Lecture 1 [MANDATORY]

[Juliet Delia]

The sun streamed brightly into Juliet's room and finally made its way to her eyelids, resting shut in slumber. The sudden onslaught of light made her face pucker, and she opened her eyes ever so slightly to look at the clock beside her. 7:00 AM. Time to get up. Time to go to work, her first ever class. She was finally teaching, and one of her school favourites to boot. Transfiguration had always been a difficult and challenging class, but it was the one she enjoyed the most while she had been in school. It was absolutely fascinating, and a very exact science. Although she loved the creativity of Charms, there was just something so intriguing about the specificity of Transfiguration. The wrong syllable, the wrong hand movement, the wrong thought could make the difference between turning a mouse into a quill or an elephant. She had seen that first hand in her sixth year at Galaxia, and it had taken days for her poor Professor to get the classroom back into proper order. Although they had often been compared to them up until that day, nothing could possibly do more damage than a right pissed rodent-pachyderm.

Not an hour later, she was cleaned up, dressed, and ready for work. Her long, dark hair was pinned back behind her ears, leaving the tresses to cascade down her back. Her make-up was simple -- liquid eyeliner and mascara, her lips a bright red. She had chosen her newest robe for her first day at the school, a deep crimson colour with black trim. "Pretty, yet professional," she said to her pug, Rusty, who was busy chasing his curly tail near her feet. She snorted as she grabbed her bag off of the shelf with all of her things in it for the week. Scooping Rusty under her arm and tucking him into the bag, Juliet headed towards her fireplace. She pulled a small bag of Floo powder from her pocket that the Headmistress had given to her and removed a pinch of it. It didn't look like normal Floo powder at all, which made sense. It was glittery and rainbow-coloured in the light, and it would only take you to one place, provided you belonged there: Hogwarts Galaxia.

Moments after stepping into the flame, she felt the familiar tingly tug at her bellybutton and she was flying through the darkness. There were no flashes of fireplaces like there usually were, as this Floo powder only led to one destination, as devised by the Headmistress herself. Soon enough, her feet touched down in the fireplace in the Teacher's Lounge, and she dusted herself off. After saying hello to a few of the other Professors, she left and made for her classroom.

It was as lovely and as bright as she remembered. The cobblestone walls and marble floors were beige with a hint of glitter in them, casting the light that came through the huge windows at the head of the classroom in all directions. She flicked her wand as she walked to the front of the classroom, sending the desks flying into a two-tired U-shape. It left enough space for all the students to have a seat and for ample space for demonstrations. As she reached the front of the classroom, a chime rang through the entire castle: class was about to begin.

As her students filed in, she sat on the edge of her desk, watching them. As they settled, she flicked her wand, bringing a piece of chalk to life. It wrote her name across the blackboard as she stood up and walked to the middle of the room. She gazed around, a small smile resting on her lips. "Students, welcome to Transfiguration," she said, gesturing to the room around her. "My name is Professor Delia, and I will be teaching you the intricacies of this wonderfully precise art this year." Her eyes fell on a few of her students, taking their faces in. "You will find that Transfiguration is unlike any other type of magic you will learn in this school. It will take discipline, time and effort."

"It will not be easy, and it may not come to all of you as quickly as you'd like." Her eyes fell on a scorch mark on one of the desks, which had been made by a friend of hers in their first year. "Some of you may even lose an eyebrow or two," she grinned. "But please know that I can conjure an excellent set of eyebrows in that case." She walked around the desks, stopping once in a while to look over a student. "But with patience, you will find that Transfiguration can be extremely useful, and you will come to appreciate it in time." Juliet turned on her heel and walked to her desk, sitting on the edge of it. "Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?"

[Deleted]

Another class, another day, but at least this was one Giovanni was looking forward to. Compared to his other Transfiguration, the subject ranked highly on his list. It fell just below History of Magic, and that was only because he had always had an avid fascination with the development of magic and how it had advanced through the ages. Yet he had a deep interest in Transfiguration as well. To put it simply, being able to alternate the form of one thing into something completely different was incredible. He believed that if muggles were given the chance to experience such magic, they would also share similar feelings. How could they not? As the years in the course had gone by, Giovanni had always looked forward to the next lesson and the progression into the harder spells as he had gotten older. He had been most proud of his Draconfors spell on his final exam last year. As extra credit, his former professor had permitted each student to practice the spell under the watch of the Care of Magical Creatures instructor a few weeks before the end of the term. Then, once done with the final, the students were permitted to cast the spell on their statues. If able to transfigure the immobile objects into living, breathing dragons, it would replace a certain amount of questions missed. It also set them up into the next year of their Transfiguration studies. Giovanni had nailed it on the first attempt, which only two other students had been able to do. After his success, he eagerly awaited the start of his sixth year to find out what else he could do.

To make things better this year, word around the house was that the new Transfiguration professor was a woman and that she was cute. Giovanni could think of no better way to learn about something he enjoyed from someone who was good looking. Needless to say, he was anxious for the first lesson of the term. He had endured three other classes that day with Transfiguration being his last. Fortunately, he had an hour break in between his third and fourth class so he had made sure to make use of his time by doing something that would put him in a better mood by the time class started. It just so happened that he had bumped into Abby and spent his break walking around a portion of the grounds with her. She would be in his class as well and considering the two were best friends, he knew things had gotten off on a good start. When it was time for them to go to class, Giovanni headed in the direction of the Transfiguration classroom and Abby ran off to get her textbook for the class. He had offered to wait for her, but she insisted that she didn’t want to keep him from seeing this new professor. She was such a good friend. After what felt like twenty staircases being climbed, he finally reached the room and strolled in with a couple of his other friends in Ravenclaw. The woman was already in the room, sitting at her desk and waiting for the class to situate themselves. He smiled stupidly at her as him and his mates picked a section of the second row. A few of the other guys in the other houses had already claimed a few of the closer rows while the girls sat back and glared at the front of the classroom. Pulling out his textbook, Giovanni then set down his bag as the bell sounded about the castle signaling that classes had begun.

"Students, welcome to Transfiguration. My name is Professor Delia, and I will be teaching you the intricacies of this wonderfully precise art this year." One of Giovanni’s friends nudged him and mouthed, “I bet she will.” Jabbing his friend in the shoulder, he looked back at Professor Delia as she continued. At her eyebrow joke, the guys, including himself, laughed while he heard a few girls scoff at them. He hoped those Slytherin nitwits were green with envy at having every male’s attention on the professor and not at them. His eyes followed her as she walked back to the front of the room and finished speaking by asking the class about their expectations. As to be expected, several of the guy’s hands shot up with only a few of the non-jealous girls joining in. Allowing the peer pressure to take over, Giovanni did the same. Once it was his turn to respond, he smiled and dropped his hand. “Conjuration. It’d be learning how to conjure something without using Accio.” Merlin he hoped he didn’t sound like an idiot.

