Lesson II [5th & 6th Years]

[mercier]

It was around nine in the morning on this unseasonably warm autumn day, and just about time for yet another animagus lesson. The sun shone brightly into the room, sending a ray of light onto the seemingly absent professor's desk, bringing attention to two seperate cats. They were about a foot apart, both attentive, laying lazily and looking from each other to the wide open door. On the left side of the desk [nearest the door] was a triclolored cat, and next to it a black one. Each had identical eyes, and in between them was a plain cup, fire licking the rim of it. [Think triwizard, but plain and small.] On the board was written instructions for the students as they came to the class.

Welcome to your second lesson.
In front of you, as you can see, are two cats.
Have a seat and take out a piece of parchment.
Write down whether you think the beige or the black cat is your professor.
When you've finished, put the parchment in the cup.
When class begins, the votes will be tallied and we will start today's notes.

(If you already know the form if you've looked at my bio, don't make your character already know, try to have some fun with it , give the thread VARIETY. State clearly what your character's choice is, please. You have 48 hours to get to class, the same rules for being late apply as they did in the last lesson.)

(I've completed the updates, and I'm very disappointed. I am not going to reply to this thread until I have several more students in it. Come on people, are we going to fail Britt's posting challenge? Whatever happened to participation in classes?)

[Kali Rune]

The Slytherin walked into the Animagus classroom, not really expecting anything to happen, at least anything that is out of the ordinary when one enters a classroom. But, as she walked inside, she saw two cats in the fron tof the class, and between them, some cup with fire around it. Kali looked at it in confusion before seating down at the back.

The Slytherin wondered what they would be doing today. This is animagus class right? She looked around the classroom but found that he was not there. Where could he be? She then looked at the board.

Welcome to your second lesson.
In front of you, as you can see, are two cats.
Have a seat and take out a piece of parchment.
Write down whether you think the beige or the black cat is your professor.
When you've finished, put the parchment in the cup.
When class begins, the votes will be tallied and we will start today's notes.

Okay then, so one of the cats is the professor, the big question is, which one was he? Kali took out a parchment and then her quill and ink. Hmmm...She began writing on it, she guessed that the triocolored cat might be her professor but maybe it could be the black one? Slowly, she wrote down her answer [the tricolored cat] and placed her folded piece of parchment in the cup and headed back to her seat.

[ryanowl]

Ryan was late to wake up, an dthat resion was because he couldnt fall asleep. It was dificult for him to at times, but he would get over it, with some time, hopefully. Slowly, he dressed in his robes, but he added his red kimono, but didnt add anything else, so his kimono was open. He grone use to it, and was hardly see out of it, even for school.

After a quick breakfast, he headed for Animagus class. It was one of his favorite classes, and he tried not to be late for it, an dhe was surprised to be one of the first students in it. He didnt see Professor Mercier in here, but two cats. He was supose to tell the differents between them: one of them being his professor. He didn as he was supose to, and chose (The black cat) and it in the flaiming cup.

[michellehanley]

Michelle had woken up that morning. She got dressed in her school robes, grabbed her things, and headed out of the hufflepuff common room. The first thing she did was head down into the Great Hall and grab some breakfast. After finishing breakfast, the sixth year Hufflepuff girl looked at her watch and realized that she had ten minutes to get to her animagus class.

After being late to the last lesson, she had decided to do whatever it took to get there on time. Eventually she arrived at the classroom. There were only two students in the room. Michelle walked to an open seat at the end of the middle row and looked around. There were two cats laying on the desk, but the professor wasn't anywhere in sight. Her attention turned to the board, and she read what was written upon it.

So, one of those cats is the professor? she thought as she looked at the cats. This was going to be tough to figure out. Thinking silently, Michelle wrote down one answer on a piece of parchment and the other one on another piece. Her eyes stared at both pieces of parchment. Which one should she put into the cup? Finally, she picked up a piece of parchment, [with the black one written on it], and walked it over and dropped it into the cup on the desk. Taking a seat back down in her chair, she waited for class to begin.

[/left]

[wolfsong]

Selena had just arrived into her Animagus class...Normal for witches and wizards but not normal for muggles. Can someone define normal for her? The loner doesn't think that this world could ever be 'normal' and 'sane'. Even the students themselves are a bit insane...

"Hello Professor..."

