It was Basil’s last class of the day and the sun was starting to set as the short days of winter stole light from them earlier and earlier it seemed. There was never enough time in a day to accomplish, well, much of anything and Basil felt this as he erased the intro level assignment from his board and began writing out the O.W.L. assignment for the evening. He was excited to share some news with this particular class as they’d just spent the entire fall term studying animagi and he’d made some exciting decisions on the topic over the holiday break.

As students began to trickle in, Basil sorted through the texts on his desk which had - remarkably - become a hazard in just under 8 hours. He sighed. (There was definitely an organizational system wanting with his papers.) As the top of the hour chimed, he cleared his throat and came around to begin the lesson.

“Good evening, I hope you’ve all had a lovely break and took some time to rest over the holiday.” he greeted. “Now, before we start, I wanted to make a small announcement.

There was a lot of interest garnered last term on the topic of animagi and, as we’ve now studied in depth the history and process to become an animagus, starting this term, I will be hosting monthly check-ins to assist and inform those further interested in the process. These sessions will be open to all O.W.L and N.E.W.T level students interested in learning more about or becoming an animagi, and we will share valuable insights throughout our journey together for the group’s benefit. This is a completely optional program and will not count towards extra credit for the class. I, too, will be embarking along the journey with those interested to begin my own animagus transformation.” Basil grinned at the sea of faces. He was quite thrilled about it too.

“If anyone has any questions, please see me after class,” he continued. Then, turning back to point at the board, Basil flipped open his text. “Now, for today’s lesson and for the foreseeable future we will be learning about switching spells! Can anyone start us off by defining for the class the purpose of a switching spell?"

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