[Victoria Abernathy]

By the time that Victoria got to class, the room was already half full. Not too many places were left open which was unfortunate. Picking the seat closest to the very front of the room she wanted to make sure that she was up close and personal so that she wouldn't be tempted to sleep, or any other silly distraction. This far into the year she really couldn't afford to have anything else split her focus. Plus, this was one of her favorite subjects, and her thinking was that if she could manage to keep herself very close to the front of the room there was a better chance of being noticed and perhaps get more attention than the others. It wasn't just that she wanted the professor to notice her, but she wanted to shine. She really needed to get good marks. Pulling her notebook in front of her body and flipping to a blank page she brought out a pen. Normally she stuck to the wizarding methods for writing but whenever she really needed to write a lot and quickly she couldn't be worried about dipping ink and feathers making her hands itch. Tucking one leg underneath her body she pushed her book bag further under her desk with the foot still dangling under her work space. Her book was positioned perfectly in the corner of her desk, still closed until she was instructed to open it. She was glancing nervously around the room as people started to file in. She really hoped that nobody obnoxious or overly chatty sat next to her. Then again, she hoped that nobody breathtakingly handsome sat next to her either. She could think of a couple off the top of her head that normally she sat in the back of the room whenever she had lessons with them just so that she could steal glances at their hair throughout the lesson. This time, it needed to be different. She was motivated. "Students, welcome to Transfiguration," That sounded like the professor, how had she missed her? Darting her eyes to the small but attractive woman speaking. She was too pretty to be a teacher...it made Victoria feel a little intimidated.

Averting her eyes instantly to the notebook in front of her, she uncapped her pen and put the cap on the back of the pen. "My name is Professor Delia, and I will be teaching you the intricacies of this wonderfully precise art this year." Listening to the soft voice as she spoke Victoria wrote the words Professor Delia, Transfiguration at the top of the designated sheet of paper. She certainly hoped that Professor Delia meant what she said since Victoria had a voracious need to know things. She knew that if she looked up at the woman too much, she was just going to get intimidated and start thinking of ways how to make herself look prettier, and she needed to focus on the lesson, whatever that might be. "You will find that Transfiguration is unlike any other type of magic you will learn in this school. It will take discipline, time and effort." jotting down the last few words on one line of paper her foot started to jiggle under the desk from her own self restraint. "It will not be easy, and it may not come to all of you as quickly as you'd like." She shook her head to herself, not having anything else to write she lifted her eyes back to the professor just in time to have Delia pass over her with her perfect eyes and bright smile. Merlin that could make a girl feel insecure. Sure, she seemed perfectly nice but that only made it that much worse. "Some of you may even lose an eyebrow or two, But please know that I can conjure an excellent set of eyebrows in that case." At her words, Victoria wasn't the only one laughing and touching their eyebrows wondering what it would like to have the small hairs burned from their faces. Drat. The professor seemed to be just as pretty inside as she was outside.

"But with patience, you will find that Transfiguration can be extremely useful, and you will come to appreciate it in time. Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?" Victoria's hand shot into the air and her torso straightened to make her slight frame seem a little more tall. The sleeve of her white uniform shirt straining from the fact that it was still a little too small for her but she hadn't been able to get a different set since last year, so she was having to make do. “Conjuration. It’d be learning how to conjure something without using Accio.” That voice, she knew that voice. Her hand instantly lowered and she almost was tempted to sit on it. She didn't know that Giovanni was in this class. Why oh why did he have to be in this class. Now she was going to not only be distracted by the professor and her stunning good looks but knowing the fact that Giovanni was sitting some number of rows behind her and was actually going to be participating. She wasn't going to be able to raise her hand again. Thankfully she hadn't been one of the ones who had been called on.

[Gavin Dewhurst]

There was a game this weekend, the third game of the whole season for the Slytherin team and to say that people were excited...was a gross understatement. Well, everybody apart from the team Captain who was practically shoving herself down everybodies throats. Demanding them to recite plays any time that she passed them. Of course the team was in tip top shape because of it, but it didn't stop her actions from being annoying. The breakfast table this morning had been a celebration of nerves and excitement. The team sat together, just like they always did on game weeks, talking, being praised by the other house members and carbo loading. He had had pancakes this morning, with butter and syrup and it was enough to make him feel rather sick if it weren't for the knowledge that they were now running three Quidditch practices a day, morning, evening and one over lunch so they were having to eat more during their two meals allowed to them. The pumpkin juice had been flowing and he knew that their loud, boisterous tones and the incessant singing of their house song had to be psyching out the opponents. Hufflepuffs were always weak in constitution anyway. He knew he had been one of the loudest voices out of all of them. His house pride was undeniable. After he had stuffed his face with as much horrible food as he possibly could, and reluctantly pulled his robes on over the rest of his uniform he had gone off in search of his classes, toting along one of the prettier Slytherin 5th years under his arm. He had walked her to her class, made a promise to meet her later that he had no intentions of keeping and headed on up to the first class of the day. Transfiguration was always a subject that interested him, but it was not on his list of favorites by any means. It wasn't that he wasn't good at it...it was more that he lacked the patience to perfect it. If he couldn't do it perfectly, he really didn't see the point in wasting his time on it.

Turning into the classroom he didn't spot any of the people from his breakfast charades this morning here yet, he knew that at least Reg and Care should be in the class with him. At least now he was going to be able to pick where they all sat. He picked a desk on the second tier, in the middle of the left side of desks. There were chairs open on either side of him for whenever his friends showed up, until then he sat sideways in the desk, feet perched up on one and his hat and book bag seated on the other. Anybody who knew anything of him would know that he was very selective about who he sat next to and that only those from his house would be tolerated. He didn't feel the need to torment the other students during class so he would allow whoever sat next to him on either side mingle with those from other houses as he doubted that he was going to be able to fill this entire side of the room up with Slytherin students. His friends seemed to be taking their sweet time to get here, perhaps they were going over drills, or fighting, or something else silly to make them almost late...they arrived just as the bell was about to ring and he moved his personal belongings accordingly so that they could sit. Reg pushed Gavin down to the end so that somehow Care wound up in the middle of both males, which was a little strange but he didn't really care, he could see just as well. As soon as the bell rang, the Professor started to write on the board but Gavin didn't even bother to pull out a Quill or any parchment. It wasn't until she turned around to start addressing the students as a whole that he really got a good look at her. Merlin, if she had been his professor all of this time perhaps Transfiguration would have been one of his favorite subjects after all.

