November 14th, 1895 — Ravenclaw Common Room, after supper (this event)

Fall term was in full swing as Basil organized the last details in the common room. He’d had the elves bring up a veritable mountain of pumpkin pasties along with a number of other snack-like savories and sweets and they were all collected along a neat little table by the wall. The hearth was roaring with a nice warm fire and extra cushions, both for the floor and the various couches and seats, had been arranged in the trademark blue and silver. It was a rather nice spread, all things considered. He could only hope it went well.

As the first students began to trickle in, some settled into seats while others meandered past— curious but busy. Basil tidied up a small mess of the papers he’d been working on grading earlier before he sent them back to his desk in his office with a flick of his wand. Ignacio was the first to pipe up, leaning on the back of a chair and whining about how he didn’t want to participate and Basil huffed at his nephew. “You must, to make up for the trouble you caused in Transfiguration this week,” he replied, tersely. “Don’t think I won’t contact your father if you keep this up,” he added. Basil was his professor after all, not that he wanted to poke the Sidonia bear any more than any of the rest of them. The secret was not Papa Sidonia however. The secret was, “Or Lucy. I’m sure she wouldn’t like to hear you’ve been up to mischief either.”

That did it. Ignacio slid onto his seat and crossed his arms glowering, but didn’t respond. Basil could have laughed at his nephew for it, but refrained, knowing better. If he was glad that Ms. Greene had taken up residence near his nephew he didn’t comment on it, but he rather hoped she might be a good influence on him. Merlin knew they all needed it.

Eventually a small group amassed and Basil cleared his throat. Ms. Paxton had brought in the last stragglers and he eyed her gleefully as he made an introduction and explained how the evening was to go. He would ask a question and anyone who had an option could speak up, stating an answer— and their reason for it. House Points would be awarded to those that were particularly creative, or well-thought out. Decorum was to be expected of each of them too, Basil reminded his Ravenclaws lightly. (But he didn’t think they needed it this year; not with how swimmingly things had been going. For the most part.) Then, he settled himself against the arm of one of the big leather armchairs.

“Our first question of debate then shall be the following,” he announced, starting off strong with a Transfiguration question. “When you transfigure a beetle into a button, is it still alive?”

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Alys Gower, Kermit Escher, Poppy MacFusty, Phineas Black II, Jameson Potter, Georgianna Shacklebolt, Chloe Greene, Caroline Weasley, Ignacio Sidonia, Bonnie Greyback, Agape Lestrange, Lincoln Dashwood, Millie Potts, Cadogan Glynn, Gregory Fynch, Charles Whymper, Imogene Paxton + any other Ravie adjacent stragglers that may come to be

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Phin didn't think he was much of a philosopher--philosophy enthusiast?--but he liked an academic discussion as much as the average Ravenclaw, he supposed. "I think it must be," Phin chipped in at Professor Foxwood's first question. "Otherwise when you transfigure it back, you're creating life and... it can't be that simple to do, can it?"

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Tonight was the new moon and Alys felt its presence in her, in every quiet moment she could hear the voices of the choir in her head and it was beautiful. She was serene as she metaphorically floated around the common room. She had been here two months now and people would be learning her mannerisms and that despite her perculliarities, she was pleasant to be around and had begun making friends. One such friend now shared the sofa with the girl and could see her drawing on her pad she had almost completed the drawing before the professor posed the question as the choir blurred the lines between her future and her present.

Without putting down her charcoal she made her answer, her voice was soft and calm as she explained the facts of her. "The perceived difference between life and the material world is one that we have granted it, however they are both part of the Malkuth under Sandalphon. Perhaps we have distanced the beetle from its connection to the Chokmah by rendering it a button, but it is still part of the same tree. So yes, it is still very much alive." she stopped talking and the faintest smile crossed her otherwise tranquil face.

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Basil Foxwood Phineas Black II

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Transfiguration was one of his favorite subjects, and Cadogan was always thankful that Professor Foxwood not only taught it, but was also his Head of House. It meant when he did things like this, Cadogan got to participate in them. He was one of the first to arrive, settling on the edge of a couch in case someone else wanted to sit next to him. His fingers strummed against the couch’s arm, more giving himself something to do than nerves.

Once Professor Foxwood posed the question, his eyes turned toward Black and then to Miss Gower. Cadogan didn’t know much about the Malkuth under Sandalphon, so he didn’t really have much to say about that. Instead he straightened, eyes flicking toward the front before he spoke. Despite being older than the other two, Cadogan was still a bit nervous to speak in front of others.

“I think it isn’t alive while it’s a button,” he said. “The spell restructures the matter down to its smallest parts: wings, shell, organs, all rewritten into thread holes and surface. There’s nothing left that can breathe or move, so by any biological measure, life stops.” He paused, then added a bit quieter, like he suddenly wasn't confident in what he was saying, “But it isn’t dead, either. The magic keeps the pattern of what it was, so when you reverse it, it remembers perfectly how to be a beetle again. It’s more like… a suspended state.”

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Poppy

Poppy nibbled on one of the pumpkin pasties that Professor Foxwood had brought. The floor cushion was rather cozy, and she was loath to leave it to pick up another treat. So instead, she decided she would eat it as slowly as possible so that it felt like she was eating two, rather than just the one. The question that was posed was an interesting one. She tilted her head thoughtfully. Phineas's response was logical. Alys's response was... very much Alys. And Cadogan's was well thought out. That was what her initial thought had been as well, though she wasn't nearly as well-spoken. It would have come out a jumbled, nonsensical mess. From her cushion, she nodded in agreement.

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Club Membership in: Astronomy ✿ Flying ✿ Charms ✿ Book ✿ Quidditch

Adorably sweet set by the amazing Lady! ✿ plot with me

The professor's notion was an intriguing one. A gathering devoid of small talk, where thought might be more prized than speech. Such a thing delighted the part of Millie that fell quiet in larger group discussions. As willing as she might be among her closest friends, her tongue grew more reticent among classmates who didn't always understand her need for thought. Careful, patient thought that didn't only stop to examine the issue, but to peek around its corner as well.

What lurked at the edges of those thoughts was too-often left unshared.

"If we presuppose what Mr. Black suggests, then does that not mean our definition of alive would need to change? A button neither breathes nor consumes to stay alive, yet the spells with the same intention for an unchanged living thing is rather advanced magic." Millie managed to share her thoughts at last, giving the second-year boy a chance to be recognized for his. His logic had a certain appeal, she was certain that the fellow lovers of animals, if not keepers of pets among their House, would feel a bit better knowing that those buttons were not the result of a life extinguished. The young witch, at least, would not want to see Houstonia transfigured if it meant she needed to begin counting up to nine.

"I would err closer to Mr. Glynn's explanation, yet with one lingering doubt. Is it magic itself which keeps the beetle's pattern, as it were, or the button?" Millie looked to Professor Foxwood, as if they were in class instead of the common room at the moment. With hope that he might give a glimmer of indication on the subject, she ventured just a bit further.

With some hope that Cad would not mind too much having his explanation unwound.

"And what should happen if magic gets distracted for a moment and forgets all about our poor beetle?"

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