Chapter 7 – Shapeshifting

A lesson impatiently awaited by everyone – the lesson that taught them how to turn into something else. It was one of the most excitingly looked forward course in the school syllabus of the second semester in the first school year at Elmbridge School of Magic.

Both on the corridors of the school and on the corridors of the dormitories for younger students, one could hear talks about how diligently they wanted to attend all classes taught by Mr. Hans Von Halgen. A lesson where you could definitely learn how to turn into a multi-headed hydra, into a butterfly, into a lion, or even into a minotaur.

“Even if I get sick, I'll still get to that class. I can’t skip the most beautiful lesson in the school syllabus,” said a little blond child in a determined voice, who wore glasses too big for his little nose, forced every few seconds to set them back as they slipped.

Everyone around him approved him. At least everyone his age, because when a teenage student heard such words, he said laughing:

“The most exciting class? Just you wait. You have no idea what’s coming for you.”

The children looked a little worried at that older student, but the little blond brought their smile back to their faces.

“He just wants to ruin our day. You’ll see in a few days or in the next hours, when I turn into a dragon. And I’ll be huge. And we all can be like that. Wait until next week.

…

Finally the hours of the night passed and the children were happy on the last day of the first month of the year, or January 28, as the sceptics considered it.

Because yes, the wizards saw the year in another way, different from the sceptics. They had thirteen months of twenty-eight days. The months were: Freeze Month, Wolves Month, Old Dochia’s Days, Changeable Time, Flowers’ Month, Cherry Month, Blazing Month, Drought Month, Harvest Month, Frosty Month, Frost Month, Snowy Month and Gratitude Month. This division didn’t change their life much compared to the sceptics’, regarding public holidays.

All wizards, not just those at Elmbridge Magic School, celebrated the New Year on the same date with the sceptics, the same, Christmas, just six days before the New Year. On December 25, as the sceptics would say ... and all the other holidays were also celebrated on the day the sceptics celebrated them.

Only they had the year divided equally, in thirteen months, probably because everything seemed more ... uniform. They also had February 29 every four years, which meant nothing at all, only to announce that it was a leap year that year ... and that year would have three hundred sixty-five days.

Elizabeth got into the corridor and saw that the children in elementary classes were more than ready and excited to go to Professor Hans Von Halgen's day today.

Of course, Johnny waited stamping his feet, as if he were Johnny Thumper. But when he finally saw the girl, his face beamed up.

“I never understand what you girls need to be late. It doesn’t matter anymore. Let's go to Von Halgen's class. From today I can turn into what I want and won’t waste my precious time.”

And he took the girl's hand and began to run with her, so that they got there before Elizabeth would realize they were in front of that professor’s classroom.

He taught in one of the incredible gardens of the Sanctuary of Mystical and Non-Mystical Creatures belonging to the famous Elmbridge School of Magic. Without waiting for an invitation, the two got in with the other children.

The desks were set up in that garden suitable to relax for a good part of your life, an unbelievable setting for a school.

You could feel the wind blowing lightly through your hair, bringing fragrant scent of strong-smelling flowers colouring here and there the overall greenery with their tints.

As for the noise, all you could hear were just sundry voices of hundreds of little birds, chirping all kinds of songs giving an euphoric sensation to the ears, as pleasant as the silk touch onto the skin.

And of course, besides those trills, the Professor Von Halgen’s voice could be heard too around the place ...

“Gg-g-g-ood day. Welcome to my class.”

The children, instead of greeting, were glad as if the professor told them about a week of holiday.

This made Hans Von Halgen take a little courage. He felt nervous so he was a bit shaky and stuttering.

“Today we start the lessons about shapeshifting.”

Again the same joy for all children, so that the professor almost stopped blubbering.

“Please open your book page th-three.”

The children, impatiently did as they were asked. They hoped the class in set up Elmbridge School's mystical and non-mystical creatures’ sanctuary would become a place full of lions, elephants or ... even dragons. Even greater was the joy when they thought that all creatures ... would be them, after shapeshifting.

They all opened the books, but when everyone saw what was on that page, all the joy on their faces disappeared with Von Halgen's confidence.

“Wh-wh-wh-what happened? Why a-a-are you sad?”

“Because we don't want to learn about mice. We came to this class with the hope that we learn about the most powerful mystical creatures in the world. About which the sceptics didn't even hear. Needless to speak about meeting them,” the brave Alexander intervened.

The professor looked at Alexander questioningly, saying nothing, so the boy continued.

“And then to turn into them. And fight each other.

The professor wanted to say something, but Alexander was faster than he was in speech.

“Just pretend to fight, of course… not really,” although you could see by his sly smile that it didn’t pretend.

“Instead, we have to read page three about a poor mouse,” added another boy.

Von Halgen looked at the children and immediately understood they wanted the same thing, as the daring boy, the little prince Alexander.

He breathed deeply, then spoke very calmly:

“What's your name, b-b-b-boy?”

