Beetles!! Gross! (Lesson No. 2)

Professor Harcourt placed the beetles on the student’s desks. He shivered as he watched them crawl around. He always hated this lesson. And the fact that it was a rainy morning didn’t help at all. He sighed. While the beatles were in cages, they freaked out most of the students. It was because the beetles were twice the size of normal beatles.

Ellington insisted to having them enlarged so that it would be easier for the first years to keep them under their wand. But, enlarging the bugs made their disgusting features stand out. Harcourt dropped the beetle on the desk after it’s antenna touched his arm. It didn’t fall out of the cage thank God but they were creepy crawly little things.

But, first, a game. He drew his wand and the chalk started to write his thoughts.

First student to find the object that is out of place gets 10 points. Good luck and don’t touch the beatles. Kolby, this means you. Marigold, see me before I begin class.the chalk wrote as he thought. On the other chalkboard, her wrote down the incantation and the movement. Turn to page 23 for further instruction.the chalk wrote.

He smiled and sat at his desk, finishing his game of Wizard Chess with the Fat Friar, the ghost of the Hufflepuff House. ”Bishop to D6.”Harcourt said cheerfully, taking the Fat Friar’s knight. He laughed at seeing the Friar get frustrated. ”For someone who was so smart while he was living, you’ve lost your edge Friar. Perhaps spending a little time with the Grey Lady will do you some good.”

(OOC: Before anyone objects that the Fat Friar hasn’t died yet, he was born in 982. And, the Grey Lady was also born in 982. So, them being house ghosts during this time period makes sense.)

Incantation: abilitates
Movement: touch the beatle

Beatrix hurriedly entered the room. and made her way to a table. looking around to see if she was late. thankfully she wasn't.

Looking up at the professor wondering when will the lesson start

she pulled out a piece of paper and ink and quill and drew a some flowers.

Kolby laughed when he saw the chalkboard. Professor Harcourt is smart. Never trust me with beetles.he thought, looking at the giant bugs.

"Good morning Professor Harcourt."he told the professor. He has a sense of humor. He left his book open to page 23 then looked around for the object. A book?he thought.

He picked up a book and looked at the professor, trying to see if he would give any hints.

Arya hurried down the hallway to the Transfiguration classroom. She was very excited to see Professor Harcourt after the other night when he taught her those Quidditch techniques. Really, she wanted to ask him if he'd give her another lesson, but it would have to wait till the end of the class seeing as she wasn't the first one there.

"Fair morning, Professor?" she asked politely.

There were still several empty seats, but Arry was feeling extra courageous today; for a Gryffindor, that was really saying something. She decided she'd take the chair right next to dear old Kolby.

"Hello there, Kolby, how are you today?" she greeted the snake, a wide smile on her face until she read the board. "Bloody hell, not another one."

She figured she'd leave it to someone else to find the object. She had won the points last time. Arya settled in and opened her book to page 23.

Adele shuffled into the cold Transfiguration classroom, excited to see what they would learn today. After the last lesson, transforming statues into birds, she was more curious about the subject than ever.

"Hello, Professor," she said cheerily. "Hello Arry...."

She glanced at her friend suspiciously; the girl was actually sitting next to Kolby Parry. What was she playing at? Adelaine couldn't even imagine when it came to Arya. She was the feistiest, most determined Muggleborn Adele had ever known.

Adele refused to sit near Kolby, no matter what her Gryffindor friend had planned. She took a seat next to a friendly looking Hufflepuff girl instead.

"Hello," she smiled as she sat down. "I'm Adele, and you are...?"

Deirdre walked into the classroom and almost dropped her books when she saw what was on the desk. Oh, how she hated bugs. She didn't like being anywhere near them! But, as the chalkboard stated, it was part of the lesson and she would have to survive it.

"G-good morning, Professor." she stammered as she entered further.

Deirdre placed her books on an empty desk, opening the proper one to page 23. She glanced at the enlarged beetle and shivered. It was going to be a long class. She just hoped she wouldn't be alone long.

Arry immediately decided that sweetness was definitely not in her. How did people like Marigold do it all the time? Well, Marigold was more timidly shy than super sweet, but still. This wouldn't do.

"Eh, whatever," she sighed, resuming her careless and feisty nature. "Let's drop the act. I have a proposition."

It had taken her all night to think of a way to get back at Kolby once and for all. The boy had never victimized her specifically, he just irked her. She couldn't stand people who bullied for fun...that was when she thought of Nadia. If anyone was a bully, it was the highborn, nose in the air, Slytherin snob.

"I'm assuming you and Lady Murray aren't the best of friends?" she muttered under her breath, leaning toward him.

