The Separation of Two Worlds
By Paige O'Calahan
   In Ancient Eqypt wizards and muggles were all part of the same world. Magic was not hidden from muggles, infact witches and wizards were help in high esteem with the non-magic folk. Curses were put on tombs to secure the treasures hidden within and keep them hidden for ages to come. Even to this day many of these curses have not been cracked. For years to come Muggles and Witches/Wizards co-existed peacefully. Of course there were small uprisings here and there, but nothing drastic.
   It wasn't until about 1000 AD that the wizarding world and the muggle world began to part. Muggles, being skeptical as they are, began to become very untrusting of magic and anyone associated with it. More uprisings began and fear arose in both muggles and wizards alike. All of this was what spurred four of the greatest witches and wizards of all time to begin a school to teach wizard children about the wonderful world of magic. And so, Hogwarts was created. The school was to be hidden from muggles, charms and spells were used to make sure that no muggle ever found it. Concealing Hogwarts was only the beginning of the seperation of these two worlds. After this the wizarding world began to withdraw itself and hide its magic.
   Close to 300 years later the wizarding world was still attempting to conceal itself from the muggle world. Most magical things and creatures had been concealed, thought muggles still had ideas about magic; most of them false. They feared magic greatly, thinking that it could only bring harm to people. This spear is what started the witch burnings, though muggles were awful at recognizing magic. So, when a supposed witch was burned more often than not they were burning a muggle that was just a little unusual. And if they did manage to find a real witch or wizard they were able to prevent themselves from being burned with the Flame Freezing Charm. For example, Wendolin the Weird was burned 47 times because she enjoyed the sensation of it so much. Each time she let the muggles catch her as a different person, changing her appearance each time.
   In the 1400s the Renissance was beginning in the Muggle world as the delved deeper into understanding sciences. As their attention was held elsewhere the gap between Muggles and Wizards was the biggest ever and pulling apart from the muggle world was almost complete. The muggles began to develop a new culture, starting from scratch. They re-developed their economy, government and social structure. And as they did this the wizarding world began to develop their own economy, government and social structure. Over the years the two societies, living side by side, become farther and farther apart, muggles becoming less aware of the existence of magic with each passing year.
   In the 1600s the seperation of the two worlds was complete. The 17th century was a dark time for the magical world, dark wizards were persecuting muggles left and right. This caused a meeting of wizarding, government officials in the late 1600s. The result of this meeting was the creation of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692. This sets a guideline for wizarding governments in every country to maintain secrecy of the wizarding world, fully completing the seperation of the two worlds.
   As time went on ideas of magic still circulated in the muggle world and occasionally something would happen that would cause them to become aware of magic. But these messes were always cleaned up and the muggles involved went back to being ignorant about magic. For muggles magic has become a common theme in fairy tales and stories. A game for muggle children to play and a topic to wonder on. Though muggles are left in the dark about real magic.
   Interesting essay, Miss O'Calahan, though, perhaps, too general and without enough specific evidence. However, your thesis is one that has been consistently argued for many years. I would be interested to see if you could bring more examples and more analysis, coupled with the good content you have selected.

Early Transfiguration
By Donelle Darkefell
   While many people think of curses, hexes, and charms as the earliest branch of magic, Kollum's Review of Magic states that Transfiguration and Divination were in fact the earliest active disciplines. Kollum makes a distinction between active disciplines like Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Divinations, etc. and knowledge disciplines like Herbology and Magizoology. (Kollum, 2).
   Early Transfiguration was not as sophisticated as that which is in use in the modern day. Despite its rarity and difficulty, the discipline was first used by Stone Age shamans. Their method of casting the Animagus spell was to wear the skins of the animal whose properteis they wanted to take on, while dancing, singing, or chanting praises to that animal.
   Transforming small objects came during the Bronze Age when wands first came into common use. The earliest recorded Transfiguration spell is thought to be the transformation of fouled water into pure, though this is a subject of some debate, as some historians insist this was the product of a Charm and thus not a true Transfiguration. This is often parallel to the debate that insists that Transfiguration is really only a sort of charm and should not be treated as a separate affair.
   Liquid, being especially mutable, was the subject of other offerings as the earliest transfiguration. The transformation of water into potables such as wine, rum, or beer is one early use still employed today. The transformation of pebbles and sticks into more useful objects was in common use by the end of the Bronze Age. The practice of transforming small animals into objects arose shortly before the fall of the Roman Empire. Rats were becoming a huge problem in the city of Rome, so Roman wizards began turning them into various objects d'art and selling them to Muggles to keep the pest problem under control.
   Merlin the Magician was a renowned transfiguration expert. It's said that he crafted Excalibur by transfiguring a still-hot comet into a sword (Verity, 13). Merlin is also thought to be the first Metamorphmagus. Raptors were his favorite thing to transform into, thus the naming of a species of raptor after him.