“Alexander Soimesti, Professor.”

“And do you r-r-really want to turn into s-s-s-some strong and big?”

“At least bigger than that mouse.”

“Without reading what is wr-wr-written about it?”

“I'm not going to read a whole page about a mouse to know it's harmless.”

The professor looked at the boy and smiled so visibly that Alexander didn't know what to believe.

“There are actually three p-p-pages about it. Full pages ... But I say to skip r-r-reading; I propose a f-f-fight instead.”

Alexander didn't want anything else. The others as well.

For others everything was welcome, just not to read boring stuff about a mouse.

Prince Soimesti had now the opportunity to show his wizard qualities that he acquired from the best professors in the country, hired by his father with bags of money to turn their son into an eminent student.

And if the professors at Elmbridge, even some of them, saw his skills for magic and all the other subjects, they would certainly talk about him in the whole school and crown him valedictorian. Because the boy was sure he had all the qualities to become the best.

“I agree,” the boy smiled as his crowd of supporters cheered and acclaimed him. Who should I fight with?”

The professor smiled.

“With the mouse.”

Prince Soimesti began to laugh when he heard this.

“Fight is fight, no matter how easy it is ...”

“Please tell me what you d-d-do to d-d-defeat him. I’m l-l-l-listening to you.”

The boy slightly cleared his throat, then began to explain:

“First I place a bait near him, to draw him in the trap, then I turn into a venomous viper and I wait for him to come. I stay on the chase, and when the mouse comes to eat the bait, I bite him. I then let him go, until the venom takes effect, then I come and swallow him, to win the fight. Thus, my enemy is destroyed forever.”

The professor looked doubtful about the explanation.

“I know that ... The biggest problem is that I don't know how to shapeshift. But that's why I came to your class. That's why we all came here ...”

“Sh-sh-shapeshifting is the easiest part. F-f-for viper you say transformatum Vipera ammodytes for example. And you became a vi-vi-viper. The word t-t-transformatum and the creature you want to turn into.”

“Only that?” the boy asked, somewhat disappointed.

“Yes,” Von Halgen replied.

“Then why should we attend this class for at least a whole year? To learn a word?” asked with sarcasm, smiling, the prince while his followers took his side laughing.

“First, there will be two full years of study. And secondly, b-b-because you have to know a lot more until you shapeshift. You have to know very well the creature you become. What it c-c-can and it can’t do. And also to know the creature you fight against...”

The boy said nothing more, but he didn’t understand and it seemed strange to him that he had to study a year ... in fact two whole years for a class when he learned the most important trick in a few seconds. Wasting so much time for something you already know?

The professor looked in the classroom and saw Elizabeth reading from the textbook he gave to all the students.

“Would you do the s-s-same?” the professor asked the girl.

“I wouldn't swallow it. In any case,” the girl said making a face at the thought she should swallow a mouse.

“Then you have no way to win the fight ... that mouse may be the fiercest e-e-enemy. Maybe he is a black magic seeker, programed by his boss to destroy you even at the cost of his life. He would give his life to a-c-c-c-complish what his master ordered.”

“How do you know he comes to eat that piece of cheese?” the girl asked, in doubt.

“Because once you turn into another creature, for a few minutes you behave exactly as that creature. That's why you have to be careful what you become,” Alexander snapped at poor Elizabeth. “I know because I read this subject ...”

“Don't quarrel,” the professor intervened.

The two got quiet, but it was clear they gave each other dirty looks.

“But Mr. Alexander is r-r-right. The mouse sure comes after the ch-ch-cheese. But my question was: wo-wo-wo-would you d-d-do the same?”

The girl thought a little, and then she answered:

“I think I first read the three pages about the mouse.”

Alexander and his friends laughed loud. Nor could it be a greater joy or pleasure for prince Alexander Soimesti at that time.

“Mice and mice. What else do you want to know about them? What kind of cheese do they prefer ...?”

Again laughter, just now the whole class laughed at the boy's joke. Even the professor smiled a little.

But Elizabeth didn’t.

“Have you wondered why it's reddish ... bright red? Maybe this can hurt you. I never heard of such a colour in mice. I wouldn’t swallow anything reddish until I know why it is like that, especially since it is a mouse.”

“Yes, Elizabeth, I think you're right. How couldn’t I think of that?” the boy said ironically. It can create indigestion, or worse, I can die. Yes, of course. Because I don't like the red colour.”

How annoying this boy was to her. Little Elizabeth wished she were in another class ... or anywhere else.

“But then, then why am I not sick from salad or cucumber? Because I hate green. And until now, as you can see, I didn’t die from the green lettuce I eat almost daily…”

Poor girl she’d like to turn him into a mouse right now. And she’d make a little effort to swallow him.

“And anyway, you read so well that I think you’d never turn into anything.”