"Ah. Yes. Marigold. Lovely to see you dear. I see that,unlike your classmates, you actually attempted to solve for the statue. You came very very close. Congratulations. My 5th years are having problems with the equations but you seem to be very good at it. Keep up the good work and I'll add 5 points to Ravenclaw. Good job."he said, handing her the work back with his corrections. He patted her head and watched as she went to her seat. She has potential.

"Quite down class."he said after everyone had taken their seats. He was a bit disappointed. He looked over the class and shot a smile at Arya. He had recommended her for the Seeker position to the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was one of his best students.

"She has a lot of potential, Ulric. Just give her a shot,okay?"Harcourt said to the boy. "I don't know professor. A girl Quidditch player? That's a bit risky."Ulric replied. "I'll raise your lowest grade to an O."Harcourt said. The boy agreed, no questions asked.Harcourt thought, playing the scene in his mind. He'll do anything to help a student.

"No one played my game?"he said, picking up a red Reveler that sat among his other black erasers on the chalk board. He did see that Mr. Parry at least tried to find the object.

"10 points to Mr. Parry for being the only one that played along. Now, let's begin. Inside the cages are regular house hold beetles. Headmistress Ellington instructed me to enlarge them to make it easier for you. You can thank her if you have nightmares about giant bugs tonight. They have also been tamed to stay on the desks until class is dismissed so please take your beetle out of the cage and place it in front of you."he said, taking out his own beetles. He nearly gagged just looking at the ugly thing.

"Now, place your wand on your beetle and say abilitates."he demonstrated. His beetle turned into a button and he added it to a jar he had. "You may begin."he said, sitting at his desk.

"Well, it's no secret that Nadia hates me," Arya began quietly. "I clearly don't know my place as a mud--"

Arya was cut off as Harcourt began to speak. He smiled at Arya, and she grinned back; she was itching to get back on the Quidditch Pitch and fly again. She had to find out if he'd coach her some more, but it would have to wait.

"Meet me in the library tomorrow," she whispered discreetly to Kolby. "I still have to finish that bloody Potions essay."

She grabbed her cage and stared insolently at the disgusting creature inside. Why did they have to use beetles? Couldn't they make do with...butterflies? Arry shook the creepy crawler out onto her desk and took out her wand.

"Do me a favor and stay still," she told the bug, pointing her wand. "Abilitates."

Arya now had a beetle with a button shaped shell.

Mitri wandered into the classroom, humming quietly to herself. Transfiguration wasn't her favorite class, but it was always interesting. And the Professor was nice! Unlike in Potions and DADA.

"Good day Professor!" Mitri greeted with a smile as she sat down by a fellow first-year. Mitri was wary of the ghosts, and couldn't understand how the Professor could calmly play chess with them. People weren't meant to float around after they kicked the bucket, it just wasn't natural. Then again, with magic, was anything natural?

"I've never been a fan of beetles myself, so here goes nothing. Abilitates!" Mitri swished her wand at the bug, talking to the first-year beside her.

Miriam was nervous about changing the beetle into a button. Her transfiguration attempt last class hadn't gone real well. She'd only managed to make her statue sprout feathera, it never actually turned into a bird.

She fidgeted with her hair with one hand as she dumped out the beetle onto her desk in the back of the room with the other. Reaching for her wand, Miriam thought about what she had to do for the spell. She only hoped she would do it right.

"Here I go," she muttered to herself, "Abilitates."

The beetle didn't change much but it's shell turned red and rounded a bit. The beetle also was more red in color, a little squatter, and looking less disturbing thanks to it's change in color. Miriam was still nervous to touch it though.

It was clear from her seat in the back of the room (oh how she wished she was brave enough to sit in the front), she could see how the other students were doing, and some of them seemed to be at about her level which made her feel a little bit better. Miriam knew she'd have to practice (a lot) if she wanted to do well in this class.

((OOC: edited for spelling, nothing else.))

Adelaine stared at the beetle on her desk. Disgusting. She hadn’t noticed the creepy crawlers when she entered the classroom. She’d been too curious about Kolby and Arya. What were they up to? She turned to the girl next to her, a shy yet sweet looking Hufflepuff.

“Beetles; Awful, right?” she laughed nervously. She would have talked to the girl more, but Harcourt seemed a bit unhappy when people didn’t play his little game. Instead, Adele took out her wand, practiced the movement and incantation, then shook the bug out onto her desk. “Abilitates.”

Something clearly went wrong. The beetle had frozen; it seemed to take on the marbled pattern of a button…But it was still shaped like a beetle. “Oh, bugger that,” she sighed and tried again. After three more tries, the beetle had successfully transformed into a perfectly shaped button.

Miriam watched as the Ravenclaw next to her manage to turn her beetle into a proper button on her fourth try. It looked like turtle shell. Whatever it was, Miriam thought the mottling of the color was pretty.

