This lesson contains a PRACTICAL assignment. Please remain in character. Any out of character comments should be put behind spoiler tags! ** This lesson was written by of Slytherin - she has been awarded 75 House Points!

Aisling looked around the room, not wishing to complete the assignment too quickly, but she was eager to work on the assignment since it was something she was fairly certain she could do well. Changing her hair color and length was one of the only things she could really do with her metamorphmagus abilities, so far.

She started to think about her hair and how it was blueberry in color.. I could change it to raspberry, she thought... and her hair started to turn a brighter shade of red. She decided to make it shorter too, and so the length was shrinking up.

She must have been hungry because raspberries sounded really tasty and she hoped it would be time for lunch soon. Her nose started to tickle and when she absentmindedly scratched at it, she found to her horror that she'd grown a mustache, too! With her eyes as big as quarters, she really didn't know what to do. She frowned when she noted that most of the class had already seen the mustache grow on her. But she dispelled it as soon as she wrangled her shock and could regain her composure.

Toru stared at their reflection nervously. This seemed way above their 2nd-year curriculum, but they weren't about to miss Professor Makshi's last class at Hogwarts! They took a slow deep breath to calm themselves down. Their hair was very important to them, it was the perfect length and naturally tri-colored from their mother's side of the family. Changing the length of their hair wouldn't be too bad, perhaps just straightening out their curled tips? Something small and easy that would accomplish the lesson with minimal damage. They carefully read the provided materials, twice even, as the nerves set in.

Okay Toru, you've got this! They focused carefully on the anxious face staring back at them and carefully recited the spell softly to where only they could hear. They were very pleased that the tips of their hair began uncurling as planned, however their pleasure turned to pure horror as their hair quickly shrunk into their scalp in a very, very short haircut. Tears began prickling the corners of their blue and brown eyes as the soft white, orange, and black hair turned a hideous shade of neon blue with deep purple and lime green streaks.

Their hand shot up as tears quickly began trickling down their speckled cheeks. "U-Um P-Professors...?" Their voice was quivering more than usual, as panic began to set in. "I-I need h-help?"

Toru Mizushima, Hufflepuff

Private Outfit

Ezekiel was very nervous about this lesson, not only for the complexity but also because he loves his hair, he grooms and take good care of it every day, spending at least one our with those tasks. The thought of ruining all his work was kinda frightening.

He was a bit hesitating, so he decided to see how his classmates would do in this task first. After observing a little, Ezekiel felt a little less scared, and decided to give it a go. He waved his wand first, and then again, practicing the movement. With a deep sigh, he finally moved it and murmured the spell.

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He just couldn't believe what he was seeing in the mirror; all that hesitance made the spell come out "half-assed", let's say. The lack of concentration made Ezekiel lose some control over the spell and now his hair was blond and short and... had wings?! Maybe his last name, Wingslade, had some fault on that result. He was just there, frozen, eyes wide open, all he could murmur was "te-teacher... help-p?"

Nicola Stromwing, Hufflepuff Private Outfit It was sad that Professor Makshi was leaving, but Professor Howard seemed nice. Nicola took the pages of Transformation Today and reds through them quickly. Must pay close attention to pronunciation: CREE-nus MYOO-toh. Firm, decisive hand movements. White light is what I am going for. Now how to change my hair? Maybe just a streak of purple in the braids could be cool? Okay, try that.
Taking mirror and wand in hand Nicola focuses on her braids. Purple streaks. Firm, decisive flick. CREE-nus MYOO-toh! Something is happening. White light, yes, something... wait I can't see. What happened? Moving hair out of her eyes Nicola sees white, straight hair, no braids or purple. What happened? Maybe too much focus on that white light? Ugh, can't see.

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She was sure that most of the other students remembered the times she'd shown up to Quidditch matches with green hair--or pink hair, for her mini tea-parties in the far corner of the common room, but she was still self conscious because she had never done it in front of a teacher before, just Fiammetta and Liane and their parents, of course. And also because she had learned to do it the way Fiammetta did, which involved running the hand not holding her wand through her hair as she spoke the words. It was flashy and silly...but it helped.

So she propped the mirror up with her books and did the spell the way she always did, turning her hair from its natural texture and normal black colour to a smooth dark green as she ran her hand through it and spoke the words.

