Chapter 4

Of L'ectr'icty and Needles

To say that Charles "Chazz" Tiberius Logan was having a bad day would be rather similar in saying that the center of the sun is 'quite warm' technically correct, yet so so horribly off in orders of magnitude.

To begin, the previous night, when upon searching for an outlet to charge his phone, Chazz had learned that not only was the castle not wired for electricity or "lec'tricity" as the ignorant sheeple pureblooded simpering morons called it. Chazz felt that he really couldn't be blamed for hexing donkey ears onto Ron. However he probably could be blamed for not learning the counter-curse first. Needless to say, Ron was very angry, Harry was confused, Neville was hiding in a corner, and Chazz and a fellow muggleborn named Dean Thomas were pissed beyond belief. It wasn't just the twenty four seven access to funny cat vids, and eBay that was so vital, it was that their parents were waiting to get calls from them.

In Dean's case it was frustrating but not much more. However Chazz's father was an SAS operative and his mother worked for the Prime-Minister. He was legitimately worried that Blackhawks would show up if he went twenty four hours without contact.

To make matters worse, the only choices to drink at breakfast were tea and pumpkin juice. Chazz had never grown fond of the flavor of twiggy-water, and the juice had been nicknamed 'Cavity in a Cup' by Hermione for good reason. He was certain it was a saturated solution of the worst parts of a pumpkin spice latte and ungodly amounts of sugar.

"No Milk? Coffee? Orange juice? Apple? Frig ill take cranberry grape right now." He moaned.

"Wot's wrong w't you mate. Punkin juis 's bloody wonderful." Ron spoke through a mouthful of bacon, the meal's saving grace.

"No thanks. I like my current set of teeth." Chazz quipped.

"I think my parents would disown me." Hermione whispered, looking down at her own plate of oatmeal and fruit. "Not very concerned about balanced meals are they."

"Nope!" Chazz placed another side of bacon on his plate to replace the pig now in his belly. "What do your parents do?"

"Dentists." Hermione said.

Chazz couldn't help himself, he snorted with laughter "Wow they really would kill you."

Hermione looked up with what looked like real terror in her eyes. "You have no idea what it is like to have dentists for parents. There's no escape!"

"Actually I have an idea. My dad is an SAS officer. Scary as hell. Mind you great guy, and I love him, but damn if he isn't scary when he wants to be." Chazz grinned at the though of the massive bear of a man that was his father. How the man managed to keep dredlocks regulation was beyond him.

"Whats an SAS?" Nevill asked.

"Special Air Services. It's the special ops branch of the military. My da' is an officer in one of the air troop. Specializes in HALO and HAHO jumps." Chazz looked at the blank stares. "He's like a hitwizard…only stealthy, and deadlier."

The wizarding born nodded and went back to their food.

oOoOoOo

Transfiguration was Chazz's first class. Or at least it would be, if they could ever find the damn classroom. They were standing infront of a wall that according to a seventh year, really should be a staircase.

A passing upperyear told them it wasn't, because wait for it…that staircase really didn't like Mondays and so pretended to be a wall and unlike some doors was a fantastic actor. So instead of taking a single staircase and three corridors Chazz, Harry, Hermione, and Ron ended up taking no less than twelve…all of which were left turns and one was tiled in pentagons.
When they finally made it just barely late, Chazz was cursing non Euclidian geometry to anyone who was foolish enough to be still long enough to hear him rant.

The professor was missing. The only oddity aside from students was a small tabby perched upon the desk. As Ron remarked that they made it on time because McGonagall wasn't there Chazz noticed the glasses pattern of the cat's fur. "No we didn't."

Ron looked confused. "What mate?"

"She's here." Chazz pointed halfheartedly at the cat.

Confirming his suspicions the cat leapt off the desk and fluidly shapeshifted into McGonagall. A very stern looking McGonagall.

"Astute observation Mr. Logan. Five points to Gryffindor. However I would like an excuse for your tardiness." She smiled almost imperceptibly.

"It's a Monday?" Harry half stated half asked.

"Ah. That is a legitimate issue. Take a seat."

The four did as commanded sliding into the surprisingly unoccupied frontrow.

"Now, Transfiguration is some of the most dangerous magic you will ever learn at Hogwarts, as well as some of the most difficult. I expect absolutely no tomfoolery or you will be removed from this class and the castle faster than you can blink." McGonagall gave a look that could probably kill before moving to the black board.

"Does anyone know why transfiguration is dangerous?" She asked.

