Chapter Eleven: Transfiguration.

Bodies clad in black and green uniforms waltzed through the hallways, their anticipated whispers echoing around the large corridors as each person contemplated the test awaiting them. Hands shook in boisterous movements, and whisps of breath subtly floated into the air as people expressed their opinions. Girls tied up their long tresses in fear of further magical creatures awaiting them, boys safely tucked away their family rings and silver cufflinks to ensure the irreplaceable items wouldn't be damaged.

The den of snakes moved forth as one, their black robes and green details merging together to form a giant, anxious serpent. None of them paid heed to passers-by, the sixteen-year-olds preoccupied with thoughts of their impending doom or success. A few daft sixth years chose to ruffle their green robes and produce textbooks containing various hexes and spells, their minds apparently looking over subtle details such as the lack of a subject.

Others wandered with a sense of pride in their gait, their voices a little louder and backs straighter than usual due to the amount of skill (whether big or small) portrayed in the previous test. However, one thing echoed through the group of snakes, as each student held a spark of excitement and sprinkle of hope in their pools: the positive emotions steadily decreasing their anticipation.

"What do you reckon this one will be about?"

Theodore further tousled his messed-up 'I woke up like this' hair as hazel eyes sought out Cordelia's ocean blue pools, the query fading into the cacophony of noise around them.

"Well, Dippet said the subjects that have the most importance, as well as danger, will be chosen first. So I presume it might be Herbology or Transfiguration."

Theodore nodded, slinging his right arm around Cordelia's left shoulder as his left arm reached to wrap around Druella's shoulder towards his other side.

"That does make sense. I'd frankly prefer Transfiguration."

Druella let out a groan and attempted to shrug off Theo's arm, letting out an exasperated sigh as the pureblood male tightened his grip and complained about her 'rejecting his friendship'.

"Of course you'd prefer Transfiguration, you're scared of half the plants down at the greenhouses."

Apparently, the gold-eyed Black witch decided to resort to taunts rather than a physical reply, making the Nott heir flush a light pink and turn to her with a pout.

"I am not! It's not my fault the vicious little things happen to be quite deadly."

Cordelia looked past Theodore's curly head and sought out her cousin's golden pools, bursting out in giggles as soon as the Black females made eye contact.

"Well, you're going to find out if you need to tend to one of those vicious little things in a minute or two. We're here."

The trio, as well as a good chunk of the sixth-year snakes, quietened down as they approached the at the back of the third floor, each snake glancing at one another in anticipation.

Much like the previous time, each student filed into a neat queue and awaited a professor's arrival, their loud questions and sneaky whispers dying away as the snakes aimed to seem ever the presentable bunch. Hands reached out to straighten ties, fingers wrapped around stray pieces of jewellery to safely tuck away, and feet shuffled against the white tiles, eyes gauging out each person's appearance and ensuring they were pristine and picturesque.

When each person was satisfied with their appearance, Tom Riddle, walked forth from his position at the front of the line and swiftly pulled back the black knocker three times. A subtle silence fell upon the sixteen-year-olds as they glanced towards the door, awaiting its opening.

When the wooden door finally pulled away from the dark brown frame. a tall figure waltzed into the corridor, an air of authority floating around him. The wizard examined each student before sparkling blue eyes finally descended towards the mob of snakes in general and gave a nod of approval.

"Come along, Slytherins, you're right on time! As I expected, of course."

Professor Dumbledore hastily moved back from the door, popping the wooden slab completely open to let the students proceed into the room. An arm swiftly moved towards the side, gesturing towards the room ahead as deep green robes swayed in the air.

"I must say, professor, you look quite nice in green robes."

Dumbledore let out a light chuckle as Cordelia complimented his attire, making the girl smile kindly before following after her fellow peers.

When the noise had subsided and each student had finally entered the premises, Dumbledore swiftly locked the door and turned towards the room, smiling at the students before speaking.

"You must all be wondering why the room resembles my classroom much more than the previous test's design."

His starting words drew everyone's eyes towards the neatly organized sets of light brown desks, each of them hosting a Petrified rat that quivered under their gaze. Over towards the left of the room, a black desk was neatly piled with a series of parchment papers, the loose sheets accompanied with an ink bottle, and a beautiful peacock quill.

"This is due to a simple fact. I presumed you would be much more comfortable transfiguring objects in a room that resembled my classroom."

Dumbledore droned on as his arm reached out, a wand clutched in his palm as he quietly muttered a summoning spell directed at one of the rats.