It worked! (It had been silly of her to doubt that it would, when she'd been doing it for several years, but being on the spot can make you doubt yourself, and Callista had an absolute horror of being laughed at by everyone.)

She let out a long sigh of relief and sat down for a moment.

But then she noticed that Toru () was in tears. The reason was instantly apparent. Callista liked the colours (though not with the Hufflepuff uniform), but she could tell that it wasn't what Toru had intended. And Toru--she was used to hearing that as a boy's name, but Toru was wearing a skirt, so she wasn't clear--could not have been more than twelve or thirteen. Toru wasn't normally in any of Callista's classes, because Callista had already done her OWLs.

What would Professor Makshi do if she tried to help? She felt awful for Toru, though, and made her decision at once.

"Toru-chan," she said very quietly, though she knew she was being forward to address them that way; something about the kid just seemed to invite it. And just like that, she found herself switching to Japanese. It would make Toru more comfortable, after all.

"This pretty obviously isn't the first time I've done this. My older sister taught me when I was just a bit older than you. The first time I tried it, I turned my hair orange--it was awful--and I'll never forget what she said, which was, 'at least you know you can do it, Callista!' So we know you can do it, now all we have to do is get it right. Let's try again!"

((Callista Zabini, Slytherin))

Merlin entered happy to the Transfigurations class since it was one of his favorites and when the Professor explained they would be doing human transfiguration he got super excited, until she said it was to change your hair. "My hair?!" He looked toward his girlfriend River who already knew this spell and made a worried expression, he didn't liked anyone tweaking with his hair. He only let his mom changed the color occasionally if they are in need of disguise. He listened carefully to the instructions and practiced the pronunciation of the spell first. "Crinus Muto, Crinus Muto, CREE-nus MYOO-toh. I think I got it." He nervously said to himself. He then started thinking how would he liked to change his hair? He had many options, braids, colors, short, very short, curled...but what should he do? "Maybe highlights? Ugh I'm not sure." In his confusion he decided to go for short hair but never intended to change the hair color to green or with such an ugly style. "AHH! It's horrible!"

Desperate to fix it he made the spell again but his mind was chaotic since he was stressing over his pretty hair. So once again he said the words and his hair turned even worse. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He started pulling his hair and was about to collapse when the professor came to his side and told him to calm down and try it again. So Merlin nodded and tried it to what he originally had in mind. "This is better. Like it Riv? I think it's pretty cool, maybe Aspen digs it."

Merlin smiled, he made the spell correctly this time. "So, Professor Makshi, Professor Howard...since I already managed the spell...can I get my pretty hair back?" Merlin did an adorable expression, he missed his long shinny white hair. He was all smiled once his hair was back to normal.

Merlin Pendragon, Slytherin

"Don't worry about it, it's absolutely fine." Callista smiled gently and hugged Toru back, continuing to speak Japanese. "You didn't even need my help to get it right. That's better than I did! Fiammetta had to point out that I wasn't handling my wand quite right. I'm very proud of you. I don't know if you have ever worn lolita, but you would look very pretty if you did, and it's much easier when you don't have to bother with wigs."

Outfit Not Found Luck was still sad to see Professor Makshi go when she found out that the lesson was to perform transfiguration on yourself. It made her extremely nervous. What if it goes horribly wrong? She stared at her mirrored self in terror. Almost her entire life, Luck had very long and braided hair, until recent years when she made the scary and sudden decision to cut it short. She was happy with how it turned out, and thought maybe her hair would transfigure into something else she would like. She held her wand and attempted to cast the spell. "Cree-nus Moo-toh!"

It was as if time had slowed down. Immediately she thought, Oh crap, it was supposed to be MYOO-toh, not moo-toh! But it was too late. The magic from the wand turned black and exploded at her as she forcibly shut her eyes. Outfit Not Found Luck opened her eyes again and, upon seeing her reflection, shrieked. Embarrassed and covering her mouth, she thought again, Well at least my hair technically transfigured.

Luck Bee, Hufflepuff.

