Charms Class

William was sitting in the library, reading an accursed tome, the transfiguration textbook. "This is just, the absolute worst. It doesn't follow the law of conservation of mass at all." William said, his hand cupping his forehead as he read. "How can you create from nothing? More aptly," William rubbed his temple before he continued, "What is being taken away when performing Transfiguration? Maybe the air?"

William's eyebrows twitched as he thought. This time was initially supposed to be devoted to Professor Weasley's transfiguration class, but apparently, William wasn't skilled enough to attend. So, Ms Weasley handed William a book as students flooded her classroom. She then told him to study and pointed him to the library.

When William first arrived, he opened his 'Field Guide' that he had obtained this morning. Using Professor Flesh's wand, he transferred the information from all his books to his individual tome. He turned in all his books to the librarian, much to her surprise. He then took a few moments to get acquainted with the magical book. 

First, William observed that all the information collected was divided into sections containing broad subjects, beasts, methods of casting magic, spells, history, rituals, runes, etc. Then they were separated even further; for instance, the bestial section held information on the strongest dragons to the weakest fledgling doe's. 

Of course, the information was only what he had inserted into the book, but what fascinated William the most was, that only relevant information found its way into the field guide. It discarded the mass amounts of filler and bragging that wizarding authors tended to put in their works. 

The best part, though, was the ability to refer to different subjects and sections. With just a thought, the tome would open its pages to any section Wiliam desired. It was as if the tome was bound to him.

At the start of transfiguration class, he had two and a half hours until charms class, and if he were to skip lunch, he could have all that sweet time to himself. And so, William thought, 'why not.' He spent two whole hours chanting "Regero" at every book he saw. Ultimately, he only obtained an eighth of the library's total books, which is quite an achievement.

Only after his book plundering did he understand another function of the book. It had enchanted pages, so no matter how much information was fed into it, it would stay the same size. As William turned the pages, they seemed to disappear into the blank white of the page before. 

This all leads back to William, sitting in his chair, questioning the true nature of transfiguration. The subject is the act of transforming one thing into another, though it has many other uses more complex than that.

William's confusion suddenly came to a halt as he came through the pages regarding transfiguration to find a very unique form of magic. William stumbled onto the art of becoming an Animagus. It was a skill that let you transform into one animal, the animal destined to represent you. 

"This is really, really useful. If I could turn into a mouse, I could hear and see everyone's secrets. Or I could be Powerful like a bear. Though the process is long and tedious." 

William would've liked to stay and read longer in the library, but charms class was about to start. 

—------------------------------

The teacher for Charms was Professor Ronen. Apparently, he was the Head of Slytherin House as well. When William opened the classroom door, he found students lined in their desks neatly. All seats were taken except one. 

"Hello, you can sit here if you wish!" a black girl called out to William in a foreign accent. "Nice to meet you. I am Natsai Onai," she said with a slight bow as William arrived at the top row of desks that stared down at the classroom. She was quite a beautiful girl. Her short black hair was pulled into a bun, and her cheeks were slightly puffed out, giving her a youthful appearance. 

"William Lee Lewis, pleased to meet you," William said with a cheerful smile. From the nonverbal magic Sebastian produced to the discovery of Animagus', William was in a splendid mood. In fact, William didn't think anything could make it better.

William had so many concepts to think about and read about; it was as if a fire had ignited in his heart.

"Here," Natsai handed William a book, "it is the class textbook. I heard you are new here, so you might need this more than me."

"Thanks, but you don't have to," William said with appreciation evident in his tone.

A smile appeared on Natsai's lips. "When I first arrived with my mother, I would have given anything for the kindness of others. This is just my way of writing about the wrongs of the world."

William's eyes lit up, "you're new to Hogwarts too!"

"I transferred from Uagadou on the cusp of my fourth year. It was tough acclimating to this new environment."

"OK, is it just me, or is this school a maze? It seems impossible to get to my classes without floo flames."

With a light laugh, Natsai responded, "Yes, I have had trouble finding my classes as well. But floo flames are quite the boon. We never had them at my old school."

"If you don't mind me asking, what was your old school like? It's located in Africa, I assume?"

"Yes, Uagadou is located in Buganda, and Buganda is located in central Sub-Saharan Africa. The school itself practices wandless magic."

It happened again, William started to shake in anticipation. 'What if I could combine wordless incantation and wandless magic? I could just think, and the world would bend to my will,' William thought. 

"Are you ok?" Natsai questioned as she observed William's shivering figure, her eyebrows raising.

"Yes! New types of magic just excite me to my core. Could you tell me more about Uagadou and the magic studied there?"

"Sure!" Natsai responded, her angelic-like face gave way to amused laughter. 

'God, her laugh is so… genuine,' William thought.

"Uagadou is the largest school in the world, taking in kids from all over Africa. It was carved out of a mountain, and with a small pillar for a foundation, it looks like a floating city in the sky."

"That sounds amazing… Now, what about the magic?"

"Hello, everyone! Welcome… to year five of Charms!" The Charms professor burst out of his office and shouted with passion laced in his voice. It was Professor Ronen. He had a strong foreign accent, but it was unlike Natsai's. His skin was dark like that of a Greek man, and his hair was silver, implying his age.

'Hmm, Middle Eastern or Indian, maybe? I don't know if I've ever interacted with their kind. Maybe Professor Shah and him are related somehow?' William thought with a curious smile, 'One things for sure, he's a boisterous man.'

