TNFG-301 Lessons

Burn Baby Burn

Welcome
As the students entered the classroom, Professor Mitchell rose from her seat behind her desk and waved her wand, causing all of the window shutters to close and plunging the room into darkness.  A moment later, lamps and candles flared up around the class, the flickering lighting guiding the students to their seats. “Sit down, sit down, and try not trip over anything or anyone!” the professor called before beginning the lecture.

Introduction
I thought some mood lighting might make today’s lesson a little more fun and alleviate any residual stress you may be feeling after your midterm last week.  I have your graded tests up here and will be passing them back at the end of the lesson.  But first, we will be discussing what might happen if one were to attempt to keep an animate transformation for an extended period of time, along with how and why they’d go about doing that. We will of course also have our transformation for the day, which is the Fire to Snake Transformation.

Long Term Transformations
As you all should know, things created via inanimate to animate transformations, like inanimate to inanimate, will not naturally revert over time, remaining in their transfigured state until an untransfiguration spell is performed.  That said, they will, however, “age” over time.  Think of this aging not as the creature growing older, but as the creature wearing down or running out of energy.  As time goes on it will become more sluggish, moving slower and more infrequently than it might have after first being cast.  The reason for this phenomenon is that the magic powering the animacy of the creature is not infinite and is dependent upon the strength of the spell.  The more willpower that is applied upon casting, the longer and stronger the animacy in the creature will remain.  This is similar to many other static, but long lasting shallow object charms; the magic eventually dies out, similar to a Muggle toy running out of battery.

Some of you may be asking why anyone would want to keep a transfigured animal for that long anyway.  The main answer to this lies within basic human nature: a need for companionship.  Many people have taken to using inanimate to animate transformations as a way of creating a friend and conquering loneliness. Although any “relationships” built through these means are not real, reciprocal relationships, they still have the power to pull one through a rough patch if all they need is the feeling that someone or something else is there for them.  You can think about it like a child with an imaginary friend.  The friend may not be “real,” but it may work as a temporary support.

An interesting phenomenon to note is what happens to an inanimate to animate transformation when its caster has passed away. Despite the fact that it holds no emotional capabilities and is not magically connected to its caster (as it comes from a static spell), a transformed animal will appear to mourn the loss of its creator. It will usually spend around three days attempting to be near them, whining, pawing, and even appearing to cry before eventually going completely immobile, never to move again.  Many theorists use this as an argument for inanimate to animate transformations actually being dynamic in nature.  Others believe it is the residual of the mental connection that allows us control over our transfigured creatures slowly dying away. Either way, these spells are still the focus of a lot of current research in the field of transfiguration.

Reptiles
Upon first glance, reptiles appear very similar to amphibians.  They’re vertebrates with water-tight skin that allows them to live on land, but frequent the water. They are also cold-blooded and are classified as tetrapods, however they lack the aquatic larval stage we saw with amphibians.  Most reptiles have scales covering their skin and lay soft shelled eggs, as opposed to the hard shelled eggs laid by most birds.  In terms of behavior, reptiles are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night.  One of their biggest defense mechanisms is their camouflaged skin, which allows them to blend in with their earth-colored surroundings.  Many reptiles have gray, green, or brown skin and the ability to remain motionless for long periods of time so that predators or prey will not even notice they are there.  Though these are the main defining features of reptiles, it is important to note that there is wide variability throughout the class as it is comprised of over 8240 species, including turtles, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and more.

The Transformation
As mentioned, we will be practicing the Fire to Snake Transformation today.  I have candles set up around the room and the spell information up on the board for you.  As always when we’re working with fire, please be sure to act responsibly.  If I see anyone messing around with their candle, you can assure yourself that you’ll be with me Friday night for detention.

This spell has some interesting backfires if performed incorrectly.  If too much willpower is applied, the snake may burst into smoke immediately upon transforming.  Conversely if too little willpower is applied, you may end up with a snake shaped rope of flame.  Some wizards actually deliberately apply less willpower when performing this spell, though you want to be careful of this if you are using it in a duel.  When performed in a duel, the snake created from this transformation will go on to attack the opponent of the caster. However, when less willpower is applied, whether deliberately or accidentally, the fire snake may actually attack the caster instead.

Where did this come from? Why do I care?
The Fire to Snake Transformation was discovered by Fiero Pennifold during a Ministry effort to research new methods of combative transfiguration.  More specifically, he was working on creating transformations that could double as defensive and offensive maneuvers. This spell was conceived after one of his coworkers playfully shot a string of fire toward his feet while he was carrying his lunch one day.  Inspired (and wanting revenge on his coworker, who had ophidiophobia), it took him only two weeks to come up with the proper incantation, wand movement, and mental components.

As it was meant to be used, this spell has seen application throughout history mainly within dueling.  It was used by Severus Snape during the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998 against Minerva McGonagall after she conjured a rope of fire, and two years prior between Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore in the battle at the Ministry of Magic.  It can also be used in conjunction with the Snake to Smoke and Smoke to Daggers Transformations, and was in fact used in this manner by Professor McGonagall.  After Professor Snape cast the snake, she thought on her feet and transformed it first into smoke, then immediately transformed that smoke into daggers to send at Professor Snape.

Conclusion
I hope you all enjoyed today’s transformation.  If you wish to practice outside of class, please do so safely and don’t try to set snakes on any of your classmates! You just have a short quiz for homework and I will see you all back here next week.

*Reptile image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptile*
*Dueling image credit: Mary GrandPre for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*