Millie had been considering a change for a while now and was excited to try the Crinus Muto charm. She looked at her long, wavy brown hair in the mirror and started to feel nervous. She had had transformation disasters in the past and she didn't want to destroy her hair. She carefully studied the charm and looked in the mirror again Private Outfit

she closed her eyes flicked her wrist and repeated the spell and slowly opened them to see Private Outfit

"Ohh" she to herself.. "Ohh.. I actually did it." she moved her head around. "I actually did it and I like it! Very Tonks like. I think I may have to keep this for a bit"

Amelia Tudor, Hufflepuff

[spoiler=Reply to Valiska]

Toru smiled but gently shook their head at the older girl. "I've never dressed up in Lolita," they admitted softly. The dresses were so beautiful and had always had an interest in the frills and lace, but never had worn them since they were so far away from their usual comfy style. "If you ever need someone to doll up, I would volunteer." They gave a gentle sheepish smile at the admittance though.

Callie grinned, and blushed a little. "Do you think you would like to come to tea in the Slytherin Common Room some weekend? Not everyone is a lolita of course, but I have people over to tea who also like fashion, and we talk about all sorts of related topics. There's also a little teahouse we go to in Hogsmeade some weekends--are you old enough to go to Hogsmeade? I could dress you up, if you'd like to try. Most of the Japanese clothes fit more than one size, though the things I've made for myself might be too big for you. I like lolita fashion because it's beautiful, but also because I can wear it in our world and people notice the frills, but don't necessarily realise that it isn't wizarding style unless you tell them. I like crossover styles quite a bit. I want to be a designer who has influence in both worlds."

The small Hufflepuff stared in amazement when Callie spoke of her passions. It was a dream that Toru could see the way she described her dreams. They realized that they had asked a question. "I-I'm only a 2nd year, s-so I'm not allowed at Hogsmede yet...But I'd love t-to come to a t-tea party!" They did really enjoy teas of all kinds, and it sounded like it could be fun to listen to people talk about fashion. They weren't all that fashionable themselves, but could hold their own in casual conversations. "L-Lolita fashion is very beautiful," they agreed softly with a small smile. "I-I'm sure you look stunning in the dresses."

"Then you should definitely come," Callista said, smiling. "I need to talk to Hollynd and a couple of the others about the exact time and place, but we're going to have one this weekend for sure. I'll dress you up if you like. Let's talk more after class!"

She raised her hand. She wanted to keep talking to Toru about lolita, but she also didn't want either of them to get in trouble for chatting in class, and now that Toru's hair was back to normal, she wasn't sure how long they could get away with having an off-topic conversation in another language.

"Professor Makshi," she said, switching back to English, "I'm not a Metamorphmagus, but I thought that was an innate ability--how does that change the way that Crinus Muto works? I wouldn't want to grow a mustache, but there are days when I wouldn't mind being able to grow more hair...I would love to have hair to my ankles to wear with some formal outfits, but I wouldn't want my hair to be that long all the time, imagine how awful that could be on a broom..."

She'd never tried to do anything with Crinus Muto that would require her to have more hair than she actually did--when she made her hair straight and smooth, it was much longer than it was normally, as the natural texture of her hair was curly and springy.

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Lysandra stared at Professor Makshi, open-mouthed. Was she dreaming? Excited, the beautiful half-elf jumped up and took a step forward, eagerly absorbing the elaboration of her professor. This spell could solve all her problems!

Lysandra wasn´t exactly vain overall like most of the elves and half-elves she knew yet she was very fussy when it came to hair colors which should match her clothes anytime. The flow and matching of colors was very important to her. This was why she brought an extra bag with her to Hogwards after the vacation, filled to the brim with different hair dyes. She also had cut her hair to a short style so dying would be more easy than with her former hip-length tresses. For a short moment, she remembered her beloved locks of the years past yet then shook her head and embraced this new possibility. Her hair would grow in yet this new spell was priceless and she had to listen closely for mastering it.

Trying to memorize all of the words, Lysandra accepted the transfiguration paper with thanks and browsed through it. Looking around, she saw some of her classmates already practising the spell, some with amazing results and some who clearly needed help down to the beginnings. She stroked the silver-ornated mirrow fondly, not forgetting to check her appearance in the process for good measure. All was okay, she could start.

„This could be the very day a new era starts for me!“ the currently blue-haired girl marveled. Dreamingly, she looked out of the classroom window and gazed at the peaceful lake linked to the Hogwards gardens What hair color should she wish for? It would clash with her navy outfit, that was for sure, yet when she mastered the spell, she could easily change the hair back to blue. Light blonde like genuine elven hair, she thought, that would be nice. „Crinos muto…..“ she muttered, lost in thought.