The Professor continued to speak as he walked down his office steps: " As you all know, my policy is to start the semester year with fun! This year will be no different, with our activity being practical and fun!" He paused, looking around at his students' faces: "Summoner's Court!"

The students around the class cheered in excitement, including Natsai. "What's Summoner's court? And why is everyone happy to play it?" William leaned in close.

"It is not about the game. It is about getting out of class and having the whole class period away from studies. That is what everyone is excited about."

"Hmm."

"Alright, everyone! We travel… to the courtyard!" Ronen said, slightly bouncing down as he gestured out the door.

—------------------------------

Charms was a double period along with Defense Against the Dark Arts, and coincidentally, they were both Slytherin and Gryffindor classes. Transfiguration, though, was only a period long, and Slytherin was paired with Ravenclaw, not that it mattered to William. Weasley basically kicked him out of the class until he caught up with the other students.

So when William was offered 'free time' to play Summoner's court, he just sat off to the side reading, much to Ronen's disappointment. He would occasionally gaze up to see Imelda and Natsai competing with other students. Or, occasionally, he glanced at Leander to keep an eye on him, but everyone else was a stranger to William.

"Ohh, I get it now. Basically, all spells transfigure something. Even the lowliest of fire-producing spells fall under transfiguration. Producing water or fire falls just under summoning… So let's try this again," William said, pointing his wand to a tall blade of grass, "Sato Mutatio."

The blade of grass curled and convulsed. It looked to be dying, but at that moment, its frame straightened, becoming a clover. Its four leaves looked towards William with glee. William looked down at his creation with a smile—it was like creating life. But just as the new life began to take hold, the old one clawed its way back into reality. The clover disappeared in a small white glimmer, and the blade grass reappeared.

"It's sad, isn't it." Professor Ronen said to William as he approached. "Some first years cry when their creation dies."

"It felt wrong. I gave it life, and it was dependent on me, but I let it die."

"Yes, while there is sorrow in death, there is beauty in life. Sato Mutatio!" The Professor called out as he swung his wand around himself, and all the grass in a 20-yard radius became three-leaf clovers.

William just looked around in awe. "When we were both young, Professor Fig told me, 'It isn't about the power itself but the person who wields it,' that always stuck with me. The person welding the power… William, I think you're a gifted young man with a good heart, and I can't wait to see what you will become." Ronen's smile was contagious, his bouncing stomach fat only adding to his jolly expression.

Ronen then sat down beside William. "Why don't you go play Summoner's Court? It'll help you control the summoning charm, and you'll get to meet new students."

"Professor, I want to not only catch up with my peers but surpass them. I want to become an Animagus, master silent and wandless casting, and surpass even geniuses in enchanting."

"Hahaha, now I know why they put you in Slytherin! You were born to be in this house… Gryffindor births great warriors, great researchers birthed by Ravenclaw, and great workers from Hufflepuff, but all the best leaders are born from Slytherin. We are built with a mixture of traits from all the other houses."

William looked from the professor down to his Field Guide, "Could you tutor me in transfiguration? It is the hardest thing I've ever tried to learn."

"Perhaps you should talk to Ms. Onai. She has already become an Animagus."

"Really? But aren't they supposed to be rare, like ten in a century, rare?"

"Ah, yes, but she is a prodigy in her own right. I think she mastered it in her third year at Uagadou."

William's eyes widened as he said, "Thanks for the information, Professor." He immediately got up, field guide in hand, and ran towards Natsai.

She just won a game of Summoner's Court to, who would have guessed, Leander Prewett. His face was red like his ginger hair, and his eyes looked ready to water. "G-Good g-game," he said in a shaky voice.

'Someone must have gotten a reprimand,' William thought. The head boy of Gryffindor might have slapped him on the wrist, hard. But that was only William's speculation. 

"Natsai, I know we've just met, but will you tutor me in transfiguration?"

Her face was filled with shock as if questioning herself: why would William ask her for help? "Well, I appreciate the insinuation that I would be a good teacher, but I have classes to attend and-"

"I'll owe you a favor! Teach me, and I'll owe you a favor," William proposed.

"Ok," she responded with the speed of lighting. It was such a fast reaction that William feared he made a bad deal. A favor from him shouldn't be worth that much. William could only think, 'That dragon attack must have raised everyone's first impression of me.'

"Deal," William said, extending his hand.

"Deal," Natsai said, taking his hand for a shake.

"Hey! Why did you shake her hand but not mine? What happened to 'I won't shake the hand of a woman'?" Imelda, who had been looking into this interaction, yelled. Her steps were firm, and her gaze was stern as she approached the pair. 

"Ohh… Imelda, sweat Imelda, in muggle culture, the culture in which I was raised in, a woman never shakes her hand with a man unless she is his elder, his superior, or is accomplished."

Imelda's face became calm momentarily before she looked at William with rage-filled eyes. "I'm accomplished!" she said, her hands flailing around. She continued, "Do you think you're better than me, Natsai? I challenge you to a broom race!"

"No, thank you. You would decimate me entirely."

Imelda looked at Natsai with fury as she uttered a growl. As if her brain shut down, she stormed away with a fire in her steps.

"Mmm, she is too loud," Natsai moaned as she rubbed her ears.

"That she is. If only she would stop the screaming. She has a lovely voice when she speaks softly…" William said as he stared at Imelda's form, stomping away. 'Lovely body, too, especially with how her uniform hugs her frame.'

"Anyway," William turned to Natsai, "Do you have anything to do next period? I'm free, so we can study at the library if you wish."

"That would be wonderful. I look forward to our collaboration!" She said, her voice filled with glee.