And You, My Friend, Are a True Warrior!

And You, My Friend, Are a True Warrior!

Everyone was given a match and began trying.

Little Wizards were already poor at controlling their own Magic Power—one could even say they had no control at all.

Even magic with spells was difficult for them to command, let alone a field like Transfiguration, which had no spells and relied entirely on willpower and imagination.

Most students waved their wands at their matches, but the matches gave them no face at all, not moving in the slightest.

Some students' matches did change, but that was even more dangerous.

"Fssst—boom!" A faint, abnormal burst of combustion sounded.

Seamus had made his match explode, and it burned to ash in an instant.

The flash and sound even startled Anzu, who had been listening to the lecture so sleepily he was about to doze off. "Caw! Scared the hell out of me!"

Ted quickly waved Anzu away, lest Professor McGonagall catch him and seal his beak shut.

Ted had always felt that Seamus had a talent for fire magic! Hermione looked at Seamus and the scorched hair of the student sharing his desk. "Professor McGonagall was right. Transfiguration really is dangerous."

Ted said, "Maybe people are the dangerous ones."

After repeated attempts, the more talented students were beginning to get the hang of it.

Hermione's match began to tremble, then slowly deformed like putty. But it only lasted two seconds before reverting to its original form.

Ted did a little better than her. His match transformed more dramatically and lasted longer, seeming to stretch and thin out, but he still failed in the end.

Professor McGonagall walked among the students, reminding them to focus, control their Magic Power, and imagine the shape of a needle.

The key to magic lay in Magic Power and will.

As for the essentials of focusing one's will in Transfiguration, students had to comprehend them for themselves through repeated attempts.

They kept trying until class was almost over. Ted finally stretched his match into a... wooden toothpick? And this was after Ted had used a quest reward to obtain Transfiguration Lv. 1!

Ding~ Quest completed: Transfiguration (White). Reward: 150 experience.

Professor McGonagall picked up the wooden needle and examined it, then looked at Ted. Only when he put on an obedient, well-behaved expression did she speak. "Well done. Five points to Ravenclaw."

Professor McGonagall nodded to herself. At least my textbook hadn't gone to waste.

Ted thought, Heh, I earned them back!

Then Professor McGonagall looked at Hermione's match on the desk beside Ted's—a wooden nail with one pointed end? "Two points to Ravenclaw."

Ding~ Quest triggered: Academy Model (Blue)

Competing for the House Cup for your House is every student's duty and responsibility! Go~ Work hard~ Objective: Earn 100 points for Ravenclaw during your first year! Progress: 5/100.

Reward: 300 experience, random card.

The Good Student is me, and I am Ted Epiphany~

Damn it, 100 points! Do you think I'm some savior who can earn points by the ton?!

Adding and deducting points all the time—am I schizophrenic or what?...

By the end of class, aside from the two of them, no one else's matches had undergone any stable changes.

This was far harder than in the original story. Hermione seemed to have succeeded there.

Just as Professor McGonagall had said, Transfiguration was a complex form of magic. It was not something one could master in a day or two.

Ted and Hermione's results already showed that they had considerable talent for the subject.

As for the other students, they needed more study and practice!

Before class ended, McGonagall assigned eight inches of homework.

She also told them to practice more after class, saying she wanted to see everyone's improvement next lesson.

That was it for the morning classes. After two hours of waving their wands, their arms were sore.

Ron wore a miserable expression as he packed up his things and complained, "I think there's something wrong with my match. It didn't change at all!"

Harriett shrugged. "Mine only rolled over."

Jerry said, "My match rolled all over the table! It was like it would catch fire if it rolled any slower!"

Neville did not dare say anything, because his match had been like a corpse all class—completely motionless.

After the morning's classes, everyone went straight to the Great Hall for lunch.

The transparent ceiling provided wonderful lighting. It felt just like having a picnic.

While waiting for the food, Hermione was still reading her Transfiguration textbook—looking as though she intended to outwork everyone to death.

Ron and Jerry shuddered and edged farther away.

Ron said, "Her diligence scares me."

