"Good morning, class." McGonagall spoke as she swept into the room on a bright, Tuesday morning.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall!" the Seventh Year Transfiguration class chorused.
Oliver Wood, who was seated next to Percy Weasley, hurriedly wrapped the remnants of the orange he'd saved from breakfast in a yellow handkerchief and stuffed it into his bag, with a disapproving look from his seatmate which he ignored.
"We're already halfway through this year's syllabus and at the end of the next year, you will be taking your NEWT in this subject and all the others. I should hope that you've all been studying hard and are not slacking off. Remember that for many different occupations related to this subject such as being an Auror, Hit Wizard, Healer and so on, that you will need to obtain an Exceeds Expectations grade at the very least. Most of you I expect will accomplish this with little trouble. Others..." McGonagall's gaze swept across the students- including Oliver, who seemed to look particularly abashed. "...shall have to work much harder to achieve a good grade in this subject."
"Let me remind you that since Transfiguration is more applied and precise than other forms of magic, there is always the large potential for it to go disastrously wrong, even for experts such as myself. This is especially true if you are not being focused. If you are not taking things seriously. If you are trying something beyond your limits."
Percy sat up straight, looking around as if he didn't think anything in this class was beyond his limits.
Oliver, meanwhile, was daydreaming of his next Quidditch match.
There he and the rest of the Quidditch team was. Flying high in the sky, completely demolishing the Slytherin team. He blocked every goal. Harry dove swiftly and got the Snitch. Gryffindor had won. They'd won the match the final. They'd finally won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup...
"Now then," McGonagall's voice broke him out of his daydreams. "Today, we shall be moving onto more complicated aspects of Conjuration. Conjuring a simple object such as a quill or a sheet of parchment would be much easier than conjuring an armchair or a live creature such as a bird or a toad. All of you can Conjure simple objects, but today we shall be moving onto the more advanced things."
Percy raised his hand. "What sort of advanced things?"
"Living things such as animals are harder to Conjure than are inanimate objects. Today, you are to attempt to conjure a small animal. One small animal." McGonagall instructed. "The spell you want for this is Animalis Summonere. Repeat it after me."
They all did so, although Oliver wasn't truly paying attention.
"I shall now demonstrate it for you. Watch my wand movement carefully." She shook her robe sleeves back a bit and raised her wand.
"Animalis Summonere!" Her wand motion was like that of an upside down number seven with a slight curl the edge of the bottom end.
"Now, I'd like you to repeat that motion, without the words." She instructed them.
As they did, McGonagall moved around the class, correcting and praising various people.
"Very good, Miss Farley, Miss Clearwater. Your motion is precise."
"Not quite, Mr. Barnes. A little less motion. Your movement is too broad."
"Decent movement, Mr. Weasley. Mr Wood, on the other hand..." McGonagall looked at the Quidditch captain with a firm stare. "Somehow, I get the feeling that you've not been paying attention much in this class at all.."
"Sorry, Professor." Oliver said.
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with you today, Mr. Wood? Normally, you actually try to pay attention in class..."
"No, Professor. I'm fine. Just fine..." Oliver waved off her concern.
"Very well." McGonagall moved off to check her other students.
"You're not fine at all," Percy hissed. "You were daydreaming about something. Probably Quidditch again." He spoke disdainfully.
"You're right. I was thinking about the last Quidditch final and what a disaster it was. Now... I'm not saying I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy. If it were a story about Quidditch, that is..." Oliver sighed.
Percy rolled his eyes.
"Okay class. I believe that you are ready to attempt the spell. Remember the motion and the incantation. Pair them together now and remember: keep it to something simple..." McGonagall instructed them.
Oliver waved his wand and spoke the incantation.
"Animalist Summonere!"
There was a bang and a large puff of dark yellow smoke next to him, where Percy once sat, startling him.
When the smoke cleared, a small yellow bird sat in Percy Weasley's seat, chirping angrily.
"Okay... Now I'm confused..." Oliver said. "I don't understand..."
"You're not the only one..." one Hufflepuff student muttered from the desk behind him, still coughing from the smoke that Oliver had somehow managed to conjure.
"You turned Mr Weasley into a bird." McGonagall stared blankly at Oliver, before shaking her head to clear it. "I told you to conjure an animal, not turn your fellow Gryffindor into one!"
"I didn't mean to, Professor!" Oliver exclaimed. "I'll try the counter spell!"
Before anyone could stop him, he tried casting the counter-spell and managed to conjure a whole flock of birds instead, who all chirped loudly and flew around the classroom wildly, attacking some of the students.
Gemma Farley and Penelope Clearwater ducked under the desk, screaming as at least a dozen birds dive-bombed them.
"Everyone, remain calm!" McGonagall amplified her voice.
It didn't work.
The students still panicked as the birds flew all around the classroom, tilting over furniture and inkwells with surprising strength and speed.
Birdy Weasley himself had hopped onto the desk and was chirping even louder and angrier than before, making the most noise of anyone.
After several bits of spell-casting, all the birds except one were gone and the classroom was neater.
Once the classroom was calmer, some of the students, now looking rather dishevelled, started giggling, although one couldn't tell whether it was from nervousness or finding the overall situation rather amusing.
Finally, the Transfiguration professor waved her wand and performed the counter-spell on Percy.
As soon as he was human again, Percy turned to glare at the Quidditch captain.
"I hate you, Oliver. I really do..." Percy looked more irritated than anyone else had ever seen him- and that was saying something since he was Fred and George's older brother and a frequent target of their pranks...
"This is a mistake that I would expect a First Year to make if they were attempting this sort of spell, Mr Wood. You passed your OWL in this subject with an Exceeds Expectation. Mistakes can still be made at this stage, yes, but... What do you have to say for yourself?" McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him.
"Um... Oops?" Oliver looked sheepish.
"I reminded you at the beginning of this class precisely why Transfiguration can be a danger. In this case, I believe it was Mr Wood here not paying enough attention to his work that did it. Did I not say that not being focused or not taking things seriously could result in things like this at the beginning of this class?"
"Yes, Professor. I believe that you did." Percy alternated between looking at Professor McGonagall and glaring at Oliver.
"I did indeed. And since Mr Wood's mind was obviously somewhere else rather than in this class, his mind can spend the time travelling back to Earth again in detention." McGonagall looked at Oliver, who was currently looking as if he wished he could be anywhere but there.
The bell rang just then.
"Well, I believe that that rather eventful class is over." McGonagall straightened herself up. "You may all leave. Except Mr Wood. I'd like to have a word with you..."
Some of the other students snickered as they left, though Percy was currently sending death glares Oliver's way.
Oliver sighed in defeat as the last of the students left the classroom.
"Your detention will be this Saturday right after the Quidditch match. I will come for you myself once the match is over. Do not forget or else, there shall be another one. Now go." McGonagall dismissed him and then sunk down into her chair.
She'd had some memorable experiences as a teacher, but this one... She wondered how the other teachers would react to this tale...
Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Competition Year 2 Transfiguration class. Prompts used are listed below:
Words: Problem
Mood: Confused
Colour: Yellow
Food: Orange
Day of Week: Tuesday
Phrase: I hate you.
Dialogue: "I don't understand..."
Animal: Toad
Event: Quidditch Match
Sentence: I'm not saying I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy.