First Lesson

Walking swiftly, Elija Prince made his way towards his classroom, as the first lesson would start in a few minutes. Once there, he sat down behind his dark wooden desk and pulled out a piece of parchment. The notes he was going to take would later help him determine how to grade the students.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, when he heard the loud chatting of children from outside his door and waved his wand. The door sprang open and revealed a bunch of students. Elija pointedly ignored them, busying himself with his notes and waited till they entered and took their seats, then he flicked his wand and the door banged shut.
He finally looked up and cleared his throat to address his students.

"Good morning class, my name is Professor Prince and I will be your Transfiguration teacher this year." his dark eyes observed his students from behind his desk. "I expect complete obedience from you. You will address me as "Sir" or "Professor" and when I speak, none of you will have their mouths open. I expect you to hand in homework on time and pay attention in class or face the consequences." He said all this with an emotionless expression on his face, though his voice was quite smooth.
Elija got up from his seat and walked around his desk to face the students while leaning against the table.
"Now, Transfiguration is one of the subjects you will have to take from your first year till your OWLs level in fifth year, so I advise you to work hard. This subject focuses on changing the appearance from an object into something different. Unlike a charm, a transfiguration will not wear off with time.
Today, we will only cover the main branches of Transfiguration. So..," he raised his voice slightly "Can any of you tell me which branches are known?" he asked, waiting for the students to raise their hands.

Jocelyn walked towards the classroom a little bit too late, she opened the closed door and walked in but when she saw the professor she froze for a second, she totally forgot he was the professor who was taking a little bit care of her in Diagon Alley. Jocelyn walked to a table at the back of the room and sat down without saying any word. The professor was known to be a strict one and the fact she was late could only make her in trouble. Jocelyn decided that she stayed quiet the whole lesson.

"Oh oh! I know this!" Zoya answered enthusiastically, holding up her hand. She had, in her typical fashion, run into the classroom an exact two minutes after the bell and so she gratefully took the opportunity to try and get into the Professor's good books. Professor Prince was strict. Not unlike the other teachers actually and Zoya didn't fancy being stuck in any more detentions than the ones she was in last year. Plus, her fellow housemates would murder her this year if she made them lose points. "Uh....um...they are four in existence. That is, there are four main branches of Transfiguration. First is transformation that is, altering the subject's characteristics. Second, Vanishing that is......um....making things vanish? Right, um third is Conjuration and lastly is Untransfiguration." She recited, quite pleased that she was able to remember at least something that had been taught to them.

Jocelyn looked how Zoya stormed and immediately started to answer the question the professor asked the class for, while she walked to a seat. Jocelyn rolled her eyes and muttered. "Chaotic idiot."

"Didn't hear you answer." Zoya retorted, dropping into her seat and looking expectantly at Professor Prince. At the very least, even if she didn't get awarded any points, though she fully planned to protest if that turned out to be the scenario, at least her negative and positive shall get balanced. "And also didn't see you reach in time." She reminded, pulling out and setting her books, parchment, quill and wand.

Jocelyn raised her eyebrows at the comments to her from Zoya. "At least i don't come in and yell the answer out loud while everyone is quiet, i'm not a bookworm like you do and know the answer right away. I don't see how you can be a friend of Rabastan, he must be blind." Jocelyn hissed back at her. If she wanted to have a fight then let's do it here and right now.

"Are you sure he is the one who is blind?" Zoya cut in mock-thoughtfully, dragging out the tone of her question by tapping on her chin as if she was thinking hard, "Because only a blind person could have missed me holding up my hand and waiting to be called on." She finished, her light, seemingly polite voice in sharp contrast to Jocelyn's hiss but just as full of taunting. 'And keep your comments straight at the very least. One second I am an idiot, and now a bookworm. Wow, so consistent aren't you." She deadpanned, not gracing the girl with a glance, instead keeping her focus on the aforementioned task of setting her stuff.

"You didn't wait till the professor said your name. I didn't know you couldn't be both an idiot and a bookworm. I'm sorry Zoya my mistake that you're such an idiotic bookworm." Jocelyn hissed in sarcasm. Jocelyn was irritated and Zoya was only making her burst out in anger more. Jocelyn decided to ignore her and go back to pay attention in class. Jocelyn opened her book flicking through the pages.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaah, you do realize that you aren't making any sense." Zoya retorted, amusement lighting up her features more than anger. Nothing Jocelyn said had much of an effect on her, because her own bloated ego cushioned all the blows from her sharp words. "And about the waiting part, did you notice no one held up their hands. I did wait you know. Oh, but I am sorry, after all, we have already established that you must be blind." She added, even her apology sounding like a mockery.

Jocelyn didn't look up as Zoya commented back at her but she indeed heard every word she said to her. Jocelyn balled her fist in anger, she had a short temper and Zoya was making her more and more angry. Jocelyn stood up, her wand in her hand pointing it at Zoya. Jocelyn's eyes were glaring daggers at Zoya.

