The same image of Ra that Gummy's enchanted paintbrush had created during the previous class was once again hovering in the air at the front of the classroom. Directly below, Professor Montgomery Vance was leaning back in his chair, feet propped up on the desk and drooling slightly. Then, with a sudden blink and a sigh, he sat up and wiped away the drool. “Those Patented Daydream Charms from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes really are top notch.”
The words had barely left Gummy's mouth when the first of the Graduate students began filing in and taking their seats. In no time, quills were out and eyes were turned expectantly in his direction. "Ah, good. Ready to go are you? Excellent! Who remembers the name of our bird-headed friend, here?" The Professor gestured to the colorful image hovering above his head.
A lanky, dark haired young man sitting near the front raised his hand. “That's the Egyptian sun god, Ra. You told us that last class.”
"Wrong!"
"Sorry, Professor, but last class you absolutely did tell us it was Ra. It's right here in my notes."
"Correct. I most certainly did tell you this chap with the bird head was Ra. But he was just a talented transfiguration wizard with an enormous ego and a flair for theatrics." Gummy chuckled. "The Muggle showman P.T. Barnum had nothing on Ra. That wizard knew how to work a crowd.
"The wizard historian Balto lived over 4,000 years ago and was a contemporary of Ra. He wrote an account of how Ra rose to prominence, power, fame and fortune. According to Balto, it all began on a quiet afternoon in 2804 B.C.E. near the town of Heliopolis. It is unclear if Ra was proficient with other forms of magic, but he was a genius at Transfiguration. He swam out into the middle of the river, transformed himself into an obelisk, and then cast what is believed to have been a very powerful Engorgio charm on himself." Gummy paused to let the idea sink in with his students and then nodded as he saw the understanding dawn in their eyes.
The dark haired young man who had referred to Ra as a god earlier spoke slowly, as he guessed at the outcome. "So the Muggles of Heliopolis see a giant obelisk suddenly shoot up out of the river and think he's a god?"
"Well, it wasn't quite that easy. After he had the attention of nearly everyone in town, he transformed back into himself again - but accomplished the first recorded partial human-to-animal transfiguration. With the head of a bird, he set about convincing the people of Heliopolis that he did any number of extraordinary things including drawing the sun across the sky every day, dying every night, and being reborn every morning."
A couple of the students snickered, which earned them some glares from one or two of the others. "Settle down. It was bad form. Quite wrong. And set the tone for wizard-Muggle relations in Egypt that had very serious ramifications for everyone. We'll get to that in later classes. But right now we're running out of time, so let's finish up this less-than-shining example of diplomacy.
"Over the following months, Ra's relatives appeared - presumably as they mastered the ability to partially transfigure themselves. The introductions were all theatrical, although not nearly as dramatic as Ra's own appearance. Shu came forth out of a burst of air, Tefnut from a fog of moisture, Geb rose from the earth, and Nut dropped from the sky. Eventually Osiris, Set, Isis, Bastet, Nephthys and finally Ra's father, Horus the Elder were all living in grand style. Before long, the people of Heliopolis were in awe of this powerful magical family and began building monuments and temples in their honor.
"As time went on, Ra taught other Egyptian witches and wizards how to turn their heads into one animal or another. This partial transfiguration became quite fashionable amongst Egyptian wizards who sought power and dominance over Muggles. Ra himself eventually grew older and older. Towards the end of his life, he was said to nod off quite frequently. He lost control of his people and his city. In a fit of anger and frustration - or possibly confusion - he nearly destroyed half of Heliopolis. His son, Horus, assumed leadership of the growing Egyptian magical community and did his best to keep the peace. We'll learn more about him in lesson six."
Gummy flicked his wand and once again sheets of papyri with the homework assignment fluttered onto the tables in front of each student. "There's your homework. You all did exceptionally well with the last assignment so this ought to be a piece of cake." And with that, seconds before the bell rang to signal the end of class, Gummy sat back down in his chair, propped his feet on the desk, and popped another Patented Daydream Charm in his mouth. "These really are top notch."
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