Her voice was somewhat dull and a bit bored when she had greeted the black cat on top of the professor's desk. The greeting was barely audible. The loner had scratched both kitties behind the ears before walking to her emo corner and sat down. The loner had taken out a piece of parchment and wrote her answer down (black kitty) before walking back up to place the paper inside the cup. Again the Ravenclaw scratched the kitties behind the ears again then pets each one once before returning to her desk.

Selena had taken out her all-so-familiar sketchbook and begins to sketch inside it.

[Elesy Miranda Longhorn *Rp?*]

Elesy arrived, at the class in which she would be learning to turn into an animal. Elesy walked calmly, and, silently over to a desk, in the middle row. Elesy sat down, and, pulled out parchment, and, her quill, and, wrote down the answer {Black cat} Elesy walked back up, and, placed the parchment in the cup, and, scratched, the two cats behind the ears. Elesy smiled, and, walked back to the desk in the middle row. Elesy sat down. Elesy took out another piece of parchment, and, began to draw, she was just drawing random things, like the sky, and, stuff like that.

Elesy gave a slight sigh, and, looked around, before returning to drawing. Elesy couldn't wait for class to begin, and, also, to find out which cat was the Professor. Elesy sighed, and, gave a slight yawn.[/font]

[Selene Falicon]

Selene entered the class briskly, knowing she had almost been late. She hated being late. Everyone always stared at you as you entered, and Selene didn't like being the center of attention. She read the board quickly and sighed. This would be a challenge. The Ravenclaw took a seat in the middle of the room and pulled out her notes, along with parchment, ink, and a quill. Looking over her notes, she sighed. How was she supposed to know?

Sighing Selene wrote down the black cat. Then as she watched them closely, she saw the black one was acting normally, for a cat. She crossed off her answer and changed it to tricolor. Then, as she thought some more, she thought that he might be the black one afterall, since his hair was black. Maybe that determined what color of teh animal you became. She crossed off tricolor and wrote down Black and got up to place her paper in the fire before she changed her mind again.

[Holden J. Caulfield]

With a sigh he walked into the classroom. Personally he wouldn't have shown up for this class at all for certain reasons 1] no one ever participated for anything 2] he forgot about this class. Seriously he did. Between working in Hogsmeade and going to all his other classes he forgot this one.

He already knew five points would be taken from Hufflepuff for his absence. Holden sat down in a seat in the middle of the classroom. He looked to the board and looked at the two cats. Beige. The late Hufflepuff pulled out some parchment and a quill and wrote 'Beige' on the piece of paper.

Getting up he put the parchement in the cup. Holden put his hands into his pockets and walked back to his seat.

[/size][/blockquote]

[amandalarsen]

Amanda huffed as she slipped on her Hufflepuff robes in her dorm. She had felt much better than morning and the day was fine. A little nap and now she was off to her next class. However, she's not in the chippest of all good moods. With her bag slung over her shoulder and wand in her Hufflepuff robe pocket, she exits from the dorm and soon out of the common room into the hallways.

So she may be a little late arriving to her class, but her professor so urgently sent her a notice to remind her absence. Pfft, what a tosser anyway. He could barely finish a lesson or keep it as interesting as the others. But Amanda should bare with it if she wants to become an animagus. Luckily Apparitions was far more interesting and Herbology than this.

While strolling down the halls, she contemplated on the animal she's always wanted to transfigure into. She seemed more like a rabbit to anyone, but why couldn't she be a bird? Like a dove? Those were elegant, pure, and peaceful. Well no used for Amanda to be peaceful these days when she was under a lot of stress and demandings from professors. The lot were dispicable.

She finally headed down the corridor to where Animagus lessons were located. Peeking inside as everyone else began settling down, she briefly eyes the cats before turning away quietly, biting her own tongue before she let loose any words she may regret saying. She wasn't someone to mess with at the time when she was so moodily moved by reminder notes after recovering from a case of the flu, again.

Losing points isn't what she wanted, but he did remind her that participation can gain points. Well she had other methods as well to gain points for Hufflepuff, eventually. Looking to Holden, she mustered up a measley smile while taking a seat next to him. Letting her bag slip off her shoulder, she looked to the board for any instructions she may have missed while entering.