"You do know that you're just a filthy halfblood right, you're not worthy to be at this school sitting in a classroom with a house who is only pureblood. Don't piss me off!! You little piece of shit!" Jocelyn hissed in pure anger, her eyes still meeting Zoya's and Jocelyn didn't back down even though her cousin and other people were eyeing this fight but Jocelyn didn't care she only said the truth. Jocelyn lowered her wand and sat down again.

Zoya's anger too was rising with every passing second but she had been in enough fights to know that her lack of a reaction was far more irritating than anything she could do. So with a lot of difficulty, she swallowed her anger to put up a carefully constructed bland mask. How she hated that word, halfblood. It was a reminder of every problem in her life, herparents divorce, subsequent custody battles except fought for the reverse purpose, her family's rejection and then forced acceptance. Yes,. the use of that word and the reminder of the pureblood family hurt, but Zoya was used to shutting in her emotions.

"Really Grimm? I am so hurt how shall I ever recover! After all, I wake up everyday hoping to be assured of my worth by you. And yes, after that brilliant display of maturity, you have really proved your worth." She retorted, still taunting the girl. Her eyes couldn't help but let a small glimmer of hurt and anger escape though, and so her words - despite her best efforts - weren't quite so careless. "Shut up firstie and pick fights with those from whom you can actually win. What exactly were you planning to do with the wand anyway Grimm, poke me?"

Jocelyn looked at Zoya, she smirked at her. Did she just hit a soft spot by the third year lion who has Rabastan as her best friend who is a pureblood.

"I would third year lion but none of the first years are fun to pick a fight with and you know you did started this. That was the reason i just ignore you but you had to react and this is what you get when you react on my behavior, can't help it i'm raised to hate you despise who you really are." Jocelyn said shrugging her shoulders and went back to her book. Why didn't the professor cut in and yelled at me, he knew me better than everyone else in this room, he has seen my weak side back in Diagon Alley, Maybe he wasn't that strict.

"That is so obviously wrong an notion, that I am not even going to bother trying and correcting it." Zoya shot back with a roll of her eyes. " And if by that you mean I am supposed to put up with any crap you spew out, dream on." Her scoff, accompanying the words was full of dismissal and disdain. She was bored of this argument now, and anyway, continuing it any longer would only culminate in lost points, a scenario she wanted to avoid.

Brows furrowed slightly in annoyance at the students late entry, Elija mentally made a note on the two girls. Still, he was quite pleased to see that the young Gryffindor was capable of answering his question correctly and to his satisfaction. He was just about to award points to her house when the Slytherin he had met before in Diagon Alley made a sarcastic comment regarding the other girl's actions. Completely speechless by the students insolent behaviour, he couldn't help but watch their interactions for a while. The rest of the class seemed equally stunned and sat utterly quiet.

After a few minutes they seemed to run out of things to insult each other with, so he cleared his throat. "If you're quite finished?" he drawled sarcastically. His face displayed a completely bored expression and it was not just a mask this time. "I will not even bother to point out the utter childishness you both just showed us. I hope you are profoundly ashamed of yourselves as you have just lost your houses twenty points. Each." When they looked like they might argue with him he threw a glare at them. "You will be silent now. You will only speek in my class when I ask you a question and that goes for the rest as well." His dark eyes glanced at the rest of his students.

"Now, as Miss Morte rightly said, the four branches of Transfiguration are Transformation, Vanishment, Conjuration and Untransfiguration. We will start with Transformation, as it is the easiest branch of this subject." Elija waved his wand subtle and the notes appeared on the blackboard. "I expect you all to write this down." he said sternly.

"But sir, I was totally provo-" Zoya trailed off hurriedly at Professor Prince's words, casting her eyes down to avoid letting show the anger sparking in them at the unfairness of it all. She was the one who was provoked, who had to sit through the increasingly tiresome 'argument' and now she also lost points. With absolute disregard for the fact that she gave the correct answer. Throwing a quick glare towards the Slytherin girl, Zoya angrily tugged the roll of parchment towards her, causing a tear to appear near its corner which she completely ignored and furiously began to write the notes. Oh well, it could have been worse. At least I do not have detention, she thought, cheering up rapidly as the thought struck her.

Elija ignored the annoyed expression on the young Gryffindor's face, pleased that she didn't speak up again. Although she had not started the fight, she did rise to the bait of the other girl which was rather unwise. Slytherins were known for provoking Gryffindors and the other way around. His students just had to learn to ignore these baits and focus on the lesson.
Seeing that his class had returned to normal, Elija picked up his lecture again.
"Transformation can be devided into several sub-groups. There is human transfiguration, switches and trans-species transformation. But we will focus on those three later as they are more difficult. In the next few weeks you will learn about spells you can use to transform an object or a living being." While he spoke, notes appeared on the board for the students to copy down.
"Now, beside transforming by using a spell, what other ways are there for a wizard or witch to change their appearance?" Elija asked his students.