Again, all the kids laughed. Alexander was over the moon, feeling so good in his shoes. The attention given to him and the fact that the students laughed at his jokes, going along with him, made him even prouder than he was. One might say no one could be so proud.

The little girl was about to cry, but the professor put his hand on her shoulder and reassured her with the following words:

“Miss Elizabeth, you should never be bothered by wicked remarks. And you ... I tell you she is right and I t-t-tell you why. This mouse is not an o-o-ordinary one, it is the f-f-fire mouse. And after he is killed by the v-v-viper, he has one last we-we-weapon. When swallowed by the s-s-snake, it k-k-kills the snake too.”

Alexander was amazed actually ... very amazed. I think he didn't even know what bothered him the most. The fact that he lost the fight, or the fact that it turned out that Miss Edwards was wiser. Or the fact that no one stood up for him then, because he rushed with the judgment and proved to make the worst decision.

Anyway ... he had to be upset because he was wrong in every respect. He was wrong in public in front of a girl he considered the least trained person at Elmbridge magic school. A girl about whom he often said she didn’t have what to do there.

“Well done, Miss Elizabeth Edwards. Today you get from me a point in the exam mark.”

Von Halgen was overjoyed that for the first time he uttered a sentence without stuttering at all. The little girl was happy for the five points, and when Alexander thought it couldn't be worse, he found out it could.

“Mr. Alexander you l-l-lost the fight, you l-l-lost a point in the exam.”

Von Halgen was angry too, because he kept blubbering again. He looked at the boy as if it were his fault. Maybe it was!! Maybe the fact that he had to punish someone, made the professor feel emotional. So, yes, it was probably Alexander's fault.

“As you can see, knowledge is e-e-everything. You have to r-r-read and l-l-learn as much as possible about each creature. Otherwise you can e-e-end up like the v-v-viper. Like A-A-Alexander. And in real life you may no longer have a second ch-ch-chance.”

The professor went to smell some flowers, but not before giving the children a task to do.

“Read as carefully as possible about the f-f-f-fire mouse. And read and re-re-read, until you remember as much about him as p-p-possible. And this can s-s-save your life. And next time we’ll learn about the water s-s-skylark.”

And the professor smelt the wonderful fragrance of the flowers, letting the children learn about the animals they could turn into. At that lesson, about the fire mouse.

This is the purpose of the shapeshifting class. Not just shapeshift, as this could be done by a child-wizard of only three who learned to speak, but to know what to turn into, depending on the situation you were in. That was the most important thing.

If you didn't know, a spotted turquoise green frog could save you, if you turned into it, when you were chased by someone who wanted to swallow you, for exmple that viper Alexander, because the frog could poison the place it went through, leaving behind an extremely strong substance. And the pursuer, no matter what it was, if it passed exactly where the little frog passed, touching the grass, the leaves or the branches touched by the frog, became confused, puzzled because of the poisoned air, and gave up pursuing.

And most importantly, you had to know what you turn into. Transformatum was easy to say, but:

Phyllobattes terribilis turcoasum aer dicitur venenum Bibendum operum tuorum gemmam,

wasn't quite easy to say. One wrong letter and you turned into something else. In something that might not help you leading to perdition. Even more, you had to know if your avatar could help you. If you considered how much was to learn ... probably even the two years weren’t enough.

That was what you had to learn at Professor Von Halgen's classes.

That was what the children learned in the coming months.

And many other things. For example if you tried to hurt someone, as Geoffrey Walsh, one of Alexander's friends, tried, to turn Johnny into a crawling worm, that happened to him. To change the others, you needed much more years of training. And to be at least a 7th grader at Elmbridge School of Magic.

So, no matter how disgusting Alexander found it, he had to take Geoffrey - the crawling worm in his handkerchief, not to be walked over and lose his naughty friend. And he had to keep him under observation in a pile of moistened soil for three hours, in order not to lose him. And when he finally became human again, his mouth was full of earth and worse than that ... he started to like it.

Of course he left the class ashamed, along with five penalty points from Von Halgen.

The dream that they were to learn to turn into dragons, centaurs, bears or even lions, disappeared even from the second lesson.

Von Halgen told them they could only learn this when they were at least seventh or eighth grade students. Maybe then they would manage to turn into a few of those creatures, because he didn't know either everything in order to turn into some of the biggest and most powerful beasts.

Even a professor like him, who knew many procedures had to study for at least five months, day and night, in order to turn into such a being.

Finally, after many classes everyone got that knowledge and hard work could help you in tough life situations. For many of the students, this shapeshifting class became as the student from the upper grades said. A class for which kids had to study hard.

But for Elizabeth and some of the students, it was something special, exciting and nice as anything that happened at that magic school. Another subject that could greatly help not only in your wizard life. Even though it was a lot to learn, all these things, like the other subjects studied at Elmbridge School of Magic, would definitely help them in life.

And given the tests that were announced, it was best to prepare as much as possible. Everyone got that it was good to go for knowledge, as Professor Eadan Knudlac used to say.