Magical Hogwarts

His gaze was fixed on the fish and Honoré took a deep breath, trying to keep his focus and guiding the transfigured block of wood though the waterfall. It wasn’t easy, he could feel the opposition and he felt that the fish was slowly returning into its original shape. That, however, didn’t have to be a disadvantage. However, the original block was still too large to fit through the hole at the end of his track.

The now square looking fish was drifting upwards through the last waterfall and the Ombrelune mousquetaire had to think quickly now. He needed to use another spell to complete his track.

A sudden idea came to his mind and he flicked his wand “Sagittafors,” he said and the fish transformed into an arrow that drifted through the last bit of water and ultimately through the hole in the board that marked the end of his track. As the arrow landed smoothly on the table in front of @Prue Dujardin. Honoré cast a silent finite incantatem and the arrow turned again into the block of wood.

Julien cheered on his younger Housemate as the blonde prepared to take over the next part of the relay. He wasn’t surprised by Sydney’s preparedness: she clearly did have a plan, which now clearly explained her earlier suggestion to Ari. What did surprise him was her proficiency in the spell, changing the block into an otter, of all things, with ease. Up until a few seconds ago, he had no idea what that incantation would even be – a fish seemed a more obvious choice. Vaguely, he wondered if otters were her favorite animal. He'd have to ask her later, though, as she was positively breezing through the challenge.

“Brilliant, well done!” he called out enthusiastically as her otter-block dove through the final waterfall.

Ninon took over, then, and the younger girl seemed to be feeding off Sydney’s energy. She flew through the first few color-changes, her casting faltering only fleetingly as the block inched forward. Upon reaching the final color, blue, she stumbled – after a few long seconds she called out for help, completely forgetting the correct incantation for ‘blue’.
Finally feeling like he could be an actual asset to the team, Julien quickly called out the second part of the spell she needed: “Caeruleum!”
The younger girl’s panicked expression relaxed instantly – and, with her triumphant cry of ‘Colovaria caeruleum!’, it was now Julien’s turn.

For a horrifying moment, his mind went completely blank. He should have been trying to recall the incantation for the Flame Freezing charm while he waited – but he hadn’t, and now that the pressure was on he found himself freezing-up entirely.

‘Calor vade’ sounded vaguely familiar… but so, too, did ‘Ignis—’ something. Was it one of those incantations that was a literal translation of its general name? Or was it one that describe the actual transformation that was happening? He very much wished he could remember. And making up a spell on-the-spot was a very bad idea; he wasn’t enough of an idiot to experiment with that.

“Does… er, anyone remember the incantation for the Flame-freezing Charm?”
He tried to focus, tried to see it in his mind’s eye printed in a textbook or written in his notes…
“Is it ‘Calor vade’? Or is it something that starts with ‘Ignis’?”

A quick glance at the competition told him that they still had a comfortable lead, which meant they had a moment to pause and think. Though, with each passing second, he was increasingly tempted to just douse the flames with Aguamenti – but that would be entirely too simple, as it skirted the Metamorphose principle of changing the physical or chemical properties of the object (block or flame). Though, technically, he was changing the properties of fire by extinguishing it…

@Sydney Ardente

Ninon finally finished her leg with some encouragement from Julien - Sydney was so impressed with his knowledge of all the specific colours' incantations. Granted, he was a sixth year, but he was so smart. Without the second word in the incantation, Colovaria ran the chance of random colour changing - but with the clarification, there was no room for error. For that matter, she was also impressed with little Ninon. The youngest member of their team, but she had done so well! Sydney would give her a big hug later. And Ari too - Metamorphose wasn't his strongest subject but he had dived right in and helped them get their lead on the very first leg, after all.

For now, however, it was Julien's turn - and the last leg of the relay. They were so close! Secretly she was glad that Julien had volunteered to take the last leg, given what it had turned out to be. Syd was sure the professors wouldn't put them in any severe danger and the fire was likely contained, but even so she would have been much more hesitant to guide her block through that leg instead of her waterfalls. Especially because literally the only spell she could think of that would have helped would have been the Flame-Freezing Charm -- and Julien clearly felt exactly the same. Except, he wasn't sure what the incantation was?