The wolf whistles were evident, and each time he smiled just a little too wide he could feel the sharp kick in his shins from the dark haired girl sitting next to him. Couldn't she tell that he wasn't the only one that found their new professor to be abundantly attractive? He didn't see Kariana kicking anybody else for their staring. His eyes never left the professor as he leaned toward his best friend, whispering out of the side of his mouth “You keep kicking me like that Care, and I'm never going to be able to stay on my broom later” she was about to bruise the bone since her kicks kept getting harder and harder each time. Stupid heels. He was so glad that they would never be socially acceptable for men to wear, he hated even the slight heel that was on dress shoes. Shifting his legs so that they were no longer within her kicking range he bent his torso over the desk, his arms wrapped around the three high stack of text books that he had been too lazy to put into his book bag whenever he got to class. They were just high enough to rest against and still be able to see each tantalizing glance of the professor. She wasn't the tallest of things, and he would have thought that if somebody that looked like her had been at any of the dinners or feasts since start of term, he would have seen her. She was plain...but she wasn't. Perhaps she was one of those professors that liked to bend the rules, perhaps spend some extra time with some of her more handsome students. He would love to cross that off his bucket list. If she really wanted the male students, and some of the more liberal female students, to take her seriously, she would have been wearing a full body suit. Something to hide those curves and that face. He knew that he was going to have to copy somebody's notes from this lesson later on today since he wasn't going to hear a single word that she spoke while she was addressing the room. Maybe if she turned around and faced the other side...maybe then he would hear her.

[Harland Burrows]

Sometimes it felt like his brain was so full that he was literally spellotaping extra things to his head just to make them stick. Between his overly full course load, his internship that required a fresh article from him every week for review and it hadn't even started, and the fact that graduation was right around the corner wasn't lost on him. He felt like he was about to snap and he needed to keep it together or else he wasn't going to be named head boy at the end of the year. He wanted the title so badly. Not only because it would be a hell of a thing to have on a resume, but also because it would mean to him that this wasn't all for nothing. He had even taken to carrying two book bags that were often stuffed to the breaking point with all of the texts and parchment rolls. He hadn't even shaved in at least a week, his glasses seemed to be permanently glued to his face. At least he was showing up stupidly early to each of his classes so that he could camp out in the back and work in the silent, empty rooms on the coursework for whatever lesson he had just come from. It was the only way that he was able to stay ahead even a little bit. He had been positioned in the back of this classroom, taking up more than his share of desks while working on yet another essay for the lesson that he had just come from. This was to be his life he supposed, for at least the next few months.

Slowly, but still far too quickly for his liking students started to file into the classroom, and since he was sitting in the middle row of the middle of the room he was forced to pack up his belongings enough so that he was only taking up one desk. He needed to use this time to clear out Runes and Muggle Artifacts out of his head so that he could focus on whatever lesson he was sitting in. Transfiguration he supposed, given the decorations in the classroom. He should be allowed more hours in the day for all of his work, even if he only brought it upon himself. Closing his eyes he pulled his glasses from his face, rubbing at his temple while lolling his head backward over the chair that he was sitting in. His hands slowly dropped down to his sides, only to arch back upward in a circular motion, taking advantage of the fact that there wasn't anybody sitting around him just yet and stretched himself out as much as the desk would allow before his body recoiled back on itself and settled into a normal amount of space. Digging around in his bag for a sheet of parchment that didn't have notes or the starting of an essay seemed almost futile, but he finally found one and he already had his text book and homework assignment from last weeks lesson on the desk so that he could be prepared. Pulling his pen out from behind his ear and setting it on the desk he attempted to ready himself mentally for whatever Professor Delia was going to teach them today.

More students started to file in, and more students started to talk. The dull roar was giving him a headache and he was all out of tonic to fix his migraines. The professor started to give her lecture whenever it seemed like the classroom was as full as it was going to be. He was trying his best to pay attention to focus on whatever it was that she was saying but it felt like her sentences were getting jumbled together with that of the lessons he had been sitting through over the course of the morning. He needed to be better. Rubbing the bridge of his nose and flexing his eyelids a little more he sighed before replacing his glasses and jotting down whatever he felt was relevant. "Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?" A lot of the male students rose their hands, if he hadn't been so stressed he probably would have been among the lust struck masses. As it did in all of his other subjects, his hand rose confidently to give his two cents, and waited patiently as she went around the room listening to answers. “Live to inanimate transference” Sure it was simple enough in theory, but he would love to see it's application not to mention it's uses on people. Turning animals into water goblets was one thing, but humans into chairs or trees was something totally different.

[Amina Krane]

Transfiguration. Well then. It wasn’t Amina’s best class, but it was her favorite. Her best was easily Muggle Studies considering she lived in a muggle environment her entire childhood. Though transfiguration was always the most interesting class she had ever taken. To learn how to change one object into another was always so fascinating and also useful. One time in America she had been shown how to change a bug into a key, just in case you locked yourself out of your home. Of course, you had to know the exact length of each notch on the key, but if you had that memorized, you could get in without a problem. She was sure some of the other students who had learned that same skill in her class had turned around and used it for their own personal gain, copying keys of strangers and breaking into their homes, but that wasn’t her problem. After all, at that point she was only fourteen and honestly just wanted to get through school without having to worry about being the tattle tale. Instead, she took her knowledge and tucked it away, saving it for a day where it might be useful. Now it was time to add to everything.

It seemed like she had just began walking out of the Gryffindor common room when she arrived outside of the classroom where she would be stored up for the next hour. Part of her wondered how she got there so quickly but then again, when someone was contemplating the thoughts of the past and wondering what the future would hold in such a class, it was a wonder she only walked to the classroom and not to the other side of the castle. Stepping through the door, she glanced around to see who had already arrived. Victoria, one of her lovely dormmates, was already up in front so she made her way to as empty desk next to her. She hated being in front, just because she was more likely to be called on but the spoke gave her prime view of the professor. Amina was never fond of being called on. If she had information, she would gladly offer it up but never did she like being forced to do so. There was just something in her that did not enjoy being forced to do anything. She slid into the chair and placed her books on the table in front of her. "Morning," she said with a smile towards Victoria as she slid a notebook and quill from her bag. When the last few students trickled into the room, the class began, mostly with a quick intro into what things were going to be like in this course. Things weren’t much different than the other introductions offered by the other courses she was taking, except the eyebrows part. Amina wasn’t a very superficial person but she couldn’t imagine losing an eyebrow. Something about that seemed to feel very awkward and worse than just a bad hair day.