"They make me shiver," Miriam admitted, "Especially when they're this big.

Touching her beetle with her wand again, she tried again, "Abilitates." This time the beetle stopped moving and it's antennae shrank into it's head and it's legs disappeared. She now had a button that looked vaguely like a beetle. Well, at least it was better than her last try.

Rose sat quietly for once; as the beetle scuttled around the cage, it's antennae reaching and waving all over her arm as she flipped to page 23.

"Bloody things," she muttered under her breath as she looked around the classroom. "Abilitates!"

She sat in surprise as the beetle transformed into a small (albeit a bit squared off) green button.

Nadia sneered at the sniveling beetle below her, it would never know what was coming. Nadia wondered what the Professor did with all the buttons after the lessons, possibly transfigured them back, but Nadia could imagine the Professor getting some perverse joy out of using the buttons.

"Beetles are rather nasty aren't they?" Nadia said to the Hufflepuff beside her. "Abilitates!"

Nadia felt an emotion that could be mistaken for sorrow at the beetle's sad life. He or she, was now a round blue button. Nadia wished the Professor would give them more challenging tasks rather than things that she had been doing for years. Not everyone had the advantage of being a pure-blood she supposed.

Deirdre pointed her wand at the beetle. She hadn't managed to do very well with her magic so far. She hadn't managed to cast the spell at all last time. She hoped she could at least get this one right.

"Alright, Deirdre. You are a witch. You are." she whispered to herself. "Abilitates!"

The beetle's legs disappeared and the shell turned silver with a Celtic knot etching. Deirdre gave a small shrug. It was better than she had thought it would be. She tried again. Now there was a silver button sitting in front of her on the desk.

I did it! It worked! she thought, smiling wide. Maybe my magic is starting to flow.

"Alright class. Wands down. Turn in your buttons attached to a piece of parchment with your name on it. I will award points according to how well the button looks, the best one earning five points. Your homework for tonight is to find three beetles in your common room and turn them into a specific button. The button must be your house colors with your initials etched into it. You're now dismissed. I'll see you tomorrow. Also, if anyone is good at sewing, please let me know."Harcourt said, erasing his chalk boards. He was quite proud of his first year class. They were showing a lot of potential. He picked up the remaining cages that were left untouched and started another game of Wizard Chess with the Fat Friar. 

(OOC: Sorry. Short.)

Pulling out a piece of parchment, Miriam scribbled her name and and used a pin she had in her bag to attach it to the paper.

Not exactly thrilled about having to find more beetles (couldn't they use another bug? Maybe butterflies? Or maybe use a quill or something instead of a beetle), Miriam headed to the front of the room to turn in her button.

Keeping her distance from the Fat Friar for the sole reason of the cold radiating of of him, Miriam said nervously, "Um... Professor Harcourt?" and she paused before continuing on, "I know how to sew fairly well. I used to fix my younger siblings clothes at home. Even though my mother and father could do it magically, they felt better having us know how to do it by hand," she said quietly.

Miriam looked down at where her shoes would be if her dress wasn't covering them and waited for the professor's answer.

Adele couldn't help but cringe momentarily at the homework assignment. Does he think Ravenclaw Tower is infested with beetles? What if it was? She shuddered at such an unsavory thought. 

"Here you are, Professor," she handed him the bit of parchment and a few gold buttons engraved with roses. "Have a splendid afternoon!"

She rushed out of the room, hoping to catch up with a few of her fellow housemates before Charms.

Arry blinked when Harcourt gave them their homework assignment. Was he insane? How would they ever find enough beetles to....she didn't want to think about it. Instead, she gathered her paper and buttons and walked up to the front. 

"Erm, Professor, I was wondering," she began, handing him the paper and two brown buttons with jagged edges. "Would it be alright if--"

She stopped suddenly when she saw Miriam heading up front. There was no way she was asking for more lessons in front of a student. 

"Nevermind," she decided, slightly bummed. "Have a good day."

Arya walked to her seat, slung her bag over her shoulder, and stowed her wand in her robe pocket. She turned to her brand new alliance. 

"See you soon," she muttered to Kolby, looking around to make sure no one was paying them any attention. "Alfie, wait up!"

She jogged over to her housemate and left for Charms.

Mitri quickly jotted down her name on a piece of parchment, attached it to her 'button', plopped it on the Professor's desk, hurrying her way out into the corridor. She had a meeting with a house elf!

"Excuse me, pardon me, sorry!" Mitri shouted as she pushed her way through the halls.

This wasn't just any house elf, it was the very best one, Bacon!  And, unsurprisingly, the house elf was bringing Mitri the gift of freshly fried pig meat! (More bacon!)