Hermione glanced at him, then continued reading.

Jerry looked at Neville with a tearful expression. This little mouse is about to be worked to death! Seeing this, Ted had no choice but to put away his notes and advise, "Study seriously when it's time to study, and eat seriously when it's time to eat. Do the right thing at the right time."

Ron immediately agreed. "Exactly, eat seriously when it's time to study, and eat seriously when it's time to eat..."

"Fine!" Hermione put down her textbook and picked up her knife and fork.

Harriett said, "Top students only listen to people even better than themselves."

Hermione's habit of lecturing others had been cured by Ted before it could even flare up.

Lunch was still plentiful. It was not as extravagant as the opening feast, but there were plenty of pies, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, sausages, bread, vegetable soup, and more.

As they ate, two people suddenly came over. They had red hair and identical faces—the Weasley Twins.

The moment they arrived, they stood behind Ted, one on either side, like a pair of guardian generals.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves~"

"He's George, and I'm Fred~"

Got it. You're Iron Leg, and he's Iron Head.

Ted put down his chopsticks and extended both hands, crossing them as he shook hands with the two. "Hello, I'm Ted."

"My dear friend, we heard you held the Cat Professor McGonagall transformed into?" George asked in a low, mysterious voice, as though meeting a contact in secret.

Everyone was stunned. Harriett asked, "The Cat Professor McGonagall transformed into?"

Fred nodded. "That's right. Professor McGonagall is an Animagus. She can transform into a Cat~"

George continued, "A silver tabby British Shorthair Cat. Whenever she leaps down from the podium and turns into Professor McGonagall, every student is stunned!"

Fred gestured animatedly. "That's Professor McGonagall's show of strength for every new class! We were completely scared stiff back then..."

The two exchanged a look. Each placed a hand on one of Ted's shoulders and declared in unison, "And you, my friend, are a true warrior!"

At one in the afternoon, they had Charms Class, with Ravenclaw and Slytherin attending together.

The timetable seemed deliberately arranged to make the students from all four Houses mingle. Classes were paired between different Houses, ensuring that students from all four Houses always had several classes together each week.

The Charms classroom was on the fourth floor. Books filled every corner of the tiered classroom, making it look somewhat cluttered.

The Charms professor was Filius Flitwick, a Dwarf who was suspected of having goblin blood. He was the Head of Ravenclaw, proficient in a great many spells, and was said to have been a dueling champion in his youth.

With his stature alone, he already had quite an advantage—he was hard to aim at.

Professor Flitwick was easygoing and quite amusing. When he called Neville's name during roll call, he got excited as usual and fell off the stack of books beneath his feet.

"All right, students, please turn The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 to Chapter One. Let's briefly discuss the principles of magic..." Professor Flitwick's voice was somewhat high-pitched, but not easy to ignore.

Wizards' understanding of magic was all rather one-sided and highly subjective. Or rather, everyone had their own different views.

But they still shared the same basic understanding: magic consisted of Magic Power and will.

Magic Power was the "thread," while will was the "loom." Only by combining the two could one "weave" magic.

Whether it was wands, wand movements, or spells, all were meant to help wizards channel their Magic Power and focus their minds.

Some powerful, experienced wizards invented magic with certain effects according to their needs—or by accident—then worked out the suitable spells and gestures for channeling Magic Power. Other wizards then followed the examples and learned to imitate them...

The first Charms Class taught the Lumos spell.

Professor Flitwick asked, "Who knows the incantation for Lumos?"

Ted raised his hand. "Lumos Solem!"

"Very good! Your pronunciation is excellent! Two points to Ravenclaw!" Professor Flitwick praised him.

Ding~ Quest triggered: Good Student (Blue)

If no one raises their hand when the teacher asks a question, how embarrassing would that be? You have to support them!

Objective: Correctly answer 100 questions from school professors.

Progress: 1/100.

Reward: 500 experience, random card.

Congratulations, you've even learned to answer first~

This was good! There was no time limit. If he had to answer 100 questions in his first year, that would be brutal.

Now, though~ Ted glanced to the side. His only competitor was—Hermione.