"But with patience, you will find that Transfiguration can be extremely useful, and you will come to appreciate it in time." Amina nodded at this last comment, already knowing full well how useful transfiguration could be when learned to its fullest. Her appreciation for the course was probably more than half of the students in the room but she didn’t care. Everyone had some course they enjoyed, this just happened to be hers. "Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?" The first person spoke up, a Ravenclaw with the color of his robes. Go figure. From the way she had evaluated the schools sorting system, Gryffindor’s were supposed to be “brave”, Ravenclaw’s the “smart” one’s, Slytherin’s the “rude” one’s and Hufflepuff’s… Well she had yet to hear something that very well described any Hufflepuff she had met. She would probably say “caring” if it was her choice to give them a characteristic, but then again nearly every house seemed to have that same trait with the exception of Slytherin. His answer was something that peaked Amina’s own interest. That would be something she wouldn’t mind learning.

“I would love to learn how to undo transfigurations others have done. I’ve undone my own work in the past, however it seems much more difficult to undo things others have done,” Amina spoke up. She hoped it wasn’t a mistake voicing her own opinions but if it meant she did get called on, she would deal. After all, it wasn’t like she could take back her words, right?

[Kariana Gabrielle Travers]

“I don’t know,” the girl lounging on the bench intoned, her eyes following the taller girl with a feigned look of interest, “she looks like she’d be a screamer… you don’t want to take a screamer back to the dormitory, the boys will never forgive you.” Plus she was almost too tall, the girl had to be at least six feet. “Don’t tell me you’re one of the quiet ones Ana.” The deeper voice cut in with no small hint of amusement coloring his tone, provoking a laugh from the female that was leaning against him. The two were seated on the stone bench in the courtyard, the backs of her shoulders resting against his side, one of his arms flung casually around her shoulders and her head tucked into the crook provided. A box with an array of fruits was held by her crooked legs, occasionally her fingers dipping within to come up with the natural sweets and pop them between her lips or hand them off to her companion. His legs were stretched a considerable distance away from his body, both of them holding the look of two relaxing after a hard day. Which she supposed could apply, even this early. It was game week- which meant that they’d already had their early morning practice. And she’d only had to chastise a player once, for a minor infraction that had been quickly remedied. It was something that would buyout any captain’s spirits. That and the fact that the past two practices had gone much the same, her team was in top shape and she had every intention of keeping it that way. Hence the three practices day, strenuous workouts, and spot questioning that she’d been keeping up all week. Not to mention her personal practices on her own; two runs a day and some after hour quidditch practice. She wasn’t the type of person to delegate all of the workouts and not do them; she was right there with her team when they did them and put in her own hours as well. She held her team to a fairly high standard- some even said too high, but she held herself to an even higher one. Which was why, sitting out here in the sun after the boisterous team breakfast felt so nice. Her muscles were relaxed, though every molecule of her being was buzzing with a pent up excitement. She and Regulus had made their way out here after they’d finished their breakfast to people watch until it was time to head to class. She’d heard Gavin say something about doing his civic duty before he’d headed out as well, although she could have sworn that the pretty little thing he had under his arm had nothing to do with civics, if she could so much as define the word. So far she’d yet to agree with Regulus on a female’s attractiveness, and not because of the unfamiliar feeling that presented itself when he said such, but because he seemed to be picking the least appropriate possible. Not even one had been a Slytherin, and she was sure that at least two of them had been Mudbloods. This last though had been passingly pretty, nothing to write home about other than the height. She did look like a screamer though, something that Kariana wasn’t fond of in a female. Being vocally appreciative was one thing, but screaming? There was no point. Hence the eye roll that she presented him with after his statement. “I never said anything about being quiet Reinbach.” She tilted her head up to look at him, craning her neck so as to meet the black lenses covering her companion’s eyes. “I’m just saying that screaming is ridiculous. It’s one thing to be loud, another to scream, that’s more of an attention thing.”

She watched the tilting of his lips and tried to peer past the black objects covering his eyes, ”So you're saying you've never had a shag so good you just had to scream?” The laugh that burst forth from his lips at his commentary had her righting her neck again, a small smirk tugging at the edges of her lips as she shook her head. “Or maybe I’m saying that my partners have always been good enough not to need the reaffirmation being that they receive it in other ways…Oh, what about that one,” she nodded her head in the direction of the girl walking not but a few feet from them, “the red head?” The girl passing was of average height with a petite figure, the aforementioned red hair cast in curls around a freckled face. She wasn’t necessarily Kariana’s first pick out of the females surrounding them, but she had that odd ethereal beauty. ”I’d certainly like to find out if that’s her natural color.” She glanced up at Regulus with another eye roll, her lips turning up at the corners ever so slightly. “You know an easy way to tell? … Without having to get her in the sack first… is to look at her eyebrows. Although, you could also look at her arm hair and the like as well. I’d say she was a natural.” A pretty, natural red head didn’t happen often. At least not that Kariana had noticed at this school. She shifted a bit, turning her body more towards that of the boy next to her and reached across his torso, her hand dipping into the left pocket of his pants, drawing more than a few curious glances- not that she noticed or cared. Her fingers pulled a bit until the object within gave way, her eyes scanning the time before depositing the pocket-watch back into his pocket and standing up quickly. “If we don’t get a move on we’re going to be late.” She reached down to grasp at the front of his robes, pulling him up- although admittedly there was little struggle- and straightening his tie out with a raised brow at his disgruntled expression. “What, hoping if you wear it loose enough it’ll just fall off?” ”Something like that. These things are damned uncomfortable.” She smiled at that, adjusting the red scarf around her neck before turning away from Regulus and starting on her way to class. As it was they’d barely make it there before the bell, she supposed that she should be glad that she’d had the niggling sensation to check the time. “I don’t think they made them for comforts sake.” She turned into the first open archway, her heels registering the change in the stone beneath. She was all about red today, something she’d coordinated carefully that morning. Too much and you looked like a drag show come to town, too little and it received far too little attention. She glanced back at her lagging friend and slowed, reaching her hand out to intertwine her fingers with his and pull him along. “How much do you want to bet that Gavin made it there before us and has subsequently chosen where we’ll be sitting for the rest of the year?” She turned another corner, ascending the stairs with an easy stride. "I'll put 5 galleons on center row. Left side." The fucker, his logic made some sort of sense, though how he’d reached it so quickly she wasn’t prepared to think through. “Right side, back row, Transfiguration isn’t his favorite subject. And I’ll take those five gallons and raise my own as well.” She smirked over at him before the turned into the doorway, dropping his hand as she searched for the familiar, if much larger, form of their discussed friend…. Who happened to be sitting on the left side… in the middle. She sighed audibly and headed towards him, raising a brow as Regulus moved him to the end of the desks and slid between them, taking her bag off of her shoulder as she went. The bag she placed on her desk, flap open, before leaning over to kiss Gavin’s shoulder distractedly in greeting, her hands dipping into her bag and coming out with a coin purse. Five gallons… fucking Regulus. She counted them out slowly before sliding them over to him, praising her timing as the bell rang moments before. The coin purse was quickly deposited back within her bag, her notebook and quill pulled out and bag deposited on the ground beside her chair as she set up her desk, arranging the quills by size next to the notebook. Transfiguration wasn’t her favorite subject either, but she’d be damned if she got below an O in any of her courses.

