Honorary Member

"Hmm... Here, I could try approaching it this way..."

With his guilty conscience put to rest, Andrew soon threw himself into his research on Transfiguration.

But just as he figured out the problem and began writing furiously, a shadow fell over his parchment. He looked up and saw a tall, red-haired boy.

Judging by his clothes, the boy was from Gryffindor.

"Hello. Did you need something?"

Andrew stopped working and asked out of curiosity. He couldn't imagine what a Gryffindor upper-year student would want with him.

"An analysis of transfiguring plants... You can approach it this way?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "But why study a cactus? It isn't a great choice. The model is too simple. Usually, we use trees as a starting point. Their models are more complex, but because they're large enough, differences in the details are less likely to make the spell fail."

"Not enough magic." Andrew spread his right hand on the table. "And if I used a tree, I'd have to analyze far too much to transfigure its leaves. But if I ignored the details, the whole tree would look unrealistic."

"You start with a sapling, of course. That greatly reduces how much work the leaves require. And once you get used to it, you can be a little less precise with them. That actually lets the spell form more realistic leaves."

"More realistic?"

Andrew thought for a moment, then tapped a blank piece of parchment beside him with his wand. Instead of picturing the veins of a leaf in detail as he had before, he thought only of its general shape.

The parchment curled, shrank, and changed color, taking the shape of a beautiful maple leaf.

"Like this?"

"That's still a bit wasteful. The important thing is growth... Let it grow out."

"Growth?"

The explanation was vague, and Andrew couldn't quite understand it.

"Fix the shape in place, and then get the sense that it grows from there."

"Fix it in place... Fix it in place... Do you mean like this?"

Andrew undid the spell and tapped the parchment with his wand again. This time, the parchment curled into a stick, and tiny green shoots began to sprout from it.

The shoots grew rapidly. Within a few breaths, they became leaves of different sizes. There was nothing magical-looking about it. It looked as though someone had haphazardly glued a mess of leaves onto an ugly stick.

But the red-haired boy seemed delighted. "Yes, yes, that's it! That's the feeling you want when you cast. You just need a little more control over the magic that drives the leaves' growth, and it'll be perfect."

"I don't have enough magic to transfigure even the branches, let alone control the growth. That's the best I can do."

Andrew spread his hands as he spoke to the boy who had appeared out of nowhere.

He had already taken a liking to him. This kind of guidance was far more useful than the club's rubbish spells.

"What a shame..."

"NO! TALKING! IN! THE! LIBRARY!"

Just as the red-haired boy spoke, two books appeared along with a booming voice. Each word came with a resounding thump to the head. The books bounced rhythmically between Andrew and the red-haired boy.

"Run."

Andrew was still stunned when the boy opposite him gave the order.

Andrew followed his lead. Though he got off to a slower start, he caught up within a few strides. His borrowed books and schoolbag followed behind the other two books, thumping against their arms and legs in time with Madam Pince's scolding. They stopped only after the boys had fled the Library.

"Huff... huff..."

The boy behind Andrew stopped beside him, panting. "Good heavens, that's the first time Madam Pince has ever told me off. Never mind. I've never heard of her barring anyone from coming back in."

"Let me introduce myself." He caught his breath. "Percy Weasley, Gryffindor Prefect."

"Andrew Taylor, Ravenclaw."

Andrew and Percy shook hands.

"You have a good foundation in Transfiguration. Few second-year students get as far as material from the third or even fourth year."

"That's only some of the theory. My practical work is nowhere close." Andrew shook his head. "And I've already put all my spare time into it."

"As you should. You also need to watch the strength of your spells. Yours fall quite short, and that could easily cause problems when you cast."

"I can't help it. I don't have enough magic. I asked Professor McGonagall, and she said only growing older and getting the right amount of practice would help. It should be much better when I'm in my second year, since that's when magic starts growing rapidly."

"Then there's no—wait. What did you say?"

Percy looked Andrew over carefully. "You're a first-year?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Damn..." He scratched his hair. "Then how could you possibly be involved? Miss Granger, honestly..."

"Miss Granger?"

"Oh, right." Percy spread his hands. "You know, I'm a Prefect."

"That's the second time you've mentioned it in the last few minutes..."

"She came to me saying she thought a group was running a scam in the Library. She'd been reading when someone approached her. Then she noticed another person watching nearby, who went back to his seat afterward and pretended to read..."

??? I only went over because I was curious about what was happening.

"She also said you show up at the Library every day to scam people with them. She asked around and heard that you're there all the time, but she's never heard a professor mention anyone whose grades could match hers."

...That stung a little. But it was true. Once Andrew had realized Transfiguration was where his talent lay, he had only put the basic effort into his other classes. He had practically been coasting through subjects like Magical History. Charms was the only other one he was still doing well in.

"But once I saw your Transfiguration work, I knew she was worrying over nothing again... She's not a bad person. She's just too eager to help..."

Percy shook his head. "Her grades are good, though. I expect she'll become a Prefect someday, and being eager to help is no bad thing."

"That connection seems a bit of a stretch..."

"Well, you don't need to worry about Granger. I'll explain it to her." Percy waved a hand. "Now that I know there's no problem, I have to go. You know how it is—this is my OWLs year, and I'm swamped. I'm not worried about passing, but I don't intend to give up first place."

"I'll see you around. If we run into each other in the Library, I can help with Transfiguration. I'm rather good at it."

Percy shook his head as he walked away, leaving Andrew standing there in a daze.

"What was that all about... I nearly got branded an accomplice."

"And why did that feel so much like a club meeting...?"

He watched Percy go, shook his head helplessly, then gathered his bag and prepared to head back to the Common Room.