{A short while later; Outside the great hall}

"I'm stuffed!" Dante said.

Juni laughs. "It's no wonder, as much as you ate."

Dante placed a hand behind his head as he gave a nervous laugh. After a moment, he says, "Let's go relax a bit before we have to go to Transfiguration. I've heard that class is hard."

Couple minutes later, they are under a nearby tree. Juni is sitting while Dante was laying down, his head against the bottom of the tree.

He was waving his wand, wondering how it all works while Juni was getting her ocarina out from her concealed pouch. He had forgotten that she kept it with her all the time.

She decided to play the Japanese folk song, "Sakura Sakura", to pass some of the time. Just like before they had arrived at Hogwarts, the notes came out so beautifully clear. Somehow, the way she played each song gave them an impression that Dante'd never forget.

Juni has a real talent for it. I've never heard anything that sounded as beautiful as this. I'm glad I know now about how an ocarina sounds. he thought as he closed his eyes and listened.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Nicholai watched from a distance while he thought about something.

Having felt like something or someone was there, Dante looked in the direction he sensed. However, he soon saw that no one was there. Before Juni could ask, Dante said, "Thought I heard something, but I guess it was nothing..." then looked at Juni.

She had stopped playing her ocarina about a minute before. "Well, I don't know about that, now, buuut... Wait.. what time is it?"

"We should head to class. We have fifteen minutes to get there."

Juni felt like pouting, but then thought that maybe the next class would be fun, too. "Okay, let's go!" she said after putting her ocarina back into the pouch she kept concealed.

Dante wondered if it was one of her most treasured possessions, and if so, what significance it would have to her. He couldn't find an answer by the time they arrived in front of the classroom, so he left the thought alone for a later time. "Classroom 1B. Looks like we're here, Juni."

"Let's hope this'll be fun, too!" Juni said with a small giggle.

"Yeah, I hope so, too." Dante replied as he checked the sign above the door. "This is the place." he says and they walk inside. "I don't see the teacher." he said after they take their seats. However, it was soon obvious that there was a beautiful snow owl on the teacher's desk. Dante got a strange feeling from it as they had taken their seats.

At the same time, Juni had no such feeling from seeing the owl. "It's soooo pretty..."

Dante couldn't help but wonder if Juni was hiding something, or if if she was truly this excited about the first day. All the times I ever saw someone this excited, they had sadness or anger that they kept hidden. he thought as Juni looked at him, giving a small wave. Is that her case, or is it something else entirely?

The students in the room waited for the rest of them to show. William, Eva, Sophie, and Aria are the last inside before the bell rings.

A couple minutes have passed when Jack walks in the door. He looks around and concludes that the teacher had yet to show. "Yes!" he says and does a hand gesture like he just won a free pizza. He then goes and finds his seat next to Eva.

The owl flies around the room for a moment, then lands directly on Jack's desk.

Juni couldn't help but admire the owl as it was in flight.

Eva asks, "Jack, why were you late?"

"Well.. I went to use the bathroom, and I noticed this annoying ghost. Mind you, I was on the way to class, but I don't know how he got on my nerves. Then, we had a few words."

"What ghost?"

"I don't know... Peeves something... He's the most annoying ghost I ever met. Oh, my god! After we got into the argument, he took my books and stuff for class and hid them. It took me a while to find them."

The owl looks at jack intently before it landed in front of the desk and transformed into a human woman, which surprised Juni because she hadn't expected it.

The woman had shoulder-length hair that was dark red, light brown eyes, and honey beige skin. She turns and takes a tuft of cobweb from Jack's hair, saying, "Peeves is a poltergeist, to be specific."

After the initial shock, Juni thinks with silent sarcasm, Yaaaay, a poltergeist...

"He loves his pranks. Good to know you weren't just skipping class." the professor said. "Good afternoon, class. I'm Professor Rosewood. Now, onto transfiguration. The owl I previously was is a type of human transfiguration. There are four branches of transfiguration we will learn here at Hogwarts."

Juni quickly raised her hand. After Professor Rosewood called on her, Juni said, "Well, I gotta admit you were truly a pretty owl." with a nervous smile.

The comment had slightly surprised the professor. "Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Professor Rosewood resumed. "The four types of transfiguration include: Transformation; Vanishment; Conjuration; and Untransfiguration. We will learn various things in this class. Now, I will tell you that it is not an easy class and can be truly dangerous if you don't take this class with a serious attitude. You will not only put yourself in danger but your classmates, as well. Therefore, I won't tolerate this kind of behaviour. Now, we can have a lot of fun in my class. Let's try to enjoy it together and learn things along the way."

Juni wondered if anyone had tried transforming into a dragon, but then realized the thought was something that shouldn't be considered. After all, they'd have to be insane to try doing that, right? she thought then looked at Dante. He looked so intent on learning. She found it to be a bit cute. She then looked back at Professor Rosewood.