"I am sure you lot have come to the conclusion that today's test will be a simple Transfiguration process. While this is true, the intricacies and details required for this test is something quite a few wizards might find difficult."

Murmurs broke out across the room as each person wondered whether or not they were good enough to pull off the Transfiguration. The likes of Crabbe and Goyle groaned out profanities as they reflected on their previous prowess in Transfiguration, making Cordelia let out a slight giggle and turn back to Dumbledore politely.

"The task-"

These two words caused a curtain of silence to replace the conversations, making the professor smile and continue.

"The task will be very free-lanced. One must simply transfigure a rat into a working music box within the hour. While extra points will be awarded for an authentic tune and quick Transfiguration, points will be taken away if the box resembles someone else's, or if it genuinely lacks creativeness."

Dumbledore took a seat behind his black desk, pushing up his spectacles as he continued.

"You can choose your desk and rat, good luck to you all!"

With that, the older professor turned towards the pile of parchment and lifted his quill to add a swift cross, prompting the group of students to head towards the desks and mutter encouraging statements to one another.

Cordelia flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed, pulling back the long strands to form a high pony and then twist it into a bun. When she was satisfied with the state of her hair, the blue-eyed brunette grabbed a seat near the back of the room, her elbows resting against the desk's top as the witch examined her rat.

The little animal squirmed under her gaze, its grey tail curling up around its bodice as a form of protection. With a scoff and a wave of her wand, Cordelia removed the paralyzing charm from the rodent, drawing it across the desk to further examine it.

"The task is to transfigure the animal, not give it a heart attack."

Lia let out a tinkering giggle and turned towards her left, facing Aurora's sky blue eyes and gorgeous blonde curls. Unlike most of the other students, Aurora too had paused to thoroughly look at the creature before turning it into an object.

"I was merely examining it."

"Sure you were."

The pureblood witches sent each other a smirk and a giggle before turning back to their desks, each of their minds wandering to the task at hand.

Contrary to her previous transfiguration process, Cordelia chose to completely modify the animal and stray from her usual Slytherin colours. A light sigh passed through her lips as Lia shut her eyes, contemplating which colour scheme to follow.

Ever since her first Transfiguration lesson the Black-McMillian heir had developed a habit to base her designs and other details solely by the colour scheme, which was why such a trivial detail was of much importance to her.

White and blue would go splendidly, however, I'd have to make it a navy blue with white designs.

Since the witch had decided to choose something opposite to her usual scheme, Cordelia settled on a floral pattern rather than a reptile design. Blue eyes closed shut as the teenager began to picture her music box, pushing thoughts of Tom Riddle's heritage to the back of her mind.

She could vividly see it, a circular box with clean sides that weren't sharp enough to injure someone, but sleek nonetheless. The top would be curved upwards, the little pop making the object seem larger than it's actual size. Finally, the bottom would be completely straight and sleek, the wood vacant of any blemishes.

Ruby lips parted to utter the spell to change the rat into an inanimate object, her desired outcome clearly portrayed in her mind's eye.

When Cordelia peeled back her eyes to observe the object, a smile danced onto her lips as blue pools examined a perfect replica of the object she sought. Without wasting any time, the witch muttered a colour changing spell and painted the hickory box a deep navy blue, the paint so dark it almost seemed like a midnight black. A quick charm carved white lilies and paninis onto the front of the box, the flowers forming an intricate, wavy pattern.

She mirrored the spell onto the top of the box, but rather than arranging the flowers Cordelia allowed them to form a messy bouquet of sorts, the white flowers being accompanied with a few red roses and deep green stems. Satisfied with the patterns, the blue-eyed teenager conjured up a string of white lace to place right under the lid's opening, the lace's pattern being simple yet elegant.

"Finally."

Now, Cordelia could move onto her favourite part of the test, creating the music.

Unlike the colours and pattern, the witch had a song stuck in the back of her head ever since the start of the Transfiguration test, her mind constantly singing the lullaby her mother would recite every night when Orion and Cordelia were too energetic to sleep.

She opened the box and performed the colour changing spell once again, adding a thin cushion on the base. Once again blue eyes closed as Cordelia pictured a scene of a couple dancing in a ballroom, their feet moving as one and hands intertwined as the male spun the girl around the room.

When the brunette was satisfied with her picture, she muttered a quick yet hard spell that created a ceramic, miniature version of the couple. A puff of air escaped her mouth as the two figures began to move inside the box, their feet gliding precisely as she wanted it to.

