Hey Jacka- I Mean Sasaki

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Seiichi swore under his breath, then dashed to the nearest empty desk. He didn't want to draw Kuro's attention by moving to his normal seat in the front of the room. Setting the stone on the desktop he pointed his wand at it and muttered the proper incantation. He was rewarded when the stone changed shape. The newly-transfigured snail looked up at him reproachfully before beginning to ooze across the desk. Seiichi grimaced at the trail of slime it left behind it.

[Sha McKeon]

In one of the seats at the very back of the room, Shaoul was doing his very best to seem as small and unnoticable as possible behind the small cage his sparrow was hopping about in, feeling very out of place. Not only was he assuredly the youngest here, not to mention a foreigner, but his result on the assignment looked like the most complicated object of them all... He hadn't intended to show anyone up and he suspected with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he had, which made him all the more conspicuous. Looking about, he sought a face he recognized, noting the twins and offering a smile to the both of them before looking down and intently studying his wand on the desk top, none too anxious to draw the attention of his professor when Kuro made it this far back. The sparrow fluttered a bit, watching him and the rest of the class with a curious, but wary, eye.

[Kuro Irotsuya]

The class, Kuro was proud to see, went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as his class could ever go. Some students were impressed with Shaoul's sparrow, while others were naturally jealous; he would have to deflect that from the boy later.

And of course there was the fact Koujin's toy mouse went flying and bonked another student on the head. But that was minor compared to what had Kuro mildly irritated.

As class was dismissed and Kuro sat back on his little platform, he called "Sasaki-kun? A word, if you would."

[Sasaki Seiichi]

"Hai." Seiichi fought to suppress a grin. Irotsuya-sensei was calling him aside. He probably wanted to congratulate Seiichi on his excellent transfiguration of the snail, but was doing it in private so as not to appear to be playing favourites. He slung his satchel over his shoulder and made his way to the front of the classroom.

"You wanted to see me, Sensei?"

[Kuro Irotsuya]

"Sasaki-kun, as much as I appreciate the drive and ambition of a student wishing to prove themselves, which you have in spades," Kuro began without preamble, "I do not appreciate inattentiveness and last-minute work. You had more than enough time to complete your assignment before this class, and yet you failed to meet my expectations, as well as yours, I'm sure. If you have so much trouble remembering assignments, you must get into the habit of writing them down or performing a memory-enhancement charm. If both are insufficient, I strongly advise you to ask Matsukinsei Kiyoshi for assistance."

He leaned forward. "You will not be receiving a full grade. Remember that as the result of your carelessness. Preparation, concentration and visualization are paramount to the success of transfigurations, and if you can't master those, I'm going to recommend to the Headmaster that you write this class off as something you can't learn."

Brown eyes briefly flashed gold. "I also want you to remember that you can't get anything past me. Not here in my classroom, and not outside it." Kuro pointed his fan at Seiichi. "If we are understood, you are dismissed."

[Sasaki Seiichi]

Seiichi's back stiffened and he dropped his eyes so that he could not longer see his sensei's face.

"If we are understood, you are dismissed."

Eyes still downcast, Seiichi nodded and wordlessly exited the classroom. He felt anger, embarassment, and something else that he didn't yet recognize as guilt. He also felt confusion. He'd done the assignment, and done it well--or so he'd thought. Irotsuya-sensei seemed to be less concerned with the actual outcome of the assignment than with the method Seiichi had used to complete it. Seiichi wasn't sure he understood. He'd have to give it some thought after classes ended for the day. The last thing he wanted to was to end up on the bad side of a wizard as powerful as Irotsuya-sensei.