Looks like it was a guessing game. Particularly she would like to think the professor was a black cat, only because he was a nitwit who couldn't finish a lesson. Dark colours could reflect you and her professor had dark hair and was scruffy at times anyway. She wrote down 'black cat' and then got up from her seat to insert the parchment into the cup. Returning to her chair, she takes a seat and sighs to herself quietly.

[nathanielhaake]

Okay, what type of person sends a message if you're a little late to class? Nathaniel wasn't so enthused when he arrived in the classroom with lesser students and two damn cats sitting in the front. Nathaniel wasn't much of a cat-lover and the fire-licking cup was tempting to throw either one in it. But he read the intructions on the board. It was still a good idea to throw one in for his answer.

However, he took a seat nearest to Holden and Amanda, and wrote down his answer on a sheet of parchment paper he took out from his bag. It was a bunch of scratch, but he guessed the odds and wrote down the tri-coloured cat. He walked toward the front, dropping the piece of parchment into the cup, and returned to his seat saying nothing at all.

Nathaniel would rather choke on his spit than be in here right now for the rude letter he received from the professor. It was no way to get on a student's good side and force them to be there. Why was he taking this class anyway? May as well drop it since he doesn't have the time or patience already.

[[OOC: Mm yeah, not going to be posting much with finals next week. So you'll see less of me until then. Especially when I've got a flight home after next Wednesday.]]

[marshalll]

Since Levi didn't want his house to loose another 5 house points for him being late, he hurried down trough the corridors on his way to the Animagus course. He was interested in this course, being an animagus would be soo cool. Why had he missed the other class than? Good question. Probably because he still wasn't that used to checking his optional classes schedules from time to time.

He entered the class and looked around, he spotted Holden and walked towards him. "Hi." He said as he sat down. Holden didn't seem to be that excited about the class.. so he wasn't the only one.

Looking at the cats on the desk he blinked, what where those doing here? It was a bit suspicious since it was the animagus class after all, so he had to wait and see whether it were actual cats or they'd be reveling a person later on!

[mercier]

As each student entered the room, both cats observed them silently, occasionally flicking a tail, or sending a look to the other cat, or various students. After only ten students had arrived, half of them late, the tricolored cat stood on all fours, stretching it's back. Simultaneously the black cat came to sit on its hindquarters, shaking its head, since the few students that had scratched it behind the ears had ruffled his fur. One of his back legs came to scratch behind his ear. The tricolored cat took to sitting patiently on the desk, looking at the students. The black cat settled down again, and within a second transformed back into the professor, who came to be sitting on his desk, legs off the end of it, hands in his lap. "Good morning, class," he said, without a smile as he looked over his students for the day. He'd observed every one of them as they came in, and several of them gave off a sour vibe. Even as he looked at them now, a few of them looked as if they were in terrible moods.

"I can see that some of you aren't very excited about my class. If you don't want to be in my classroom, then leave. If you're not dedicated to this class, then you're wasting my time as well as yours. Don't let the door hit you on your way out," he said, having already dealt with uncommitted students in his past who liked to waste his time and effort. If the people didn't want to learn, they didn't have to be here, this was an optional class.

Pulling his wand from his pocket, Luke aimed it at the board, the words Black and Tricolored replacing the previous instructions. Then, he tapped the cup, watching as the various pieces of parchment rose from it and disappeared in smoke, and as each one did, a tally mark appeared under the words on the board. Three marks were under the Tricolored category, and six under Black. The last student hadn't voted, but that was just fine, not everyone liked following instructions.

Turning back to his class, Luke cleared his throat. "Most of you got your answers right, and as you can see, only three didn't. Today we will be talking about identifying an animagus versus an ordinary animal." With another tap from his wand, the cup vanished from his desk. Setting his wand down, he picked up the other cat. "This is Mika, and she is my pet. She is an ordinary cat that was a present from my ever-so-thoughtful sister. As you can see, Mika has a dark patch of fur on her chest," and at this, he positioned Mika to be sitting on his lap so that the mark was visible to the class.

"The reason my sister is so thoughtful is because, if you noticed, in my animagus form, I also have a mark on my chest, but it is white. Now, Mika's marking is just because of her genes, but mine however is an identifying mark that I have registered with the ministry. I have a scar on my chest from an accident when I was younger, and since that scar is permanent, it is a part of my animagus form. Also, Mika has similar blue eyes that match mine." After scratching Mika behind the ear, he let her go, and she indignantly jumped from his lap to the floor, meandering between the desks to go and leap up to the far window and lay quietly.