She really shouldn´t have said that - like this. Dreamily, not powerful enough, without a flick of her wand. Lysandra detected her mistake outright yet there was no help for it now. She felt her scalp starting to tingle, then a soft humming noise announced a sprout and then growth of hair at a tearing pace. Swift, the hair covered her shoulders, than her breasts, then her hips, now her knees - oh no, when would it stop? „Stoppppppppp!“ she exclaimed yet to no success. The hair grew like Topsy and only slowed down when it reached the ground twining some additional tresses around the table leg and then coming to a stop after collapsing in a last heap on the floor.

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Embaressed and with burning cheeks, Lysandra eyed her work. Not only was the hair too long, it was also several shades too dark in color. It isn´t such a smooth sailing then, she pondered, clutching a tissue in her hands to be prepared should tears spring up. She took a deep breath and concentrated on another attempt. I can manage it, she thought, I have to! Not for the teacher or a grade, for me. It would simplify my life utterly!

Standing in a proper stance now, flicking her wand, she exclaimed „Crinos muto!“ with a harmonic yet determining voice. And look at that, Lysandra was able to change the color to a light blonde of her liking!

However, what to do with the overgrown hair now? Decided, she rummaged in her bag in search for some scissors and a comb. There they are! Sprinting to the ladies room, she approached the big mirror there, instruments ready in hands. Snip snip snip, and off the hair went. Her hair style wasn´t that complicated, she had dressed it herself in the Elven forest also. The golden tresses covered the bathroom floor, looking forlorn somehow. What to do with them now?

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Lysandra reflected about this for some minutes, then she had an idea. Lately, she had heard about an organization called „Rapunzel“ which were looking for hair donations to customize real hair wigs for children with cancer who had lost their hair during chemotherapy. That´s settled then! Lysandra smiled. She gathered the hair in one of the refuse bags laying around and stored it in her drawer before entering the class again quietly. Hopefully, nobody had seen her leave!

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Lysandra, Ravenclaw

Outfit Not Found Fade couldn’t help it, his eyes just wanted to roll when the assignment was changing one's hair color. He could practically do that in his sleep, and probably did for all he knew. The next few hours were probably going to bore him to death. But his attention piqued when Professor Makshi introduced the special assignment for people like Fade. It was nice to feel included, even if it meant more work… But was it really?

During his alone time Fade had spent many hours changing small things like his hair, eyes, and general bone structure of his face. Even his hands were able to morph into long clawed paws. But facial hair hadn’t been something he had truly experimented with. Not in a traditional sense anyway. Still he waited a bit before making any serious attempts, much more interested in seeing what the others in the room would come up with.

After a while his sides were really starting to hurt. Of Course he wasn’t outright laughing at anyone in particular, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying watching the class struggle. Tears and panic were rampant. If the other students were having this much of an issue with a spell, imagine how lost they would be if their body did things like that without them knowing. It reminded Fade of when he was much younger and learning about his abilities for the first time. Clearing his throat Fade decided it was time to concentrate.

Closing his eyes, he took a breath and let it out slowly. His thoughts revolved around his eyebrows first, he imagined the hair growing and felt his forehead tingle slightly. His nose twitched and a sneeze caused him to open his eyes. Lifting the mirror he almost choked when he saw his reflection. It wasn’t exactly on topic. Changing your face without a mirror was still challenging apparently. Quickly he rubbed a hand over the fuzzy rabbit nose that had developed to get it to go away, and laughed at the ridiculously bushy old-man eyebrows he had sprouted above. “OK, OK. Pay attention.” He muttered to himself, this time looking into the mirror to help him really focus on his jawline.

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He squinted at himself and took another deep breath. On the exhale his chin began to tickle. Not long after a few hairs sprouted and soon a luscious full beard had grown out to a pretty decent length. Fade wasn’t going to stop there. If he was being allowed to use class time for practice, he may as well take full advantage of it. Closing his left eye he made a face well hidden under the beard, a moment later the hair shifted to orange, then black, finally settling on a minty green color. Pretty satisfied with himself Fade admired his reflection and brushed back his eyebrows. He really did look ridiculous.

