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[Professor Penvellyn]

There was a small break in the late afternoon, the two hour period between her last class of the day and supper, which she reserved for office hours on Monday and Wednesday. Normally the period was spent grading papers or reading text to improve her lessons, but the occasional student, needing help with an essay or  struggling with a particular spell, would wander in and make the time spent here meaningful.

As it happened, Eleanor had one of the house elves bring her a pot of tea and a few extra cups should any of her students want one. Merlin knew she couldn’t drink the entire teapot herself, though in her younger years she might have tried. A small saucer held the delicate cup half full of steaming liquid; it was the most peaceful moment she’d had since the students had returned.

Just then, as she was reaching again for the cup, there was a knock on the door. Her hand retracted and came to rest in her lap while the other set the book she had been writing in the margins in to the side. “You may come in.” Normally she left the door open so that students would know she was available. She couldn’t recall why it was closed, but it didn’t really matter. A student had found their way in after all.

[Mary Lynn Wilkins]

Mary knew that of all the subjects she had studied last term, Transfiguration was one she struggled with the most. She couldn't nail down precicely why this was, the work was tricky to be sure but a number of othe students had managed reasonably well. Perhaps it was the fact that the work was so far removed from anything she had learned so far that she just couldn't get her head around it, or that she for some reason didn't believe anything would happen  when she made her attempt and thus caused her own self-fulfilling prophecy. Whatever the reason though, she was determined to try and do something about it. Her parents had instilled a strogn work ethic in both her and her brother, and whilst their tasks on the farm were not always alike, she would not any work that was her own go uncompleted.

Now that her lessons for the present day had concluded, Mary had finally decided to seek out the person she felt best qualified to offer her a few pointers, namely Professor Penvellyn; her own Transfiguration teacher and Head of House. She made her way to the professor's office, and seeing that the door in front of her was shut she knocked and waited patiently for a response. To be honest, she would have knocked even if the door was wide open. This was the entrance to a staff member's own private quarters and she would not cross the freshold unless invited.

She didn't have to wait long though before the professor's voice ushered her inside, so she opened the door, stepped into the room then closed it behind her. "Hello professor" she greeted the woman before her, giving a respectful curtsey "I don't want to be any bother, but I was wondering if you might please give me a few pointers with regards Transfiguration. I couldn't seem to get to grips with it last term." Having made her request, Mary then stood quietly and awaited her profesor's response.

[Professor Penvellyn]

Possibly the smallest girl Penvellyn had ever seen come through Hogwarts entered her office, and the old lady smiled. The Wilkens family produced very well-mannered and hardworking children; Eleanor was lucky to have both Mary and Joseph in her house. She had an inkling as to what the first year had come to her office for, the poor thing tried so hard in her classes but still seemed to come up short at the end of each lesson. There were only so many points Eleanor could award for effort.

“Why don’t you have a seat, dear.” Penvellyn motioned toward the two chairs on the opposite side of her desk. She had always excelled in Transfiguration, and generally had little patience for students that simply “didn’t get it” as it was a simple enough concept for anyone that had been around magic their whole lives. Thus, she had great sympathy for children raised by muggles.

“Based on your essays, I can see that you have no trouble with the readings, so the theories must not be escaping your grasp.” Most first and second years would copy directly from the book. Mary’s work suggested she put much more thought into it than that. “Tell me, when you’re casting a spell that you have been able to do well, what does that feel like? What motions do you go through? Compare that for me to when you attempt Transfiguration spells.” For Eleanor, a new theory always sticks better if you teach it to yourself.

[Mary Lynn Wilkins]

Mary thanked the professor and dutifully took one of the indicated seats that were offered to her, and listened patiently to her professor's advice. She had to admit that the theoretical side of the business was not a problem for her, she was reasonably intelligent and she was comfortable with quill and parchment. The trouble came when she actually tried waving her wand.

When asked what she did when she cast a spell she could manage, she decided the best way to explain it was to demonstrate. She took her wand out of her pocket, and being careful not to point it at the professor she made a firm gesture and uttered the word "Lumos." The motions were so practiced that they were automatic, she didn't even need to think about them. There was no question at all in her mind that the spell would work, it simply did and the tip of her wand emitted a bright glow for a short while. "I didn't need to think about that" she admitted as she extinguished her wand "I just did it, I knew it would work, I cast the spell, it worked."

When she was asked to describe her feelings when she tried to cast transfiguration spells, she wasn't entirely sure how to begin. "With Transfiguration, ma'am" she began "I try to do the correct wand movements as you describe them, and to convince myself that I can cast the spell, but somewhere there is a voice that tries to tell me that I shouldn't." She tried to explain further, trying to find an example to back up her case. "Hedgehogs to pin cushions for example" she selected "the animal was born a hedgehog, it has lived its life as a hedgehog, it is happy as a hedgehog. Is it arrogance on our part to force it to take an alternative form of our own choosing?" Growing up on a farm, Mary was always considering the welfare of animals, and trying to do her best by them. She didn't care to see any animal suffer needlessly, and was even less willing to be the cause. "It doesn't actually hurt the poor little thing does it?" she inquired, a catch coming in to her voice. If animal transfiguration was going to actually hurt her subject in any way then of course she would have none of it.

Edited by Mary Lynn Wilkins, 13 December 2011 - 02:28 PM.

[Professor Penvellyn]

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