"I assume most of you only guessed which cat I was by the color of my fur, or just a stab in the dark. In case you haven't noticed, my hair isn't black, it's brown. When I was younger, it used to be blond. The reason my animagus form has black fur and not fur the color of Mika's is because not every aspect of an animagi's appearance is based on their human appearance. Eye color and deformities, such as scars, any missing limbs, birthmarks, tattoos, et cetera, are always things that will identify you in your animagus form. A tattoo will not show up in fur, but it will show up as 'scar tissue' on the skin beneath it.

"I first would like you all to know that color does hold meaning, although when it comes to an animagus, the power it holds over the appearance varies, and in most cases it holds little to no importance. In my case, I have dark brown hair, but when I'm a cat I have black fur. The reason I have black fur is because of my personality. No, I am not a dark or mysterious person. Black represents all qualities of a personality pulled together, none of the qualities being dominant. The reason that fur, feather, or scale color does not tell a person's personality is because I guarantee that you will not see purple komodo dragon wandering around the streets of London. An animal's natural coloring dominates the symbolism colors hold. So, usually you cannot judge an animagus against an animal by their coloring."

As Luke spoke, shorthand notes wrote on the board with the same floating piece of chalk, replacing the tallied marks. He glanced back at the board, satisfied with what it already had down on it. Looking from Mika to his students, he cleared his throat again. "Please take these notes down, as how to identify an animagus will be on your final. Now, will anybody be kind enough to tell the class what things aside from identifying marks and general appearances can give away an animagus?"

(By the way, that message to the people who were late was not meant to be in character, I just wanted to remind some of you who might have forgotten that you had signed up for this class. Sorry if that rubbed you wrong, it was just meant to be a friendly reminder.)

[amandalarsen]

Nathaniel and Levi had entered the classroom just as late as she. So she wasn't the only one later than usual. It's very unusual for Amanda to be late, unless there was an important reason. But she's brushed it out of her mind since she's in class already. Amanda was here to learn, right? Even if she wasn't in a good mood, she'll eventually get over it like always.

Soon enough, the professor transformed from his animagus figure, the black cat. Well it was a wild guess for Amanda, but it was interesting. She's not all too amazed since she saw the Headmistress and former Professor Halliwell transform from their animagus figures. Far more interesting to have a lioness in your classroom compared to a cat. However, cats weren't as intimidating.

His statement was quite rough, but only because this class demanded higher attendance. Eventually the students would have arrived. Late or not, they made an effort to try. But she's not leaving. It's one class she wasn't content about. Hopefully the next few others would make up for this rude awakening. Animagus should prove more interesting than History of Magic though.

Amanda knew that Nathaniel was in a very sour mood by his looks, but she'd just have to comfort him later on. Or Alessa could do that to make him feel better. It seems that everyone was just out of touch lately. Perhaps its the stress of all their classes, including Apparitions. Such a difficult task. Anyway, she listened to the professor lecture about where he got his cat. How... sisterly?

She then thought of her own two cats up in the dorm, one she got from a former TA, Celeste Halliwell. Taking out more parchment and her ink-filled quill, she began writing down some of the key points of his starting lecture. So scars played an important part too and the colour of your eyes. She tried to remember what all she learned in Transfigurations before to also add to her notes.

His hair was brown? Well most dark brunettes were misinformed as black hair. Oi vey, perhaps she'll have to do more studying into hair colours, perhaps in some physical science class, but they don't have one. Hey, why don't they have a science class besides Care of Magical Creatures and Potions? Meh, oh well. Amanda jotted down other forms that would identify a person in their animagus form. Very interesting.

Color did matter partly. Dark cloaks could be a signature mark for someone's animagus who'll have dark fur, or golden round spectacles could be a golden blonde around an animagi's eyes. Too bad Amanda wasn't that entirely special. She only had one scar on her back and that was from playing on a broom while she was young and fell off. Good times!

Amanda snorted as he mentioned a purple komodo dragon. If only. That would definitely make her day to see such a thing. Or a big yellow hippogriff! Jotting down the rest of the important notes so far, she then contemplated over his question. What else could give away an animagus? That's... hard. Amanda shyly rose her hand up to the professor.

