the partially animated statues, taken aback by their sheer size on the castle's silhouette. They sure were imposing.

Taking out his wand, Edmund strolled over to a spear-holding guardian not so far from Brett Abraham. Eyeing it up and down comically like a foe in a bar brawl, he pointed his wand vigorously. When applying himself to the task in hand, Klint was quite the academic performer. His only downfall was lack of concentration: there were far better things to be concerned with. Quidditch, namely. Hot girls second. And a good laugh with the boys, third. Who needed to know how to charm the school's stone army into action? It wasn't as if Hogwarts was going to be attacked again any time soon.

Nevertheless, he needed to impress Professor Tawse and leave a lasting but positive impression upon the faculty. "Piertotum Locomotor" his voice clearly stated (there was always a level of vocal seriousness when Edmund was casting spells), and the statue bolted upright to attention, the cold plinth to which it belonged suffering a slam from the spear's handle.

Similar to the others, the transfiguration spell was temporary and brief. Still, at least he'd managed to get the old coot going - it was more than others seemed to manage.