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Setting the mirror down, he used the palms of both his hands to rub his eyebrows and return them to normal. There was still time to kill, so just for fun Fade clenched his jaw in an attempt to shorten his facial hair to a more manageable length. Thereafter spending the remainder of the class period focusing on changing the colors of his beard and eyes to match.

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(Fade, Ravenclaw ~ Metamorph)

Private Outfit Kiara was surprised when she heard the assignment; though she'd grown up in a wizarding family, she'd somehow managed to never hear of a way to change your appearance without polyjuice potion. This seemed like a much more pleasant way to do things.

She frowned at her reflection in her mirror. Her hair was so THICK. She should try to make it thinner, or shorter, or... she looked down at her striped stockings peeking out from below her jeans. Hmm... purple... short... she focused on those two things as she stared into the mirror and recited the spell through a jaw clenched with concentration and determination.

Nothing. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Breathe, relax, try again. She opened her eyes and tried to have more of a cool focus this time. She recited the spell again, trying her best to block out the sounds of everyone trying around her, and to keep her pronunciation perfect... Private Outfit

Well, it was definitely shorter! So much to think about while making the spell! she thought to herself; how would you ever be able to have enough focus and willpower to make a complete and exact transformation?! Once she got over the initial disappointment over accuracy though, she began to smirk at her reflection. What would her parents think of this haircut? Thank goodness it wasn't permanent, they would never allow this. She hoped she'd be able to keep it long enough to show her brother though, he would get a kick out of this for sure. (Kiara, Ravenclaw)

Elizabeth Amalia Covington ~ Slytherin

Elizabeth had taken her seat and waited patiently for the lesson. Knowing that this would be the last lesson Professor Makshi would teach them, she hoped her fellow classmates would give their very best to show her how much they learned. When her professor mentioned the hand mirrors, Elizabeth glanced at her own reflection. Human transfiguration, huh? But I like my hair the way it is., she thought, admiring her straight black hair, before putting the mirror back on the table. However, this spell required magical skill and experience and she was eager to proof that she knew a lot. Innerly, she chuckled lightly. Firm and decisive hand movements. I guess that's nothing new then., remembering a small incident in a duel a while ago. To concentrate on today's subject again, she reached for the 1926 article from Transfiguration Today by Emeric Switch and began to read it carefully.

As Elizabeth comprehended the theoretical aspects of the Crinus Muto Spell, she took the hand mirror from the table again and reached carefully for her vine wood wand. "Crinus Muto", she whispered quietly. Just seconds later she noticed that she had not made up her mind about her new hair style after reading the article and felt a bit ashamed upon this.

The face she saw in the mirror wasn't that unfamiliar - she still had her black hair. Sure, there were some green strands in it, but it wasn't much of a difference. She had to admit that she was amused of few strands turning green by accident and grinned a bit. What other colour besides green did she expect, being a proud Slytherin? She pointed her wand at her head before muttering the incantation again.

Okay. I probably thought too much about being a Slytherin and my ancestry this time., she thought as she looked in the mirror. Auburn did not flatter her - or was it red? Whatever the colour was, Elizabeth was not happy with it. If she learned human transformation, she wanted to look nice and not like this. A faint hiss was heard and she investigated herself in the mirror more. There were...snakes in her hair? Astonished, she stared at them for a moment, before her curiosity got her. "Hello. Though you definitely are pleasant company, I'm afraid you have to leave.", she whispered to the tiny little snakes. They seemed to be mildly amused upon someone talking to them. "Whatever pleases you, Miss.", one of them answered and the rest seemed to be agreeing as they moved their heads in a nodding motion. The girl smiled upon this.

With another flick of the wand, Elizabeth tried the spell for a third time. This time, she really concentrated on a look she would like. Something she could never pull off at home because it would cause discontent in her family? Rather not. That wasn't her cup of tea. She chuckled. Maybe something that would make her look so different that some might mistake her belonging to another family?

The auburn locks and the snakes had vanished. Instead, long, soft locks of light blonde adorned her head. Well, her mother was blonde, so this colour wasn't that far off from her family. Carefully, she touched a strand of her now light hair. The new hair style did make her look very different indeed. Though she had to admit that it looked very nice on her. Maybe she would try this colour again in the future, already knowing she would break this 'promise'. She was too fond of her black hair to ever change it for a long time - and the face in the mirror was way too unfamiliar now.