"Now, for some music."

Cordelia didn't have to shut her eyes to create the audible aspect to her music box, for the lullaby was engraved in her mind from quite some time. With a smile, the teenager waved her wand to cast a Muffiliato around her desk before pointing the wooden stick at the box and beginning to sing and hum the tune.

"Roses are red dilly, dilly-"

Her voice cut off at first, making the pureblood girl flinch before she started up again, a smile on her face as she narrated the familiar song.

"Roses are red, dilly, dilly

Violets are blue"

A silly smile painted itself onto her face as she continued, singing an octave higher for the next few lines.

"Because you love me, dilly, dilly

I will love you

Let the bells sing, dilly, dilly

And the lambs play"

The smile turned bittersweet as she began to sing the last lines, the words making Cordelia think of her younger brother.

"We shall be safe, dilly dilly

Out of harm's way"

The brunette finished the lullaby's chorus and waved her wand in a circular movement, sealing the charm with a smirk before closing the box. Her porcelain fingers glided around the top of the box before she pulled it open delicately, a soft smile forming on her lips as the dancing couple formed and gracefully glided around to her favourite lullaby.

When the song ended and began to repeat, the Black-McMillan heir closed the music box and finished the muffling charm around her, sighing out as she glanced at Aurora's struggling form.

"How are you done so fast?"

Evidently, the Fawley heir wasn't the best at Transfiguration and thus hadn't conjured her desired results as soon as Cordelia.

"It wasn't that fast, Rora."

The blonde shook her head, staring at Cordelia as if she had grown another head.

"Lia, that was barely twenty minutes!"

Before the brunette witch could reply, Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose from his seat, making several students look around in panic as they worried their time was up.

"It seems Mr Riddle and Ms Black have completed their boxes, splendid!"

Cordelia's gaze met with Tom's as she sent him a sarcastic smile, detaching herself from her desk to place her box in Dumbledore's awaiting palm. It was no surprise when the witch's gaze landed onto a similar round box in traditional Slytherin colours.

I guess my urge for a change was a good thing.

"Thank you. You are free to do as you please."

The students nodded towards Dumbledore and replied in kind before exiting the room, each of the brunettes rushing to vacant the premises. Just as Cordelia began to head down the corridor and return to the common room with thoughts of a good book to read, a hand latched onto her right wrist and made her cease all movement.

"Why are you in such a rush, Black?"

A sneer coated her face as the witch turned towards Riddle, attempting to fruitlessly yank her wrist from his clutches while she spoke.

"I have things to do, Riddle."

At this, Toms scoffed, pulling her along with him as he walked down the opposite hallway.

"Reading in the common room isn't that important."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and once again attempted freeing her wrist, letting out a hiss as the brunette male tightened his grip and sent her a glare with his hickory pools.

"We need to talk."

The girl scoffed, smirking as she replied to him. "What, have you fallen in love and wish to propose? because the answer's no, Riddle."

A light chuckle escaped Tom as he turned towards her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"That's the best you could do? My, my Cordelia, it seems you're losing your touch."

She flushed a light pink under his gaze before rolling her eyes and continuing, walking faster than her usual pace to catch up with the male's long strides.

What's the advantage of being tall if he practically speeds through the halls?!

"I wouldn't put it against you with the way you continue to stalk and pester me."

Once again, Tom scoffed and pinched the bridge of his nose, ready to form a quick retort but holding it back as a gaggle of giggling Ravenclaw girls passed them.

"For once in your life, Black, shut up."

She let out a laugh at the clear annoyance present in Tom's voice, attempting to once again free herself before giving up and deciding to just follow after him.

When Tom finally ceased his movements they halted in front of a wooden door with a silver knocker. A door that Cordelia had certainly never seen before.

"Where are we?"

Ever the little prat, Tom chose to ignore her question and instead yanked open the door, pulling her along as he waltzed through a library that was far too small to be considered the Hogwarts Library.

"Room of Requirements, really?"

An annoyed hiss passed through Lia's lips as Tom finally released her wrist, allowing her to eye the blue bruise quite evidently forming his long digits. Not paying her any heed, the wizard walked towards the other corner of the library, his lazy gait portraying he expected her to follow.

Blue eyes rolled for the umpteenth time as the Black heir walked after him, dodging bookshelves and stray desks before finally reaching a strip of bare space near the centre of the room.

She was surprised to find Tom removing his jumper and tie before turning towards her, his eyes holding an evil glint as his right palm tightened around his wand.

"I presume you know how to duel."