"Ooo, ooo! It's, um, something Freezora," Sydney said excitedly, then frowned. Not helpful. Was Ignis the first word like Julien thought? It sounded right. "Ignis Freezora... NO WAIT Frigora," she corrected herself quickly and waved her hands in the air like she could wipe the bad incantation out of Julien's ears. "It's Frigora not Freezora!"

In the brief lull that followed his question, another thought that occurred to him was fire-proofing the block – but the only relevant spell he could think of was Impervius, and he wasn’t even sure if that applied to fire as well as water. Or… what if he intentionally turned the block into fire? It hardly solved his problem of not recalling the spell, though, as he really didn’t remember what the spell for that bit of magic was.

Mercifully, he didn’t have to deliberate for long: Sydney came to his rescue. As soon as she said the second part of the incantation that was eluding him, the familiarity registered in his brain. That was it!

He glanced over his shoulder, flashing her a grin and a thumbs-up to acknowledge that he’d heard her.

Julien raised his wand, pointing it at the fire.
“Ignis frigora!”

The ceiling-high flames flickered for a fraction of a second – then continued cracking merrily, as though nothing had happened. Had anything happened? He hoped so… but there was really only one way to find out. Dimly, he recalled that it was a spell that had been used during the medieval witch trials, which meant it had to have fooled Muggles, which meant that the flames still had to look real enough…

Cautiously Julien held up his free hand, palm facing the flames, stepped closer – and hardly felt anything at all. There was some warmth, but it felt more like lukewarm bathwater than searing heat.

Satisfied for the moment, Julien directed his wand at the block, and with a quickly-spoken “Wingardium leviosa” he began guiding it though the fire maze as quickly as possible. He had no idea how long the spell would last, which was quite enough for him not to follow the block into the maze – but he could see through the glass just well enough to be able to direct the block’s progress from the outside.

Despite his efforts, he hit a few dead ends that required some re-negotiation (and culminated in having to recast the Flame-freezing Charm again, when the block began to smoke) – but, finally, the block made its way out of the far end of the maze and skidded to a halt.

Loosening his death-grip on his wand and wiping his sweaty palms on his robes as discretely as possible, Julien heaved a sigh and slumped his shoulders forward in relief. His heart was pounding as though he’d just sprinted for his life, though he’d hardly traveled any physical distance at all. He and stress did not go well together.

Seconds later he remembered the competition, and again took quick inventory of the remaining teams. Turning to his own team, the Mousquetaire beamed; they’d won, hadn’t they? His darted flew back to Mssr. Ameliore, eagerly awaiting a confirmatory signal or any kind of reaction from their professeur.

Phil was ready to go. The energy of the room was hyping him up. He was excited to test out his skill in front of the much of the academy. Tracing his finger through the air and mentally visualizing the gates he would pass through, he began to concoct a list of variations on the same spell that would transfigure the block from one shape to the next as it passed between the various gates. Moving up to the table, the young man flourished his wand and elevated the block of wood with a swish and a flick, quietly speaking the incantation. As he maneuvered the block to the first gate, he slowly twisted his wrist, leaving his wand directed at the gate, and spoke the first of the spells on his list, “figura mutatio crucis.” As he did, the blocks shape began to compress in the middle and lengthen just a bit as it formed a cross shape and passed between the wood of the first gate.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Phil set his eyes on the second gate. He looked over at the others and saw that some of the teams had already made their way past the first and onto the second or third challenges. “Merde” he swore under his breath. They had taken too much time planning their attempt and were at a severe disadvantage because of it. At least it looked like one of the other groups was in as much or more disarray as they were, they too had only just barely gotten into the first challenge and seemed to have less an idea how to manage it that did Phil.

