Work Text:
Melanie Weaver sat in the Hufflepuff common room folding a square piece of parchment with a furious concentration she usually reserved for potions class. Her curly, honey blond hair was knotted on top of her head and held there by a contraband pencil. Her black and yellow robe billowed out from where it was draped across the back of her chair like a shadow, and her Hogwarts uniform white button down shirt was rolled up to her elbows. Her knit vest was on inside out, but otherwise she was reasonably put together for a Monday morning. A large cup of coffee steamed on the table in front of her, set there by a kind house mate that had noticed she had missed breakfast. Her black cat, Smudge, sat purring on her lap, his golden eyes watching her fold the paper.
With a last crinkle of paper, her creation fell into place. A perfect paper crane sat on the table. She smiled in satisfaction, transfiguration class would be interesting today. Today’s transfiguration class was an all-house-class, and she looked forward to seeing Teddy Lupin, a Gryffindor boy she liked. The class homework the previous night had been to find a small, light object to bring to class. And she had left it to the last minute until she had thought of this. She loved folding paper into the graceful little birds, and she thought it would be a unique thing to bring in. She quietly sipped the coffee in front of her and pet Smudge for a few minutes.
The clock above the mantelpiece chimed nine, and she shooed the cat from her lap and rushed back to her room to gather her things for transfiguration. Glancing in the mirror behind the the girls room’s door, Melanie noticed her vest crisis and turned it right side out. She grabbed her leather messenger bag and rushed out of the common room and into the hallway, the various charms on her bag clinking and clicking together musically as she half jogged down the Gryffindor corridor to transfiguration class.
By the time she got to the classroom’s door, the other students were gathered around the door waiting for the teacher to arrive. Madame Sybil was usually late, but no one ever complained because her class was absolutely enthralling. At last, they heard the hurried sound of heels on the stone floor, and Madame Sybil swept around a corner. Her robes were unfastened about her shoulders, and spread out behind her like bat wings. Her outfit was, as usual, not dress code at all. Jeans, a grey sweater, and tall, black high heel boots made her stand out from the uniformed students, even with her black robe draped about her shoulders. Her long, violently curly red hair was already escaping the loose bun she had it in, and it looked rather like a red birdsnest perched precariously on top of her head.
Melanie felt a tug at the back of her head, and her curly hair sprung from its confinement, settling just past her shoulders. She whirled around, to see Patrick twirling the pencil that had previously held her hair at bay around his fingers. Patrick Harsen was a close friend of hers, a Slytherin, and as sarcastic as they come. She looked up at him, and he grinned down at her.
“Come on Mel, you know I like your hair better down, and besides, I needed something to bring to class today.” he said, gesturing at the pencil imploringly.
She rolled her eyes, and walked by him into class, taking her usual seat two rows from the back of the room. Patrick plopped his muggle style backpack onto the seat next to her at the desk. She sighed, she had been hoping to get Teddy to sit by her.
“Pleaseeee Mel?” Patrick whispered.
“Fine! but if you break my last pencil I am going to make sure you fail this class.” she whispered back to him.
He tossed the pencil up into the air, end over end, and caught it. ‘’It's been entirely too long since I’ve written with one of these.” he said.
Both Melanie and Patrick were muggle born, and enjoyed the practice of smuggling muggle things onto campus to confuse the pureblood students.
Madame Sybil started talking at the front of the room, and they both stopped talking to listen.
Sybil started out the class by asking to see what small object everyone had brought in. She appeared momentarily perplexed by the pencil sitting nonchalantly on Patrick’s desk, but was enchanted by Melanie’s crane. She actually picked it up and brought it close to her face, examining it closely, looking down her long nose at the small crane, all the while muttering, “Marvelous! Simply ingenuitive! My how the muggles do come up with something good every now and again.”
Other students had brought everything from rings to quills to a pair of headphones. Madame Sybil took time to look at them all before circling back to her desk. “You have all brought terrifically interesting things, but I'm sure you're all wondering why I asked you to. Today, we are going to animate the things you've brought in.’’ Several surprised murmurs swept across the room. Animating an inanimate object was a fairly complicated spell, and it was unexpected. Melanie was excited. This would be fun.
“We will warm up by each of you performing the engorgio charm on your object, to get the magic flowing.” said Madame Sybil. “You may do this now.”
Melanie pointed at her paper crane with her wand, and ordered, “Engorgio.” The crane wobbled on her desk as it swelled to double its original size.
“Now, while holding that spell, I want you to levitate your object and enlarge it again.” said Madame Sybil.
With a swish and flick of her wand, and a prim, “Wingardium Leviosa.” the crane rose two feet off of her table. She performed the enlarging charm again, and her crane swelled to the size of a house cat. It wobbled in the air, then steadied.
Madame Sybil said, “Commendable work everyone! You may return your objects to their original size and allow them to rest on your desks once again.”
Melanie spoke the counter charm and allowed the levitation spell to fade. Her paper crane was once again palm sized and resting docilely on her wooden desk.
“Now!” said Madame Sybil, “Comes the fun part. On the chalkboard she scrawled 'Piertom Locomotor',the spell they would be using. She had them all practice the pronunciation of it to prevent any mishaps, and showed them how to guide their newly animated object with simple orders. At last, everyone was ready.
Melanie pointed her wand at the paper crane, and spoke in her most commanding voice, “Peirtom Locomotor!”
The effect was immediate. Her crane shook its tiny, carefully folded head and flapped its parchment wings. It looked questioningly at her, as if to say, well now what?
“Fly, please.” she said to the paper crane. It happily took flight, and flapped around her head.
“Land, if you would.” she implored the crane.
It landed on her left shoulder and tried to nibble her ear. Melanie giggled and looked around the room. Not everyone was having her apparent luck. Teddy Lupin’s pair of headphones were trying their best to tangle in his bright blue hair. Scorpius Malfoy’s green Slytherin quidditch pennant was slapping him in the face with it’s pointy end. And Patricia Brighton’s locket was trying to run away from her. Her paper crane nibbled her ear again, and she pet it’s tiny head with a finger.
“Go help Teddy, would you please?” she asked the crane. It took off and flapped over to Teddy, whose hair had turned as red as his Gryffindor robes when his headphones had apparently become angry at him and attempted to strangle him. The little bird grabbed one end of the irate headphones and unwound them from around Teddy’s neck. He spoke the counter charm, and they flopped down on his desk, once again inanimate. He looked around to see who had helped him, Melanie’s paper crane resting in his palm preening, and his hair fading back to blue. Their eyes met, and this time it was his face’s turn to turn bright red. Her paper crane flapped lazily back to her, and lighted in her palm.Its left wing had Thanks :) written on it in Teddy Lupin’s messy handwriting. By the end of class, her paper crane was completely coated in passed notes, the last of which read, Want to go to Hogsmeade with me Saturday? in Teddy’s slanting scrawl and a quickly written, yes! :) in Melanie’s neat writing.