Zoya was quite determined to make up for her lost points but even so, her current activity consisted of blankly taking down notes. At the question though, her interest sparked again and her blank expression changed to more foggy lines as she tried to remember any such instance wherein she recalled the non use of a spell to change appearance. Her eyes snapped clear at the sudden remembrance of a Slytherin girl's hair changing color in the Leakey Cauldron. Irony irony, oh I love thou so much, she thought, triumphantly holding up her hand once more to indicate that she knew the answer. "Sir, one such way would be to be a metamorphagus, but considering that's supposed to be genetic not everyone can do so. Or maybe I guess potions?"

Dark eyes observed the class before him after posing his question. Most students seemed to be rather confused by his question, though he could see that at least some had an idea what he was talking about. His gaze stopped on the Gryffindor student and he was pleased to see her raise her hand again. "Yes, Miss Morte?" he asked her and listened to her answer.
"That is quite right. Metamorphmagi can change their physical appearance whenever they feel like it, though it also is heavily influenced by their emotions. They are very rare and as you quite rightly pointed out potions are able to change your appearance as well. They are only temporary though." He looked at her thoughtfully, then made up his mind. "I think you earned five points for your house for showing such good participation today."
Turning back to the rest of the class he asked "Can anyone other than Miss Morte tell me of another way of changing one's appearance?"

"You could study to become an animagus." came a silky voice from the shadows by the door. Without anyone noticing, Severus had slipped into the classroom where the lesson had already started. "Please excuse me for being late, Sir, but I had something important to discuss with the headmaster." he said and took one of the empty seats at the back of class. Severus pulled out his books and started to copy off the notes from the blackboard.

Jocelyn glared daggers at Zoya but when the professor cut in, she glared at him. When Jocelyn looked around the classroom she saw that almost all the students were looking confused by her sudden outburst but the one thing she didn't understand was she didn't get any detention but only 20 housepoints from her house. The anger was still flowing through Jocelyn's body but she didn't know how to calm herself down.

The professor continued his lesson as if nothing happened and also Zoya was being a know it all, when she answered the question Jocelyn rolled her eyes. The professor was still asking questions but Jocelyn didn't participate at all, because she barely knew anything about the subject and it wasn't even interesting. The answer was given by a boy with shoulder length hair who quietly entered the room and apologized for being late. Jocelyn ducked into her book with a bored expression on her face. When she had an idea, she raised her hand.

"Sir can i go to the bathroom?" She asked him.

Slightly surprised at the arrival of yet another student, Elija looked over to see an older looking Slytherin student stand awkwardly by the door. "That is quite correct, Mr Snape. Though what interests me much more is why you are late to my class." he asked the boy sternly.
Elija nodded in understanding when the Slytherin explained his tardiness and told him to sit down. "Very well. Mr Snape is indeed right. A wizard or witch can train to become an animagus and thus change their appearance. Nevertheless, there are still other ways to achieve a change of looks. For example there are many useful charms to change your looks. Now can someone tell me the difference between a transfiguration, a potion and a charm?" he asked, knowing that this was quite a difficult question.

When the Slytherin girl asked him to go to the bathroom, he narrowed his eyes slightly at her. He had not seen the tell-tale signs of a child that had to go to the toilett, as they would often fidget awkwardly on their chair. On the contrary, she had been sitting hunched over, showing nothing but boredom.
"No, Miss Grimm, you may not. The lesson will come to an end soon and I'm sure you are old enough to hold it in till then. Next time go before class." he said with an equally bored expression.

"How can i go before class when i have only a couple of minutes to come from my other lesson, find the way through the huge castle with the so many hallways to your classroom! I was already late because i was lost!" why is he such a stubborn one Jocelyn thought angrily.

Jocelyn sighed and slammed her book shut, throw it on her table and leaned with her elbows on it and with her head in her hands looking annoyed at him.

A raised brow was the only reaction his student received. "Miss Grimm. First of all, I told you not to talk back to me. Secondly, I do not care for your excuses. Most of your classmates managed to get here on time, so maybe you should stick with them if you are incapable of finding your way around. Now don't behave like an insolent four year old and pay attention to my lesson." he told her shortly before focusing back on the whole class.

Jocelyn opened her books and hide in her book, she grabbed her parchment and a quill dipping it in the inkpot and started to write something down on her parchment. She decided to be quiet the whole time and write down what would be necessary to learn and not listen to the professor. He can't make her do anything so she just write down what would come off handy to learn without listening to the professor. Jocelyn needed to find a way to releash her still remaining anger towards Zoya and the professor, one insult or comment towards her could make her explode and then everyone is going to be quite surprised as well. She had to admit that the professor has a great amount of patience for her and the other students.

Severus snorted at his house mate's insolence, although he was quite annoyed by her behaviour as well. This sort of blant disobedience normally only was seen amongst Gryffindors, as Slytherins knew how to fit in and use their cunning instead of sheer stubborness.
Sighing, he raised his hand, maybe at least he could get some points for his house. "I think the difference is that a charm is not permanent, it also is more often used to make it seem as if your appearance is changed instead of really changing it. A Transfiguration actually does change it and makes it permanent, at least till you untransfigure it and I think a potion could make the change go deeper and change your whole anatomy." Severus explained his reasoning.