It wasn’t until the wolf whistles started that she turned her face up to take in the teacher at the front of the room, her head cocking to the side just slightly as she took in the form up at the front of the room. Apparently when the headmistress had chosen the new professors for this term she’d kept a general attractiveness in mind. Because fuck, really? Since when were the teachers so young and pretty around here? Since never. First Talbot and now the Transfiguration Professor as well. She wasn’t the same kind of attractive that Kariana usually gravitated towards in her females- she looked almost innocent, although that spoke nothing towards her personality itself… She could be just as big a hardass as the Potions Professor for all she knew. She sighed audibly again and turned her attention back to the paper before her, writing out the date and time in the upper left hand corner carefully before glancing at her companions. She almost sighed again. Because obviously male hormones could not be contained when presented with a new pretty to stare at. So she aimed her leg carefully, placing her quill down and leaning on her arms before placing a sharp kick into first Regulus’, then Gavin’s shins. They were going to fail, or worse, bring the attention of the Professor down on them in an unfavorable way. What if she was a hardass and took points off for their behavior? She couldn’t afford any of her players getting in trouble this close to a game. She glanced around to see if any of her other players were acting the same before giving up, the only two she could reprimand at all were the two closest to her anyways. When they continued to ignore her she let her foot loose again- with maybe a little more force, her eyes rolling at the obstinacy. “You keep kicking me like that Care, and I'm never going to be able to stay on my broom later.” She hadn’t even noticed him leaning closer although she was sure to lean back into it, a smile on her face as she turned her own eyes back to the front of the room. “Shins you won’t need if you get in trouble lover, remember that.” Her fingers went back to her quill to run over the feather, eyes widening slightly as Regulus muttered, ”you had your chance” out of his lips before resuming his ogling. She held back rolling her eyes again and leant over this time in the opposite direction her smile almost too sweet as she pinched the top of his hand, eyes still trained on the front of the room as she raised her hand.

[Avery Rowe]

She dearly hoped the fact that she was visibly dripping with Slytherin pride and house themed accessories that Kat was going to forgive the fact that she wasn't wearing her robes despite the fact that it was game week. She hated her robes, they covered her up, swallowed her whole and she had far too much to display. She was even wearing heels to class, something that she almost never did. They were new and still had to be broken in too...she should appreciate it, even her coffee tumbler had Slytherin on it. It was more than obvious what house she was in. Strutting confidently into class, walking expertly in her heels she scoped out the room, most of her other friends were already here. Given the week she should sit with the rest of the members of her team, solidarity and all. There was a seat next to Reg, but she didn't want to listen to his comments or advances if she was going to be expected to learn anything at all. Carefully she clutched her purse and textbook to her body and weaved her way down to the side of the room where her friends sat, picking the seat that was going to be directly in front of Kat. Standing up on her tip toes despite the five inch heels that she was wearing she leaned up and over the chair. The second row wasn't that much higher than the first and she could reach her friends fairly easily. She placed a greeting kiss to each one of the three team member's cheeks, making sure not to linger longer on any one person's face. She had seen the three of them not long ago at breakfast, which had been more than eventful to say the very least but that didn't mean that they didn't deserve a proper greeting. Beaming at them, she moved her legs just until she was on the seat of her chair while son her knees, leaning over the desk to talk to her friends.

Whenever the roar in the classroom started to die down she took that to mean that the lesson was about to start and winked one at Reg before turning forward in her seat and smoothing down her skirt to sit down. She was more at risk to be called on while sitting in their spot, she didn't give it much mind. She knew enough to get by, and was queen of deflecting her responsibilities onto other people so she didn't think it was going to be an issue. Reaching into her purse she fished out a pen and a notebook to take notes, or doodle depending on the lesson. She listened while the woman was introducing herself. Yet, the second that the whistles and whispering started, Avery decided that she didn't like their professor. In fact, she hated her. She hated any female that got more attention than she did...Professor Delia obviously was in a position of moderate influence...and looking the way that she did...the scowl on Avery's face wasn't going to budge. Crossing one leg over the other her foot started to jiggle. She wasn't going to be able to hear a single word that the professor said...yet if she was rude Kat was going to kick her in the head. This was a horrible seating choice. Next lesson she would just have to move somewhere else. The hand placed on top of her knee started to drum against her flesh, irritated that she was going to have to sit through another 58 minutes of this woman talking. She couldn't fail the course, if she failed she couldn't play Quidditch...and there was a game this weekend. She had more important things to think about than Professor Delia's stupid perfect teeth. She could feel her eye color starting to darken, so she closed her eyes, focusing on her heels and the way that they made her ankles look. This was going to be a damn long lesson indeed.

[Juliet Delia]

As she walked about the classroom, Juliet took a careful look at her crop of students for the year. Many of them were older students, sixth and seventh years, and that suited her just fine. It was certainly lovely to light the kindling for the passion of Transfiguration in the young mind, but it was completely another to fan that tiny flame into something more powerful and intense in older and more experienced students. It was, after all, in their sixth and seventh years, where the real fun of Transfiguration began. They were old enough to take on the responsibility for their learning and to understand the magnitude of the magic that they were experimenting with. Not so old, however, that their minds would be unbendable and stubborn, as the minds of so many adult eventually became. In the case of Transfiguration, it was really quite difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, so to speak.

There was a certain look of fixation on the faces of several of her male students, and an expression that was all too familiar to her: lust. Low wolf-whistles and whispering amongst the male students, along with some awful scowls from several female students confirmed this. She had never considered herself more than pretty; her hair behaved itself and shone brightly, her teeth were straight and white, and she rarely had troubles with her skin. Certainly she wasn't a troll, nor had she ever considered herself to look as such, but Juliet was admittedly surprised at the reaction of her students. Must have come into my own and not even noticed it... she thought, a small smile placing itself delicately on her red lips. A small obstacle with some of her students, obviously, as she felt the glare of several of her female students burning into her skin, but Juliet refused to let this bring her down, nor would she let whatever it was that they felt about her stand in the way of the grades and help they deserved. This was not something she had expected, but it would certainly make things quite interesting.