As the block continued toward the second gate, he twisted his wrist again and spoke the counter spell, “finite.” As he did, the block returned to its base state, a block. Phil could have continued to make the transformations from one shape to another to another, but with each transfiguration, the spell would become less stable. He had read an article a few weeks before about the inherent instability of chain transfigurations. While the article had been far more theoretical and at a much higher level than simply changing shapes from one to another, the principle still applied. Returning the block to its first form and then transfiguring it would add an extra step, but would probably mean less problems in the long run as his teammates were continuing to transfigure the block in the future.

Directing the block towards the wave shaped hole in the second wall, he ran through the list and spoke the correct variation, “figura mutatio fluctus.” With a twist of his wrist, the block’s shape once again began to shift and quickly became the same wave shape as the hole through which he was attempting to pass it through. “Two down, one to go,” Phil said to himself. Repeating the process of speaking the counter spell and continuing the path of the block, Phil prepared himself for the last gate before handing off the spell work to one of his teammates. The final hole looked similar to a shield that some of the armor suits carried around old buildings and museums. Speaking the last spell, “figura mutatio scutum” he imagined a shield in the shape of the hole and his block, although resistant for a moment due to his choice of wording, bent to his will and passed through the final hole. Releasing the spell, Phil returned the block to its stable form and said, “alright, whose next?”

"GAGNANTS (WINNERS)!" Mssr. Ameliore's voice boomed throughout the room. He had been watching the entire thing with rapt excitement, seeing the talent and the innovation of his students, as well as their cooperative spirit and teamwork. All of the students had done well but the first team had made it through all four parts of the relay.

"Congratulations @Team Melusine!" he led the applause of students and faculty alike. "50 points to Ombrelune, Mssr. Renoir! 100 points to Papillonlisse, Mlle. Ardente and Mssr. Lefebvre! 50 points to Bellefeuille, Mlle. Lozé! And a Golden Leon trophy to each of you!" At a wave of his wand, the block that Team Melusine had been using somehow split into four identical irregular polyhedrons that, as they floated into the hands of the four participants, turned into golden cats atop circular platforms with a fish tail - or perhaps a mermaid tail - sticking out of each one's mouth. The statue's face, just like Mssr. Ameliore's pet cat Leon, had one eye of opal and one eye of citrine.

"And to the rest of the participants, I applaud you! Everyone who participated in a team will received 10 extra points on their end-of-year Metamorphose exams for stepping up to the plate. Bravo! Bien joué!"

As the students began their celebrations and some of the viewers came under the barricades to try their own hand at navigating the remaining blocks, Gauvain looked up and met the eyes of all of his colleagues, seeing them all also beam with pride. All but one. As he had expected, Professor Dutour was inexplicably missing, when Gauvain had verified he had certainly been at the corner by Team Tarasque at the start of the event. Gauvain's eyes narrowed. What, indeed, could be more important than being where all of the students and faculty were having a school event - especially if, as he acted, Arsene was truly so innocent?

[ thread wrap-up! post any closing comments that you wish. ]

OOC:
Additional House Points for posts made by non-winning team members:
@Phil Dujardin 2 posts - 20 points to Bellefeuille
@Lijsbeth Westbroek 2 posts - 20 points to Bellefeuille
@Honoré Desrosiers 4 posts - 40 points to Ombrelune

Lijsbeth kept quiet as Honoré manoeuvred the block through his own section of the obstacle course, though a worried little gasp escaped her lips once or twice. Truth be told, she didn't want to be telling him what to do when he clearly was already working hard on it. Another cheer went up from somewhere across the hall and she guessed their team wasn't in the lead, but she refused to think about that for now. Her heart hadn't quite got the message though, and it continued to pound rapidly as Honoré completed the task.

Yesss!" she exclaimed, darting forward to give him a quick hug which she released almost immediately lest anyone should see. Only then did she glance around and realise that Team Melusine were indeed a long way in front, with their final team member already beginning the task, in fact. Ah, well. She supposed taking part was just as important as winning, though she did rather like the idea of winning a golden statue.

