[ His pokerface is well-crafted, as if it might well be total coincidence that he so aggressively staked his claim on this table. But she receives a glance up from under his lashes at her smile -- then, just as quickly, he looks back down to his text, something like embarrassment heating his face as he ducks over the pages.

Focus. Find the information he needs. There has to be something in one of these books, but no matter what he guesses (dire bats, dragons, griffins?) nothing turns up at all.

Nothing like Goliath--

He huffs out an annoyed breath at her next failed attempt, distracted all the same, and reaches out to stop her wand, mid-flick, with a bat of the back of his hand. ]

Your form is acceptable. It's intent. You're asking the cup too nicely to change its nature -- tell it to change, and expect nothing less than full obedience.

[ Transfiguration is simply an expression of mastery; of taming; of mind over matter. It's all the same, whether you're lacking wand, or voice, or both. ]