"Could it be their individual personality as well? The reflection of a person's inner nature..." her voice lost near the end since she wasn't sure of her reply to the professor. Oh dear, she could be wrong, but it's not like anyone was saying anything at that point. Her hand immediately shot down as she sunk in her seat, eyes looking directly at her notes instead of upfront.

[wolfsong]

He's a brunette?

Looking up from her sketchbook, Selena was slightly surprised at this but shakes it off as she reminds herself that some brunettes in the past. When Profesor Luke mentions that if they weren't excited or happy about the lesson today, they're welcome to leave...That had caught the loner's attention immediately and had made her put away the sketchbook quickly.

Oops...I hate it when I don't have my tea in the mornings...

It didn't take her long to write the notes down about colors and natural coloring affects the appearance of the form of animagus someone takes. Then he mentions something about a purple komodo dragon. What the heck? Komodo dragons aren't purple! They're a dark shade of metallic grey!

Selena had quietly listened when a Hufflepuff gave her answer and decided that someone else should have a chance to answer.

[kaelyn]

Kaelyn opened the door to the Animagus classroom and took a seat dropping her books in a heap on the floor. Her hair was a mess, her robes were wrinkled, and her cheeks were flushed from running through the halls. She didn't have an excuse for being late, so she didn't give one. Or rather, she did, just not a very good one.

She hated being late. Unfortunately she seemed to be in such a position an awful lot. As she didn't hear the beginning of the lesson she figured she would just have to listen carefully and ask one of her peers after the lesson was over.

Combing her fingers through her hair, she heard a Hufflepuff she recognized but didn't know give an answer that had no significance to her. She was sure it probably made sense in context but having just arrived, Kaelyn couldn't make any sense of it. Oh man. [/font]

[mercier]

"You're on the right track," Luke said, smiling slightly at his student. "A person's inner nature decides what actual animal they are, which we will talk about next class. Five points. What I was looking for is the animal's behavior. Mika, you see, is rather well behaved and quiet, so it was easy for me to imitate her so that I wouldn't give away which cat I was. Telling the difference between an actual animal and an animagus isn't easy with someone who feels comfortable in their form, unless it's some outrageous animal wandering around where it shouldn't be."

With a short push from the palm of his hands, Luke stood and leaned lightly back against it, observing his students. If they were all to advance to his seventh year class, he would definitely see a variety of animals. "Now, things that aren't permanent in your appearance as an animagus are things like weight, hair or fur, skin condition, and things such as accessories. If you're balding, your hair is thinning, or gaining weight, it will show in your animagus form. If you wear glasses, there will be an identifying mark around your eyes; however as far as other accessories that you do not consistently wear, it isn't confirmed on whether or not they show up as a mark on your form. Common things like necklaces usually do not make an identifying mark."

Taking his wand up again, Luke gave it a short flick, and a few photographs from a drawer in his desk flew to him, which he grabbed and displayed to the class. The first one was a moving picture of a white wolf, a paw going to her nose and sneezing repeatedly in what looked like a class room. "This was one of my past students during one of her first transformations. She took the form of an arctic wolf, and it is quite obvious that she is not a natural wolf. She wasn't used to her sensitive nose and all of the new smells were overwhelming. This is odd behavior for an animal, and a way to identify her as an animagus."

He put the photograph beside him on the desk and displayed the next one to the class. It was of an armadillo, repeatedly tumbling over on its stubby legs and flailing, curling into a ball over and over. "This student I had about ten years ago. He's an armadillo, and he couldn't seem to keep control of his balance, or get up very easily whenever he fell. He was a tough one to teach. This is also another identifying behavior, if the "animal" doesn't seem to walk right or hold its own balance like others of the species should."

Putting the photograph down on top of the other, Luke folded his hands and set them against his legs. "Now, next time we will go over a brief history of the animagus, the difference between an animagus and a metamorphmagus, and the dangers of an improper transformation. Unless you have any questions, you all are dismissed." Standing up properly, Luke turned his back to his students, taking the photographs in hand. He walked behind his desk, sliding open the drawer to put the photographs back in, and took a seat in his chair. With a flick of his wand, the piece of chalk dropped to the tray at the bottom of the board. As a last minute thought, Luke cleared his throat.

"Miss Thompson, make sure you get all of the notes you've missed, including the ones from last class."