Chazz and Hermione were the only two to raise their hands. Hermione waved back and forth excitedly while chazz simply sat placid with his arm up.

"Mr. Logan?" McGonnagall nodded at him.

"Well." He began looking around at the class. "Aside from the killing curse, it's basically the most effective way to kill someone isn't it? I mean, transfigure someone into a fish, and they'll suffocate, into a vase and break them, into water and divide them up, and that's not even getting into partial transfiguration." Chazz's words began to flow quickly. "Transfigure all but someone's head into a rat and the weight will kill them, blood into acid, or poison, transfigure their heart into a brick, their bones into knives, or even just needles, turn the oxygen in their lungs to methane or carbon dioxide, make nitrogen bubbles in their blood, transform their brainstem into basically anything and they are paralyzed permanently at best!" Seeing the look of horror on his professor's face he quickly added, "And none of that has to be intentional, one mistake and the guy sitting next to you in class, or even you could be horribly injured, or dead."

Minerva looked very disturbed. "Tha-Thank you Mr. Logan five points to Gryffindor for understanding the dangers inherent in this class, and ten for very…enlightening views on the subject." No one heard her mutter "And some combat uses I didn't even think of."

The other students had varied expressions from confusion on Ron's, to pensive of Hermione's to sheer terror on that of Lavender Brown. Whispers flitted around the room 'What in merlin's name is oxygen?' 'How is he in Gryffindor?' 'Is that dark magic?' 'Who is that? Is he a muggle born?' 'He's friend with potter. That must mean he's on our side right? I mean it's not like the boy-who-lived could ever be dark. Could he?'

McGonagall recovered. "With that excellent answer we can begin introduction into beginning theory. According to Gamp's law of elemental transfiguration, any substance can be transfigured into any other except the five exemption. Does anyone know what they are? Miss Granger?"

Hermione had been waving frantically again. "Food, Magical artifacts, damage done by dark magics, Gold, and Life. However I was wondering, why are food and gold exceptions? I mean, there isn't anything intrinsically different about their structure, chemically what is the difference between wood and bread." She began to speak faster and wring her hands nervously. "And I was thinking that maybe the high atomic mass of gold might make transfiguration problematic yet lead can be created and lead is higher in atomic number than gold. I assume transfiguration has to do with the wave-particle duality of light and matter and I can't think of any exemptions regarding food or gold."

McGonagall once again looked stunned.

Chazz spoke up. "That's brilliant! I wonder if you could get around the exemption by designing a radioactive element to decay into gold!"

Hermione smiled and was about to answer when McGonagall cut her off. "Twenty points to Miss Granger and ten to Mr. Logan for out of the box thinking, and advanced knowledge. However" she said with a stern glare that inspired obedience. "We must move on with the lesson."

Chazz gave Hermione a small high five under the table causing her to grin at him.

"Blimey, can you two help us two with class work because you are both bloody brilliant." Ron whispered pointing at Harry and himself.

"Course' we can." Chazz grinned before returning his attention to the lecturing professor and his notes.

Before long the theory section of the class was over and the order of 'Wands out!' was given. A single match stick was placed on each desk and they were instructed to turn it into a needle.

Chazz tapped his wand to the match and imagined it turning into a needle. "Ad acus." He intoned. Nothing happened. He tried again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Hermione who had succeeded on the second try picked up the offending match and looked at it. It had become silver, however it was still wooden. She raised an eyebrow and returned it to his desk. "Try using more power?" she half questioned. Chazz shrugged and focused on the slight stream of tingles, like static that he had felt when he had changed the color. He imagined the tiny stream opening up changing into a coursing river, moving with all the force of the stream of a fire hose, coursing surging forward. He then channeled it to an image of wood grain shifting to cold steel. "Ad Acus" he snarled. There was a dull thrum, a burst of light and then the sound of thousands of metallic pings as his vison swam and darkened for a moment.

"Chazz!"

"Mate!"

"Mr. Logan!"

Voices and faces swam in his returning vision. He was laying on the ground on his back, looking up at a number of concerned faces. Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Minerva were clustered around him.

"What happened?" He groaned sitting up slowly. He could feel a migrane coming on.

"Look around." Hermione breathed looking caught between elation and worry.

Chazz looked. He was laying in the dead enter of a perfect circle of empty floor, the desks and chairs where he had been sitting had vanished, or in the case of those close to the edge, been cut clearly in twain revealing the grey floor. No, not grey, silver. Realization struck Chazz as he noticed that the floor was covered entirely in silver needles.

"Oh bugger" he sighed before the world went black again.