Juliet flicked her wand, and a roll of parchment flew into her waiting hand. She pulled it open and looked down the names on the attendance list. The school had provided her with a book full of student head shots with the hope that she could learn several names before she got to school. That had been a disaster in and of itself, but as a general rule of thumb she could place a name with a face if presented with the two. She began to point at students and calling their names, nodding her head at each comment, smiling at the particularly tricky ones. Juliet pointed at a young man in Ravenclaw robes, "Yes, um... Giovanni? What interests you?" His hand fell as he replied with a smile, which she returned in kind. “Conjuration. It’d be learning how to conjure something without using Accio.” Juliet nodded and smiled widely. "Yes, that is definitely in the lesson plan for this year. A very important skill for any young wizard or witch to have. Difficult, as there are several limitations on it, but if you want to learn it, you'll put the effort in."

Her eyes roamed again until she landed on a Hufflepuff. "Harland, I believe it is? Go ahead." His voice was confident and his answer simple. “Live to inanimate transference.” Juliet's lips pursed in thought as she tilted her head to the side. "Interesting, for sure. I believe that you have all learned basic transference in the lower years, but we can certainly put some time in this semester dedicated to the more complicated applications of it."

The classroom was silent for a moment before a pretty Gryffindor girl spoke up. “I would love to learn how to undo transfigurations others have done. I’ve undone my own work in the past, however it seems much more difficult to undo things others have done.” Juliet was a little surprised at the comment, but ultimately pleased. "I don't think I have ever heard that request," she mused, racking her brain. "But it is certainly a useful skill that I would be more than happy to teach. I think it's Amina?" she said, looking down at her attendance parchment. "Thank you, darling."

Juliet paused to see if any more hands would shyly rise, but none did. She nodded slowly as she took in all that had been discussed, making mental notes. Certainly she would try to tailor her lessons to include some, if not all, of those things in her lessons at some point. At least in some capacity. They were, after all, older students, and they deserved to be learning the things that they felt were important to them now. With only a year or two left in school for most of them, it was time that they began to think about futures and where they wanted to be and what they wanted to do and know. She walked over to her desk and placed the attendance parchment down before hopping up onto the desk to sit. As she settled in, her eyes roved over her class again before she spoke. "I will definitely try to fit all of that and more into our lessons then," she said with finality. "How much of each subject, I don't know, but if anyone is really, really interested in anything in particular, I sincerely urge you to come visit me so that we can work something out."

She sat up straighter, suddenly, as the thought hit her. Most professors at the school were quite old, and although what they had to offer to the students was certainly invaluable, few students took advantage of it. There seemed to be a lack of connection, and that was not what she wanted to happen with her students. "By the way, please don't be shy when it comes to talking to me. Honestly, I'm turning 23 next month, so I'm really not all that much older than yourselves. I'm really quite approachable about anything, be it school or other wise. So please don't hesitate to come see me. This is your education and your life, and I'm here to help as much as possible." Another wide smile spread over her lips as she shrugged and stood up again. Juliet looked at her watch and tilted her head from side to side a few times before speaking again. "Tell you what, I'll let you all out early. If you have any questions or you'd like to chat now, I'll be here until the hour is up. Fifty points to each house for their wonderful suggestions and opinions. See you all next class, bring wands, a quill, and parchment please! Off you go!"

Quite pleased with the way her first day went, Juliet flicked her wand. The door to the classroom opened soundlessly, and the chair behind her desk transfigured into a blackboard eraser which began to erase what she had written earlier. She hopped back onto her desk and sat patiently, waiting to see if any of her students would approach her.

[Regulus Reinbach]

Practice had been grueling. Reg's insomnia was not conducive to the daybreak 1st sessions Ana had the team running in preparation for their first game. Breakfast had been...satisfying. The team all ate together, and despite exhaustion Regulus found himself more interested in his coffee than food. He popped a grape from the basket Ana had brought out onto the courtyard with them, letting an impish smirk play on his lips as he finished his snack and began his inquiries into his friend's sex life. He didn't get the answered he'd hoped for, but that had become typical with the Slytherin girl, she refused to give him even an inch of leeway in his advances. With his most recent girlfriend now in the history books Reg had been hoping Ana might falter, give him a shot now that she had seen how easily he could be lost. No such luck, however, and if it were possible for a boy with Reg's sizable ego to feel hurt he would have.

"Eyebrows and arm hair?" Regulus protested. "Now, where's the fun in that?" So long as Ana was a lost cause he may as well take a run at the redhead. She had a nice pair of legs on her, a bounty of freckles, which was always a plus and of course that trademark ginger pale skin like porcelain. Regulus missed a shot at the girls face though. It had become hard to concentrate on much else with Ana's hand shoved down his pants...even if her motives were completely innocent. Her hair smelled nice; he couldn't help but notice it as a wave of the scent rushed through his nostrils. He was still intoxicated as she tried to assist him to his feet, he jerked back to reality and stood easily before issuing his bet.

Regulus knew Gavin well. He would have arrived on time, moved instinctively towards the front of the classroom drift left and slide into a seat before he reached the front of the room. It was perfect positioning. The professor was likely to focus towards the right, so sitting in the left would move them from a direct sight line and by choosing the middle they avoid suspicion. Up front, you're just asking to get caught and sitting in back is advertising your lack of interest. Gavin would be seated center left, if not, then he was an idiot.

Regulus quietly pumped his fist upon crossing the threshold of classroom. Gavin was just where he should be. He took his seat and accepted his prize from Ana, sliding the coins into his pocket. His eyes rose from his pocket to the front of the room where he spotted an attractive young brunette. Professor Juliet Delia. Regulus had been stealing glances towards the staff table ever since her announcement as new professor of transfiguration, though due to the expansive size of the great hall it was impossible to tell if the looks were ever returned, or even noticed.

There was a sudden stingy in Reg’s leg that he couldn’t comprehend as he gazed in the professors direction, plotting the antics that would land him some one on one time with the attractive young teacher…otherwise known as detention. The second kick was sharper and jolted Reg from his gaze, only enough that he could comprehend the source of his now sore legs. “You had your chance,” he muttered, shifting his gaze to Ana just long enough to flash her a smirk. Looking up, Reg caught and returned a wink from Avery Rowe, enjoying the view as she walked past and took her seat in front of Ana.

"Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?"

Anything they wanted to see? An impish smirk spread across the dark-haired boy’s lips. The set-up was almost too easy, with half the class already drooling Regulus knew exactly what every male student (and likely a few of the females) ‘wanted to see’ out of their professor this year. He was still working out the wording when the calls from the other students started pouring in. Counjuration? Leave it to the Ravenclaw to try and complicate a basic spell. But the suggestions only got worse. Live to inanimate transference, well that was a bit tame wasn’t it? The fun was in animating the inanimate not the reverse. Perhaps the little puffer was interesting in turning his enemies to pastries. Regulus grinned quietly at the image formed in his head. The worst was the Gryffindor girl, though. Regulus actually had to suppress the urge to vomit at her offering of undoing others spells.

By the time Regulus had regained his lunch the suggestion period had ended and the Professor speak had begun. She would try to incorporate all the suggestions, but with only so many weeks who could say how much time could be spent wasted on the things the slower minds should already know was anyone’s guess. Being dragged along at the pace of the knuckle draggers was always the most irritating part of any class curriculum. But the cliché lines gave way to an interesting opening. She was indeed as young as she seemed, only a few years separated professor from student. Regulus couldn’t help think; with the way the male eyes had been watching her, that this was a subtle hint about the professor's availability. Too soon to make such a weighty assumption for sure, but the way she hoped gingerly up on her desk, the Sixth year was reluctant to high tail it out of the classroom before the professor changed her mind about ending session early.

Knowing full well he would get hell from Kariana for it later he rose from his desk and approached the pretty, young professor. As the distance between the two of them closed Regulus realized he had no idea what to say. Professor Delia had just made the idea of talking to her sound so enticing that he could resist, and his only thoughts all class had been about making a joke relating to her looks, one that she would surely not enjoy, especially in a face-to-face conversation. “Professor,” Regulus started, and there was an unfamiliar edge to his voice…was he nervous? His mind was conflicted. He had an approach for teachers, he had an approach for cute girls, but the two were in compatible and warring in his mind.

“Animagi,” he said sternly switching his approach. Whatever she was, nervous was not the impression he’d like to leave. “I’d be curious to learn more about how to become one. I’ve asked before and all I’ve ever been told is that is a long and difficult process,” he explained. “So if that’s all you can tell me as well, I figured it’s better this way, so you don’t have to embarrass yourself in front of the whole class.” Was he insulting her? No. Well, he was trying to anyway. He was working a playful edge into his voice brought on by his professor’s youthful appearance, but his mind was still trying to reconcile the conflicting terms attractive and professor. Hopefully he'd struck a balance that would keep him from tossed out of the class. Transfiguration was far too useful a class for him to miss out on over a simple malfunction in his brain's hardwiring.

[Deleted]

This time she was convinced. Morning duties were the worst. The battle of whether patrolling morning or night was always raging on in Adelaide’s brain, but after today, morning had triumphed. She had been forced to get up early, which was always a drag considering she was a girl who thrived off of her beauty sleep, to keep watch over the Great Hall while the students filed in for breakfast before classes. Besides Headmistress LeGrand, only a few other faculty members came to the morning meal. The Headmistress liked having a few prefects on duty to watch over their respected houses as to not to put any additional pressure on the few professors that came to eat. Adelaide thought that they should have just gotten over it considering the men and women knew what they had signed up for when they accepted their jobs, but that was simply that, a thought. Bringing it up to LeGrand, or any of the other professors for that matter, would surely stir up a fire that she was really uninterested in dealing with. Instead, she would suffer and complain to her fellow prefects and unfortunate girlfriends. It was what she would be doing today during her mid-afternoon break from classes, which at this rate felt like it would never be coming. After breakfast was over within the next few minutes, Adelaide had three classes to attend before her two hour break. The first was Transfiguration, followed by Arithmancy and then History of Magic. She didn’t mind the first, but the second two were going to go on forever.

Sighing, Adelaide tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she paced between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables for the tenth time now. Nothing that warranted her services had happened in the long hour she had been down here. She had to scold two younger years from her house about throwing food at one another, but that was the extent of it. For the most part, the older years had passed that stage in their lives. They chose to resort to more dramatic ways of messing with other people. Starting to feel nauseous after seeing another person chew with their mouth open, the bell rang and Adelaide scrambled past the oncoming crowed of students to the staff table. Fortunately, she beat the other prefects to Headmistress LeGrand and quickly reported a satisfactory review of her patrol. After the woman dismissed her, she smiled and moved to the corner of the table to grab her shoulder bag. Slipping it over her arm, she fell into step with a group of her friends that were nice enough to wait for her. That and they were all going to the same place. She enjoyed having people to talk to when she had to take the long journeys to the far away classrooms in the castle. Not only did it guarantee to make the time pass by faster, but she was also sure to make it without taking the wrong staircase when she was alone with her thoughts. Within ten minutes, the small group entered the door of Professor Delia’s Transfiguration classroom. The witch was already at the front of the classroom awaiting the arrival of the rest of her students. Adelaide laughed to herself upon noticing the number of males sitting in the first several rows. This would probably the only class where the boys would take the usual place of the girls. Sliding towards the middle of a row near the back of the classroom, she lowered her bag to her feet.

Glancing around the room, Adelaide noticed several familiar faces. Harland wasn’t too far away from her and she gave him a quick smile and wave. Gavin was towards the front, sitting next to the group of Slytherins she usually saw him hanging around. She didn’t know them by name, besides the other cute boy, Regulus she believed, but the girls didn’t look like they’d be friendly enough to associate with. Not that she had any intention of trying to expand her circle of friends of course. She always tried to steer away from the Slytherin girls. They were too much drama then she cared to deal with. After a few more minutes, Professor Delia stood up, silencing the students in the room. "Students, welcome to Transfiguration. My name is Professor Delia, and I will be teaching you the intricacies of this wonderfully precise art this year." Well, at least she sounded nice. Adelaide hated having to attend classes that were taught by strict professors who got off on tormenting their students. "You will find that Transfiguration is unlike any other type of magic you will learn in this school. It will take discipline, time and effort." She could vouch for everything the woman just said. In all of the years she had been taking the subject, this had been one of the hardest to study for. Also the most time-consuming. She wasn’t bad at the class. It just took more of an effort on her part to make sure she had the right pronunciations and mindset to be successful and maintain a passing grade. Adelaide listened as Professor Delia continued, chuckling at her joke though she would be mortified if something so horrendous had ever happened to her.

"Now, who would like to tell me something they'd like to learn or see in my class this year?" Adelaide wasn’t one for raising her hand so she sat back and allowed the others to do the hard work. All the answers sounded generic, but intriguing enough to capture her interest as well. She truly did find Transfiguration to be fascinating. She just didn’t know how to go about explaining what she really wanted to learn, as well as some of the other students did anyway. When the comments stopped, Professor Delia spoke up again. "I will definitely try to fit all of that and more into our lessons then.” A teacher who was actually willing to take suggestions? This was new. Adelaide turned to her friend and raised her eyebrows. “Impressive,” she whispered. As the woman continued speaking, her thoughts about the professor were only confirmed. She hoped the other students wouldn’t set out to try and break her, as so often many did when younger adults came to the school. This one didn’t seem like she would be broken easily though. When the announcement came that class was being dismissed early, and also that all of the houses had gained fifty points for participation, Adelaide knew that this was likely to be her favorite class for the semester. At the sound of bodies standing from their seats, she followed suit. Trailing after her friends, she opted out of speaking to the woman since there were already a number of students waiting to speak to her. She could say something to her before the next class. With her mood elevated thanks to the short length of the class, she walked out of the room and after her friends back to the common room. Maybe this day wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

[Juliet Delia]

Juliet let a puff of air escape her lips. She had survived her first lecture, and, in her opinion, it had gone off without a hitch. Her students hadn't seemed too disenchanted throughout the time they'd been there, though she could tell by the look of a few of the student that she was going to have trouble with keeping a few of them engaged. The year was going to be a learning curve for everyone, herself included. Nevertheless, it was exciting; she liked to teach, always had, it seemed. She especially liked that Transfiguration was so hands-on; she enjoyed when she could help people individually, most likely the same reason that she had become a nurse in the first place.