"Now, lets get started. I'll explain what transfiguration is. Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. Transfiguration can be done to most, if not all, objects and, as with most forms of magic, it includes - but is hardly limited to - Transfiguration spells. Transfiguration is also regarded as "very hard work" and is "more scientific" than any other form of magic as in, you have to get it exactly right for the transfiguration to be successful. Transformation is divided into three sub-types, each with their own divisions and all of which overlap with one another to some degree. The first subtype is known as Human Transformation, which includes: Animagus; Metamorphmagus; and Werewolf. However, Human Transformation is taught to 6th or 7th year students. Next is Switching. Switching is another sub-type of transformation magic. During switching, a physical feature from one of the two targets is switched with that of another, hence the name. It differs from a straight transformation in two ways: firstly, switching targets two objects simultaneously; secondly, the change in one of the pair is dependent on a change in the other. The only known sub group of switching to date is cross-species switching. Then, there are Trans-species Transformations. This is a term which refers to transformation magic that, partially or completely, changes the target organism into a new species. It includes Cross-species switches and hence has some overlap with switching magic. Next is Vanishment. Vanishment is the art of causing things to Vanish. It is, in other words, to make things go into non-being."

Juni couldn't help but think, This is gonna be a lot to remember... with slightly widened eyes.

"Vanishment is moderately difficult - learned in Fifth Year - and is considered one of the hardest transfigurations to be tested on in one's O.W.L. The difficulty of the Vanishment to be performed positively correlates with the complexity of the organism to be Vanished. For example, invertebrates are easier to Vanish than vertebrates. Strangely, only one incantation is needed to Vanish any object - Evanesco , which is Latin for "disappear". This is unlike conjurations, which can require a variety of complicated incantations. The third form of transfiguration is Conjuration. Conjuration is the art of bringing things into being, and hence is the opposite of Vanishment. It is harder than its counterpart, being a N.E.W.T. level feat. One should note that there are numerous restrictions - both in Law and Nature- placed on the art of Conjuration, unlike Vanishment which appears to be unrestricted. For example, something that is conjured will not remain in being, but it is unknown whether or not something that is vanished could forever remain in non-being if left to its own devices. Last but not least is the final type of transfiguration, Untransfiguration. Untransfiguration is the art of reversing a previous transfiguration, and is therefore considered both a transfiguration and a counter-spell. When transfiguring, it is important to make firm and decisive wand movements. Do not wiggle or twirl your wand unnecessarily, or the Transfiguration will certainly be unsuccessful. Transfiguration is a very systematic, exact magical discipline, working best for the scientifically-inclined mind, and as such, it is deemed very hard work, especially when compared to Charms, which affords a much larger margin for personal creativity. There are a number of factors a wizard must take into account when carrying out Transfiguration spells. The intended transformation is directly influenced by body weight, viciousness, wand power, concentration, and a fifth unknown variable." she says then writes the formula on the board for the students to see.

"Whilst Transfiguration is an exceedingly useful branch of magic, it naturally has its own set of limitations. The branch of Transfiguration known as Transformation has the largest number of restriction placed upon it - both natural and legal. Firstly, even before one becomes an Animagus, which is a person that specializes in both Trans-species transformation and Human transfiguration, one is monitored closely as attempting to become such a thing is highly dangerous and even if one succeeds one must then register oneself at the Ministry of Magic or face trial, due to the many potential uses of this kind of transfiguration in criminal activity. An Animagus is also limited by the fact that they can only transfigure into one kind of animal this way. Conversely, general Human Transfiguration is more varied in that it allows one to transform another into a plethora of different animals but, on the other hand, the object of transfiguration will then possess the intelligence of the creature they become, which is unlike Animagi, who retain all their mental faculties in animal form. If this is an animal of lower intelligence, which is more likely than not, then one will, by extension, be entirely dependent on the caster to untransfigure them, which could potentially cause someone to be stuck in that form forever. This is why it is not recommended to cast this type of transfiguration on oneself. Usually, a wizard or witch attempting to perform a transfiguration spell would often find it easier to transfigure one thing into something else provided that the state it was originally in had something in common to what it would be converted into. An example would be a statue of a dragon turning into an actual dragon, albeit of the similar size. Transformation is also limited by the fact that the dead cannot be revived via magic and hence one cannot "transfigure" the dead back to life, no matter how recently the death occurred. The overall mass and size of the object or entity to be transfigured into something else must also be considered. Conjuration is principally limited by the Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. The first, and only known, of these is the restriction that one cannot conjure food. However, pre-existing food can be charmed in certain ways - such as by summoning and multiplication - and transfigured by the other branches. Similarly, Wizarding law sets legal limitations on what one is and isn't allowed to conjure. Finally, even if it is both possible and legal to conjure something, it will ultimately never last. Strangely, whilst there are a variety of limits placed on Conjuration, the branch referred to as Vanishment seems to be completely unrestricted and this also appears true of Untransfiguration."

Juni felt like Professor Rosewood could keep talking about all of this in great detail. To Juni, Dante still seemed interested. She was, too, but it seemed a bit confusing.

"Due to the applied, precise nature of Transfiguration magic there is a large potential for it to go disastrously wrong, even for the experts. This is especially true if the practitioner is not taking things seriously and/or punching above their weight, with respect to the magic they are attempting to perform. If it is done improperly, the Transfigured object can become half-Transfigured or permanently stuck in one state, regardless of whether that state is fully or partially Transfigured. Many of the things I have mentioned you will not learn until a later year. But in time, you will know all that you need about transfiguration." Professor Rosewood said with a smile, then pulled out a tray of cookies. "Who wants a treat? I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies."

Dante and Juni take a couple.

"Thanks, Professor Rosewood. I thought I wouldn't like this class, but I think you will make it fun."

"Well it's easier to learn in a stress free environment. Next class, we'll get started on learning some things, but I'll try to keep it fun."

They all talk for a while until the bell rings. Dante and Juni then head out the door into the hall.

(To be continued.)