   Today, Transfiguration is used to craft a variety of items from a great many materials, living and non-living. The Journal of Magical Law Enforcement also notes Transfiguration is useful for hiding necessary items upon one's person, as secret weapons or dangerous documents can be transformed into buttons or matchsticks and then reverted when needed again. This became common practice during the early 1800s, so much so that Transfiguration NEWTs were required by the Ministry of Magic for all Law Enforcement Trainees by 1890. In 1920 this practice was briefly outlawed when Auror Maynard Finch was caught using Transfiguration to manufacture evidence for his cases. It was reinstated in 1928 after Mary Mallard developed various charms to evaluate each piece of evidence's veracity.
   Today most of the debates about Transfiguration are ethical ones. Some American wizards, as part of an animal rights movement, have raised the question as to whether or not its really right to transform living creatures into nonliving things. Despite the fact that many of these transformations are reversible, the fact remains that many such Transfigurations are never reversed. There are arguements as to whether or not the creature remains aware of its new state and is traumatized by it (Elders, 40).
   Citations: Kollum, Mark. "Kollum's Review of Magic." Verity, Charles. "Merlin: A Biography." Cayne, Orpheus. "A Modern History of Legal Scandals." Elders, Dorn. "Transfiguration: An Ethical Study".
   Excellent information and a good analysis of more contemporary issues. However, it feels unsatisfactory that a great period of time was ignored, primarily the middle ages, where the infamous transfigurations of lead to gold and other such work was completed, much to the puzzlement and awe of muggle alchemists. In the future, however, please try to avoid the use of Mr. Kollum, as he has some unfair biases within his works. Yet, what you have examined is very good.

The Final Fields: Elysia vs. Yaru
By Charisma Glass
   Heaven. This single word has been expressed with different names in different cultures for countless centuries. It is a haven of blessings and peace, where the worthy indulge themselves with the ethereal pleasures that only a positively judged soul can obtain, and those unworthy souls can only dream of. Though many miles can stretch between civilizations, this superlative place of death can be found with striking similarities, or in the case of Elysium and the Fields of Yanru, some variations as well. If one were given the ability to chose which she would like to go, she should first do the research on what each is like. So, I did.
   In my studies, I discovered that Elysium is the Greek version of heaven, where everything is always in full bloom, the air is sweet, and heroes of old have come to hang their hats. There is said to be lush groves with soft green meadows, and even the air itself is supposed to be sweet with the scent of flowers. Here, one could find poets, priests, and anyone who had done something to make man remember them because of helping others in their past life. Homer described it in the Odyssey as, "...a dwelling place of mortals made immortal through the favor of the gods". Like the Fields of Yaru, the environment was described as being very similar to what the physical world had been. In fact, in some myths, Elysium is described as an actual island.
   Unlike in the Elysian Fields, however, those who went to the Fields of Yaru were physical and whole. Contrary to this, the Greeks said that those in Elysium were almost phantom like, similar to those in the Asphodel Fields. Another distinction between the Egyptian ideology and those belonging to the Greeks, was that one was required to earn his or her keep while basking in the divine graciousness of their god while existing in the Fields of Yaru. They were expected to do duties, like working in the fields of grain, to show thankfulness for the protection and luxury now given by Osiris. But, if one truly wanted, they could avoid working by placing small statues called ushabtis within the tomb of the dead, so that they may use them in the afterlife as a sort of alternate worker.
   Another distinction between the two is that the Egyptians actually packed for the final resting place by having their tombs filled with things they wanted brought with them. This way, things of their past could be used in their later life in heaven. In all honesty, this is the main factor that swayed my judgment as to which place I would like to go. While the Elysian Fields are wonderful in the sense of pure bliss and physical beauty, the Fields of Yaru also allowed tokens of the past to be clung to in the present. This way, photographs, and little trinkets that might have been dear to one can be brought along for the long journey.
   Not only that, I would wish to repay my god, whatever or whoever he/she is, by doing my part to aid them. This I could do by performing one of the chores that would be required of me in the Fields of Yaru, instead of simply sitting idly by on a grassy field and singing my days away. I realize that all I could want would be provided for me, but at the same time I wouldn't want to just take and take without being able to show my gratitude.
   While both ethereal locations are magnanimous, it is the Fields of Yaru that I would wish to send my soul. The Egyptians crafted a lovely resting place that had a wonderful balance of the past, and the influence of the present, to make it a truly desired destination. A place of beauty, history and devotion, it is all that one could want in an afterlife.
   Sources used:
   "A History of Egypt" by Francis DeClour
   "Civilizations of Culture" by Melinda Wuffis
   "Greek Mythology," Jonas Mesla.
   Exceedingly good essay contemplating the relative merits of the two fields. I notice, however, that you misspelt both 'favour' and 'realise' - we are not Americans, and while I am sure America has made many positive contributions to the world, the perversion of the English language is not one of them. Grade: E