She sat patiently on her desk, perched lightly with her ankles crossed. She examined her nails as she waited for a student to approach her, 'tsk'-ing and frowning as she cleaned a bit of dirt from under a nail. Gazing up at the class, who was now chatty and lively as they filed out, Juliet rattled off names in her head. It was going to take some effort to remember so many people, but she was determined to know each and every name and face that showed up on her attendance list and in her classroom. It always made a class a nightmare to attend when the professor took no real note of their students or their progress. You never knew whether or not you were doing something right, and if you weren't, you were probably already down a set of eyebrows by the time you knew it.

A male voice caused Juliet to startle. “Professor,” it said. Juliet blinked a few times and met the eyes of the source of the voice. One of her sixth year students, a Slytherin, if she wasn't mistaken. She memorized the young man's face as she perked up. "Yes, um..." Juliet snapped her fingers and bit her bottom lip as she thought. "Regulus! That's it." Sitting up straighter, she smiled, her eyes twinkling in the daylight that was now blazing though the windows of the classroom. "You're on the Slytherin Quidditch team, if I'm not mistaken? Chaser, I believe? How can I help you, darling?" Juliet felt a little ridiculous squeeze of excitement in her chest, the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach: her first actual question. Nerdy could not adequately describe the feeling that she had at that moment. She was just so excited to be working at a job that she could really get into and enjoy, and, on top of that, she got to share her knowledge and passion with other people.

“Animagi,” Regulus said, rather abruptly. The poor thing looked as though he was about to have a stroke. Juliet shifted into a more comfortable (and she hoped less menacing, if she had been, position); she straightened her back, let her shoulders settle back, and crossed one leg daintily over the other. A nod informed Regulus that he should continue. “I’d be curious to learn more about how to become one. I’ve asked before and all I’ve ever been told is that is a long and difficult process.” Juliet bit her lip and let a small smile crawl onto her lips. "It's certainly a long, difficult process. It takes a lot of work. I can understand why your past professors essentially dismissed it when you asked them questions about it."

“So if that’s all you can tell me as well, I figured it’s better this way, so you don’t have to embarrass yourself in front of the whole class.” Juliet put a hand over her heart and allowed herself to pout; the picture of hurt feelings. His voice made it clear that he was trying to be light-hearted, so it was a good thing she had a sense of humour. That kind of behaviour had gotten her tossed out of classes once or twice in her time at Galaxia. "Regulus, one day in class and you already have so much doubt in me?" she asked, mimicking his playful tone of voice. Juliet dropped her hand and grinned, looking him dead in the eye. "I know plenty about animagi, as well as how to become one, Mister Reinbach. I'd hardly qualify for the position of Transfiguration Professor if I didn't, now would I?" A scuffing noise caused Juliet to flick her wand absently, causing the sound to stop almost immediately; the blackboard brush was still swiping across the blackboard, but had long finished erasing her writing.

"I'll tell you what," she said, her words slow and precise. "Because of the...delicate nature of the subject, I'll make you a deal. If you are truly interested in the subject, and if you are serious about what I'm assuming you're looking to learn..." Her voice trailed off, her eyebrows raising poignantly. "If you can get a letter of permission from the Headmistress, which I will need to see and will know if it is not legitimate, come talk to me. Make an appointment during my office hours, and we will discuss. If you are only interested in the theory and the history, then you will be pleased to know that I plan on including that in a lesson this semester anyways."

[[Sorry about the wait, duckling. Lack of muse, but here I am now! <3 ]]

[Regulus Reinbach]

Regulus' brow perked up curiously. It was rare that anyone in the castle struggle for his name. He'd worked rather hard for that privilege. But Regulus held his tongue, and was rewarded as the young professor found not only his name, but his position on the quidditch team. It seemed his reputation had preceded him after all. Regulus wanted desperately to delve into the topic of quidditch suddenly, bragging about his skills, promising the professor like he promised so many girls that he would score a goal in her honor. Usually the only time he felt comfortable mentioning quidditch to a teacher was when he was trying to be excused from class or receive an extension on an assignment, but Professor Delia seemed to register some sort of interest. Still, he could regale her with tales from the pitch another time, he had come up here with a purpose...Now he just had to remember what it was. Animagi!

"It's certainly a long, difficult process. It takes a lot of work. I can understand why your past professors essentially dismissed it when you asked them questions about it."

Regulus couldn't help rolling his eyes as the professor confirmed the facts he already had at hand, but before he had the chance to walk away and dismiss whatever small bit of promise he had seen in Juliet, she surprised him. More than that she was mocking offense at his lack of faith in her abilities. That was certainly something new...and promising. "Well your predecessors did you no favors," Regulus explained with an easy smile. His past professors had all seemed incompetent or inapproachable. Too by the book, or too 'free spirited' in his third year they went several weeks without class to 'enjoy the whether' a welcome reprieve, but certainly not the decision making of someone he could trust with his future. Professor Delia seemed to be different. And he nodded obediently as her voice trailed, confirming that he wished fro her to continue and her assumptions about his interest were not wrong.

"If you can get a letter of permission from the Headmistress, which I will need to see and will know if it is not legitimate, come talk to me. Make an appointment during my office hours, and we will discuss."

And there is was. The inevitable disappointment. A letter of permission? Regulus Reinbach did not ask permission, least of all from the headmistress. But the other alternative, learning simply theory, hardly seemed a worthwhile venture. Theory he could read about in books. He needed a guide, experience. But they were still in the classroom technically on class time, perhaps she was exercising caution as not all the students had cleared yet from the room and she didn't want to go through individual sessions with each of them. Perhaps there was hope yet.

"You should know I haven't handed in an honest letter of permission since first year. I can make a convincing forgery, but I wouldn't attempt to insult your intelligence with such tricks," Regulus assured the professor, smirk appearing on his lips as he seemed to finally be back on comfortable ground; trying to get what he wanted with the chips stacked against him. "Now, what time are those office hours?"