A few minutes later, despite Prue's best efforts the inevitable announcement was made. Lijsbeth dutifully applauded and, while she was a little disappointed at not having won, at least she could relax now it was over. Maybe she and Honoré could find a few minutes to go and relax together, in fact, she thought with a smile.

[out]

Despite himself, Julien let out a triumphant whoop when Mssr. Ameliore called out: “GAGNANTS!”

Gleefully, he high-fived Aristide, Sydney, and Ninon in turn.
“Brilliantly done, all of you,” he beamed genuinely, with an additional nod in Sydney’s direction. His younger Housemate had really done a fantastic job of not only pulling the team together and cheerleading them, but also coming up with and executing clever ideas that had been crucial for their success. She seemed a very different girl from the one he’d happened upon in the library the month before, and he was proud of her.

Applauding as Mssr. Ameliore congratulated the other participants, he spotted Nonna Filomena among the spectators and waved. The relay had been more fun than he’d anticipated, but it made him realize there were a few things he should probably review before his O.W.L.s in a few months…

[[ out! ]]

Sydney jubilantly accepted the high-five from their seniormost teammate and gave equally exuberant high-fives to her two younger teammates. "Yes! And Ari you were so worried about this - you started us off strong! Way to go! Ninon, you did fantastic! Julien I'm glad you were doing the last leg, I would have been so nervous about that fire!" She couldn't stop jumping up and down.

"Oh my gosh this was so fun. I hope Monsieur Ameliore really does do this every year, I want to go again!" She turned around and saw that some of the other students were navigating the maze with mixed degrees of success (nobody had set the block on fire yet, at least). "Weeeeee might have some more competition next time, though," she added.

Shrugging, Syd looked down at her trophy proudly and then hugged it close to her. She couldn't wait to write home to Papa and tell him all about it. She was pretty sure this was the first time that she had contributed to a winning team in anything at Beauxbatons and it felt really good. She loved helping other people and it really have been so much fun as well as a way to keep her brain on its toes. If brains had toes. Anyway, she was going to bask in this for a few days before she got back to her studies in earnest. That extra 10 points on her Metamorphose final was going to be nice too.

[ Sydney recedit ]

It seemed like a little miracle that Team Melusine won, given that Aristide had been less than confident to begin with. He wasn’t a natural when it came to Métamorphose and he was one of the younger participants. That he had started them off okay was a surprise, but he was amazed by how well the others had done.

Ari looked at his trophy with an amused expression. Who would have thought… He’d take the trophy home and give it a nice place in his room. It was a nice reminder that one didn’t have to excel in everything to do well enough. Sometimes winning was a result of teamwork and focus.

The best news was when Monsieur Améliore announced that they’d get 10 extra points on their end-of-year exams in Métamorphose. The boy grinned and his grin even widened when he looked at his team members.

He high-fived the others back. “Yeah…” he said as Sydney reminded him how worried he had been. It was true, though, he had regretted signing up as he had feared that he’d embarrass himself, but it hadn’t been so bad. In fact, it had been fun to work and win in a team.

“We did really well,” he said proudly, but didn’t quite share Sydney’s enthusiasm. After all, he was relieved that he had done alright and wasn’t convinced he’d put himself through something like this again if there was a next time

[out]

Maybe it was good that the team with two mousquetaires in it hadn’t won. That, at least, was what Honoré kept thinking when Monsieur Améliore announced that Team Melusine won. It was good as it was. It was also nice to see how happy the winning team was. To Honoré it just wasn’t so important to hold a trophy in his hands. While academic achievements mattered a lot to him, he also had other priorities and his focus wasn’t solely on school work now.

“We still did well,” Honoré said to his team members. “We can be proud of ourselves.”

They could be proud and, besides, wasn’t the most important thing that they had tried their best and worked as a team anyway? What did it matter that they didn’t receive a trophy in the end?

The boy smiled at his girlfriend but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Lijsbeth and Séverin, the two most important people he had at Beauxbatons were seventh years and graduating this year while he’d have to attend school for another year. If there was another Métamorphose relay the next year, his team would look different for sure.

[out]