As soon as he finished speaking, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the lectern before him.
Its originally angular shape instantly twisted and churned, settling in the blink of an eye into a lifelike male lion.
The young wizards in the classroom cried out in amazement.
They marveled at how intricate the patterns carved into the lion statue were.
That was it?
Cypher raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze toward Dumbledore.
He noticed that Dumbledore's eyes were filled with amusement.
Could it be?
The lion's chest began to rise and fall.
Cypher hurriedly covered his ears with his hands. The two girls beside him noticed his strange behavior.
As if possessed, they copied Cypher.
The instant the two girls covered their ears.
It was as though someone had pressed a play button.
The male lion on the platform suddenly opened its eyes and let out a deafening roar at the students below.
Caught off guard, the young wizards went pale at the lion's roar. Some had even risen from their seats to hide, causing a commotion throughout the classroom.
Seeing that it was enough, Dumbledore quickly flicked his wand.
The male lion, which had been baring its fangs and leaping through the air, turned into a harmless-looking little black-and-white badger.
The lion's roar vanished.
The young wizards gradually understood what had happened.
Those who had left their seats returned to them with embarrassed expressions.
Just as everyone pointed at the little badger with shining eyes.
Two long, sharp wings suddenly sprouted from its back.
The badger transformed into a raven, flapping its wings as it circled the classroom once.
Then the raven landed on Dumbledore's hand.
It folded its wings and twisted into a snake.
The snake coiled around Dumbledore as it slithered back to the floor.
It arrived at the spot where the lectern had stood and curled itself into a ball.
After another twist, the lectern appeared in its original place, completely unharmed.
Dumbledore's breathtaking demonstration won over every young wizard.
Everyone broke into applause, and the Gryffindors even cheered loudly for their senior alumnus.
Transforming living creatures required far too many steps.
Transforming shapes of the same material, converting materials, transformations involving material conversion, transforming the same material into semi-living forms...
In short, the difficulty of Dumbledore's demonstration was no less than that of the most advanced human transfiguration: Animagus.
As long as Dumbledore's magic remained active, they were genuine living creatures!
Dumbledore raised a hand, quieting the applause.
Facing the eager gazes of the young wizards.
He spoke solemnly:
"Transfiguration is the most complex and demanding magic of all. In a sense, learning it is every bit as dangerous as learning the Dark Arts!"
"Because there is a central issue in casting Transfiguration: how to alter an object's outward structure without affecting its essence. This is the principle that generations of Transfiguration masters have upheld."
Without Dumbledore waving his wand, the thick curtains slowly descended, yet the classroom did not become completely dark.
That was because the chandelier overhead lit with a soft candlelight at the same time the curtains fell.
In the dim classroom, Dumbledore turned around and tapped the blackboard behind him with his wand.
The blackboard lit up like the screen of a multimedia projector from Cypher's previous life.
"As this is your first Transfiguration Class, the first thing I will teach you is neither magic nor the three great principles of Transfiguration."
"I will tell you that the most important quality in learning magic is caution! The most important attitude is humility! The most important conduct is knowing your limits!"
"Every casting must be kept under control, and every spell must be carefully considered. Otherwise, your spells may bring about extremely terrifying consequences."
As he finished speaking, grotesque monsters appeared one after another on the white "screen."
Cypher's eyes widened slightly, let alone those of the other young wizards.
From behind him came sharp gasps and muffled screams.
Without turning around, Cypher knew exactly how frightened they were.
"Throughout the history of Transfiguration, many wizards have gone much farther down this path than ordinary people. Only through our predecessors' repeated, fearless attempts and summaries did we gain the basic principles found in today's Transfiguration textbooks."
"Most records of those failures have been glossed over. No one cares about those who failed."
"But! I do not want any of you to become one of those failures. Therefore, I will first tell you the history that the textbooks do not record."
"So that you may understand the consequences of blindly casting magic out of arrogance and impulse!"
"Now, I will show you the failure records I have collected and organized. After reviewing them, I concluded that the main reason for their failures was that they had not been cautious enough in their magical experiments!"
Afterward, Dumbledore introduced the various images one by one, along with the experiences of the wizards behind them.
Sphinxes, harpies, minotaurs...
Dumbledore's voice remained calm and steady as he explained, and his even tone was the only sound echoing through the classroom.
Everyone held their breath and listened attentively, immersed in the stories of those predecessors who had risked everything for magical truth.
After finishing this portion, Dumbledore did not speak to break the silence. Instead, he allowed everyone to reflect and draw their own conclusions.
Suddenly, a raised hand shattered the stillness.
Dumbledore noticed it, but after a moment.
He flicked his wand, and sunlight once more flooded the classroom, sweeping away the heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
"Tom, do you have a question?"
Tom lowered his hand and slowly stood. With elegant movements, he gave Dumbledore a slight bow of greeting and asked respectfully:
"Professor, what does it mean to affect the outward form without affecting the essence? Why can't Transfiguration simply make something change according to my will whenever I want it to?"
Hmm, I have the same question. Tom's a good man for testing the waters for me.
Cypher remained seated, secretly delighted.
Dumbledore frowned slightly at Tom's words.
Was Tom already revealing his ambition? Had the lesson I gave him not been enough?
But Dumbledore could not refuse to answer in public. Besides, this was a problem many new students encountered.
"This is a highly debated question. The development of Transfiguration has progressed in a spiral of constant confirmation and denial around this point. I believe that Transfiguration requires you to use your heart, and the love in your heart for all things, to sense them and resonate with them, allowing your needs to be conveyed to the object you wish to transform. Let your magic carry your thoughts to their 'core.' Let it know what you want and what must be done, thus completing the transformation."
"Among the highest forms of Transfiguration—human transfiguration, Animagus—I have recently been organizing related materials. I can tell you that to complete this complex and magnificent magic, you must use love as an anchor, hold fast to your heart, and resist the animal nature inherent in the creature during your first transformation, so that you do not become an irrational beast."
Dumbledore might as well have said outright: Tom, use love to move them, accept them. You cannot think only of ruling and oppressing them...
However, Dumbledore's guidance for his "dear son" was destined to be wasted.
Tom sneered inwardly. Love?
"Thank you, Professor."
Tom answered with a false smile, drawing the secret attention of many young witches.
Before you continue