A Bold Idea

Andrew's schedule was packed today.

In theory, after Potions class, he should have found an Empty Classroom to practice the transformation of complex objects, which he had only just figured out. Then, after lunch, he needed to think about his paper and prepare for the group meeting that afternoon.

Even his evening was spoken for. First-year Astronomy was tonight, and although his common room was nearby, he wouldn't have much time to use once he got back.

Still, he found a quiet spot, sat down, and began scribbling in his notebook with a pencil. Today's Potions class had struck him even more deeply than Transfiguration.

It wasn't Professor Snape who had affected him, of course. It was Potions itself.

He had no background in chemical engineering, but he had still noticed something extraordinary about Potions: it was a discipline in which rigor and magic were intertwined.

"No, no, that's not it. That's not it..."

Andrew quickly rejected his own thought. "I just haven't found its rules yet. I'm using magic to paper over what I don't understand..."

"And the two aren't mutually exclusive..."

He wrote a few words in his notebook, crossed them out, and repeated the process several times. At last, he pinned down what had struck him.

With a touch of excitement, Andrew wrote a sentence in his notebook.

[As I currently understand it, the essence of brewing Potions is to separate out the magical properties of the ingredients in a cauldron, producing an intermediate substance through reactions under specific conditions.]

It was certainly imprecise, but it was the best explanation Andrew could come up with for now.

After that, Andrew added the thought that had stirred him.

[And as I understand it, the essence of Transfiguration is to use magic to put an object into an intermediate state: a transformed object that is neither its original form nor truly the thing it appears to be. So could Transfiguration be used to preserve extracted magical components, or even to replace the brewing process with this special state?]

Did I write this?

Andrew looked at the two sentences, then pointed a finger at himself, his expression comical. He looked as if he had found a Diary recording his childhood ambitions. Was this really something he should be thinking about?

The Wizarding world had no shortage of Potions Masters or Transfiguration experts. If this were possible, wouldn't someone have figured it out long ago? What chance did he have, a complete newcomer who had entered the Wizarding world less than three days ago?

But... what if?

After thinking for a while, Andrew decided to laugh off his audacious ambition. Yet when he took one last look at his notebook, he couldn't bring himself to destroy the outrageous idea.

"Stop getting ahead of yourself. Practice Transfiguration properly first. If Potions really doesn't work out, I can always throw money at practice..."

He shook his head helplessly. Even with Potions, practice made perfect.

It would cost a fortune, though. They had bought a standard set of Potions ingredients when they enrolled, but those were all supplementary ingredients. The school provided the main ingredients for every brewing experiment.

That meant he would have to buy every ingredient himself if he wanted to practice in private, and even finished Potions would barely recoup any of the cost.

And that was only the beginning. Once he reached a certain level of proficiency in Potions, he would need to buy large quantities of raw ingredients to analyze exactly which of their Magical Materials properties the brewing process used. There would be no saving Galleons at that stage.

"I'll spend it..."

Andrew gritted his teeth and made his decision. If worse came to worst, he would make Dum—no, Gryffindor bear the cost, and let the Editorial Office take the blame!

Having made a decision that would practically set his Galleons on fire, Andrew resolutely stuffed his notebook into his bag and headed outside the castle. Before lunchtime arrived, he wanted to test an idea he had just had about his Transfiguration problem.

About ten minutes later, he found a piece of rope that met his requirements. Then he began the first step of his Transfiguration practice: tying knots.

"I can't transform a simple object into a complex one yet. So I'll try the reverse: use a model that looks complex but is actually simple, make a straightforward transformation, then break it to work backward toward the principle."

Unfortunately, he couldn't remember any complicated knots. After tying a few simple ones, Andrew could hardly wait to turn the rope into a Wooden Stick. He then broke it in the simplest way possible: he propped the stick against the edge of the lectern and kicked its sloping end.

He heard the crisp snap of wood breaking. Unfortunately, the instant the whole object was damaged, the Wooden Stick turned back into a limp rope and fell to the floor. The rope itself was unharmed.

"No different from my earlier attempts. But what if I do this..."

Andrew cast the transformation again and put Ink on the stick. This time, when he broke it, a very thin flake of dried ink fell off.

"Interesting..."

This time, Andrew stained the rope with Ink.

The Wooden Stick came out intact, and when he transformed it back, the ink stain was still on the rope.

"No change... Same as before. Even the stain is in the same place on the knot..."

"Then what if I use the knot as a dividing line and make the stick from two different materials?"

He raised the difficulty, but the result was disappointing. The stick he produced looked like a branch that hadn't been properly worked.

"Fair enough..."

"Now... one last step. Turn a stick into a knotted rope..."

Andrew tapped the handle of an old, dismantled broom with his Wand.

A very strange rope appeared. It had a knot that could not be undone. Even with magical help, Andrew couldn't loosen the stubborn knot. It was as though it had been there since the rope was woven.

But Andrew smiled. It wasn't a complete success, but it was progress. His guess and his approach to practice had been right.

"An excellent exercise. I can start writing my first paper... if all goes well."

He put the poor broom handle back where it belonged, then cheerfully used the Levitation Charm to make the rope untie itself. With another wave of his Wand, he made it coil neatly inside his bag.

"Something feels off... Not the surroundings, not the classroom, and not my classmates. It's something about how I perceive myself... Oh well. If I can't figure it out, so be it..."

He thought it over but came up empty. Then, pleased with what he had learned, he left the Empty Classroom and strode toward the Dining Hall.

That afternoon, he would have to face a group of people whose views didn't quite align with his own, while pretending to be friendly so he could fit in. Just thinking about that exhausting prospect was enough to make him unwilling to settle for a poor lunch.