Professor McGonagall's Private Lesson

Under Professor McGonagall's stern attitude, no young wizard dared even breathe too loudly, and they were all exceptionally well-behaved.

Dylan slipped the book he had been reading into the backpack in his desk drawer.

He placed A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration in front of himself.

The book was about Transfiguration.

The proficiency his system gave him was—Transfiguration Spell (3/10).

This was the result of his painstaking study over a long period of time.

Unlike the Levitation Charm, which he had only tried briefly before reaching level three, this was much more difficult.

This showed that Professor McGonagall's warning had not been unfounded.

It was because the Transfiguration Spell was indeed one of the most dangerous spells Hogwarts could teach young wizards.

After all, Transfiguration was divided into Inanimate Transfiguration and Animate Transfiguration.

Simply changing the form of an inanimate object was not a big deal. At worst, one would lose a material.

However, once Animate Transfiguration was involved, the slightest mistake could very well cost someone their life.

It was like performing surgery.

To some extent, the Transfiguration Spell could also be understood as conducting experiments on living beings.

If something went wrong during the operation,

the subject being studied would naturally suffer all kinds of serious consequences.

Take the Animagus form, for example.

It seemed to merely involve turning oneself into an animal, but if one's self-awareness was worn away after becoming an animal, wouldn't one be forever unable to return to human form?

After all, if one's self-awareness became blurred and one truly regarded oneself as an animal, how could one turn back into a human?

Moreover, the Transfiguration Spell did not merely involve Inanimate Transfiguration and Animate Transfiguration.

The field covered by the Transfiguration Spell was extremely broad.

That was also why it was so difficult to learn.

Most of what Professor McGonagall explained in class was exactly what Dylan wanted to know.

Although his proficiency was only at level three, it was already enough for him to understand the meaning behind Professor McGonagall's explanations.

The other young wizards, however, were not so fortunate.

They could only write furiously, doing their best to record the knowledge Professor McGonagall presented.

The lesson ended.

Dylan felt that he had gained a great deal.

Many of the young wizards, however, let out heavy sighs of relief.

"Sure enough, even though books contain detailed records about the Transfiguration Spell, actually understanding them without a teacher's guidance and relying solely on self-study still leads to plenty of mistakes."

Dylan gave Professor McGonagall's teaching ability his full approval.

He deeply understood that even simply mastering Inanimate Transfiguration was no easy task.

"I can only transform some relatively simple and imprecise objects for a short time. I still need to practice."

In class, Dylan had already been able to make objects transform, and the resulting forms were more complex than Professor McGonagall required.

Professor McGonagall generously awarded him points.

Hermione also earned five points for Gryffindor after successfully completing her transformation.

As for the other young wizards, they were not able to use the Transfiguration Spell so easily.

After the entire lesson, some of them had done no more than make their objects twitch slightly.

"Good heavens, this is really difficult."

Harry and Ron had fiddled with the match in front of them for a long time, but still had not turned it into metal.

After class,

Dylan put his things away, then immediately walked over to Professor McGonagall and handed her his notes.

"Professor McGonagall, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

For this eager and intelligent student,

Professor McGonagall nodded at him. "Come with me to my office."

The two of them left the classroom, and Professor McGonagall took Dylan's notebook.

When she saw the dense, neat, yet orderly handwriting, the satisfaction in her eyes deepened.

"Professor, I often find theoretical discrepancies among different books discussing the same spell."

Once they entered the office, Dylan said, "So I don't quite understand. When there is already a conflict, which book should I consider correct?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Actually, what you believe to be a conflict is simply the essence of the spell that you have yet to understand."

"Every mature wizard has their own unique understanding of any given spell."

"So the discrepancies you mentioned do not mean that either side's understanding of the spell's essence is wrong."

"No matter which explanation you follow when casting the spell, it will not affect the spell's fundamental abilities."

"It will only affect your casting speed, magic consumption... as well as the power and effects of the spell you cast."

"When you truly use magic, you will naturally come to understand it in your own way."

Dylan blinked.

So magic was actually similar to mathematical formulas.

Or rather, the formula could be the same, while the process of solving it could differ.

"There are many personal insights in these notes that you came up with while reading." Professor McGonagall's voice rang out.

She flipped through Dylan's notebook.

That made Dylan feel a little embarrassed.

He had written all these notes during the holidays, recording his understanding of various types of magic.

Quite a few of them probably looked childish in a professor's eyes.

"I imagine quite a few of my interpretations are wrong."

"Who said that?"

Professor McGonagall's gaze swept up and down before leaving the notebook and settling on Dylan.

"These ideas are all very... unconventional. Many of your thoughts are remarkably insightful. That's quite impressive."

Professor McGonagall did not hold back in praising Dylan.

In fact, in her view,

Dylan had developed all kinds of ideas about various spells through self-study alone.

He was undoubtedly an exceptionally talented young wizard.

She could see traces of immaturity in his notes, but they were also filled with spiritual insight.

With a little guidance, Dylan would definitely become a wizard whose strength was no weaker than hers—and might even surpass her in the future!

"You can take this notebook back for now. You recorded your classroom notes in your textbook, didn't you?"

Dylan nodded.

"Then leave the textbook here. I'll annotate your ideas in it. Ask me for it again next lesson."

The pleasant surprise came too suddenly.

Dylan's eyes widened.

He had not expected Professor McGonagall to personally annotate his notes for him.

His eyes opened wide in delight. "Is that all right? Won't it be too much trouble for you?"

"It's no trouble. Perhaps because you haven't formally begun your studies yet, some of the ideas and questions in your notes strike me as very interesting. So I'll keep it for now and take a careful look."

Professor McGonagall accepted the textbook Dylan handed her.

"During this initial period of learning about magic, many unusual ideas will usually emerge. They may be childish or incorrect, but that doesn't mean they have no value."

Professor McGonagall said, "Once you have thoroughly learned the contents of this book, look back over these notes. You may gain some new insights."

Dylan nodded lightly in understanding.

"Thank you for your guidance, Professor McGonagall."

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Yes, about the structure of matter..."