Regulus is Quite Decent

Regulus noticed that Sirius's Magic Power, which had just fluctuated violently, calmed down abruptly and then concentrated in one direction.

Not bad, this guy didn't just mess around, he did do some serious work too.

Sirius tapped the eraser on the table with his wand.

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The next moment, the rubber began to Transfiguration, and the structural changes spread outward from the inside out, from the center outward.

Its shape changes, its color changes from grayish-white to brown, its edges taper, and four legs extend from the bottom, ending in a tail.

A squirrel sat on the table, its furry body swaying, its tail held high, its front paws raised, its black eyes darting around, and it tilted its head to look at the person.

It jumped off the table, ran a couple of steps on the floor, and then stopped.

Sirius continued, tapping his wand lightly. The squirrel Transfiguration, its body elongating, wings extending from its back, turning it into a bird.

A starling, with greyish-white feathers, flew around the office once, then landed back on the desk and chirped twice.

With another tap of the wand, the starling Transfiguration, its body becoming rounder, its ears longer, and it turned into a rabbit.

It had white fur, red eyes, and erect ears; it hopped twice on the desk.

With another tap of the wand, the rabbit's body flattened, its limbs retracted, and its back arched, transforming it into a tortoise.

Its shell is dark green, and its head peeks out from inside, slowly crawling forward.

Sirius glanced at the turtle and casually pointed his wand.

The corner of the desk sagged downwards, turning into a shallow pool. A match floated from the corner of the desk, reached the top of the pool, and began to Transfiguration.

The match head melted, the wooden stick softened, turned into water, and flowed into the pool, completely covering the bottom.

The turtle moved around in the water, seemingly unaccustomed to its surroundings.

Sirius tapped the water again, and the fish leaped out of the water.

But it wasn't a turtle that transformed; he used the water from that match to create a fish.

With its silvery-white scales and powerful tail, it swam around the pool twice, then slapped the water's surface with its tail, splashing out a few drops of water.

Regulus watched the process and nodded in satisfaction.

He wasn't just giving a perfunctory answer; he genuinely thought it was good. The Morphing was nothing special; what he valued was the Magic Power.

Sirius's Magic Power flows smoothly during Transfiguration, and the way his Magic Power enters his target is different from most young wizards.

Most people's Transfiguration are done by pushing from the outside in, pressing the target's shape in a predetermined direction. The longer and more effort is required, and the less precise the transformation is.

Sirius's transformations are from the inside out, allowing the form to change on its own. The difference is similar in the result, but they are completely different in their understanding of Transfiguration.

It's no longer about turning it into something else, but about knowing what it should be.

Sirius glanced casually at Regulus out of the corner of his eye, trying to see his expression, only to see Regulus nodding with an approving look.

He slightly raised the corners of his mouth, then abruptly suppressed it.

He realized he was happy because Regulus was satisfied.

He cursed himself inwardly.

He dismissed the thought, looked away, and glanced at Professor McGonagall, Professor McGonagall eyes also showed satisfaction.

Sirius stared back at the fish in the pond; the fish was still swimming, its tail swaying.

He flicked his wand upwards, and the fish leaped out of the water, soaring into the air and beginning to Transfiguration.

Its body swelled up, its limbs extended from its abdomen, its head grew larger, and its mane spread out from its neck backward.

A Lion landed on the desk, on all fours, its mane thick, and slammed its front paws down, producing a deep, resonant sound.

It shook its head, opened its mouth and yawned, revealing its gleaming white teeth. The Lion took two steps on the table and flicked its tail.

Sirius waved his wand again, and the top parchment in the stack next to his desk floated up, folding, stretching, and Transfiguration in the air.

The edges of the paper thickened, its color changed from grayish-white to brown, it grew hair, its head elongated, and horns emerged from the top of its head.

A Stag landed next to the Lion, smaller than the Lion, with long legs, forked antlers, and moist eyes.

It tilted its head slightly, looking at the Lion, its eyes even showing curiosity.

Sirius thought for a moment, then tapped his wand again.

The cushion of the empty chair in the corner floated up, tumbled and Transfiguration in the air.

The cotton in the cushion redistributes, the frame shrinks, and the surface changes from fabric to fur.

A Big Dog landed on the ground, a size larger than a real dog, with dark gray fur, thick limbs, half-drooping ears, and a wagging tail.

It ran to the Lion, sniffed it, then ran to the Stag and circled it.

The three animals started moving around in Professor McGonagall's office.

The Lion took two steps toward the Stag, the Stag stepped aside, and the Big Dog leaped over from the other side, jumping in front of the Lion.

The Lion gently patted it with its paw, and it retreated, circling the Stag twice more.

The Stag lowered its head and nudged it, and the Big Dog rolled over, got up, and continued circling.

Regulus glanced at the Stag and the Big Dog a few more times.

There's not much to say about Lion; all Gryffindor love Lion.

But seeing the Stag and the Big Dog together made him think of something else.

He looked away.

Sirius's Transfiguration has indeed improved; the transformations are impeccable, both in appearance and movement.

But Regulus wasn't looking at the outward appearance; he was observing how the Magic Power flowed smoothly and clearly throughout the process, from beginning to the End, with its intention always clear.

This shows that Sirius's understanding of Transfiguration is beginning to deepen.

This progress is already quite good for a third-year wizard.

But we can't just leave it at that. Now that we've found our talent, it's time to push forward. If we make progress, we should keep practicing. It would be such a waste to just sit around doing nothing.

Regulus thought of Lily, and of what he had said to Lily. What if Lily really mastered the skill, and then one day she ran into Sirius bullying someone in the Corridor—

Sirius, led by James Potter and his gang, spends all his time fooling around, ambushing Snape in the Corridor, and wasting his time on meaningless things.

The fact that he came to Professor McGonagall's place today to practice Transfiguration so diligently shows that he's not incapable of making progress, but he needs someone to supervise him or some kind of stimulation.

Let's give him some excitement.

But Regulus also knew that he couldn't let Regulus do it anymore. Beating him up once or twice was easy, but it might provoke a rebellious attitude.

However, if someone he trained were to beat him up, it would probably be quite educational.

Sirius was glancing at him out of the corner of his eye again, the smug smile on his lips repeatedly trying to be suppressed.

He wanted Regulus to see his progress, but he didn't want Regulus to feel that he cared about his opinion.

But at that moment he did feel smug, and with several thoughts mixed together, the expression on his face became strange.

Regulus, seeing the expression on his face, roughly understood what he was thinking, nodded, and said approvingly, "Not bad, the progress is obvious."

After saying that, he added, "Keep practicing."

Sirius's lips curled up even higher, then he abruptly pressed them down.

He turned his head, taking his gaze away from Regulus's face and looking back at the three animals he had conjured.

The Big Dog was chasing the Lion's tail, running all over the place, while the Stag stood calmly beside them, glancing down at them but ignoring them.

Professor McGonagall was pleased with Sirius, but her attention was more focused on the interactions between the two brothers.

She asked Regulus to stay and watch, but she was actually a little worried that he would dismiss Sirius's progress.

She knew Regulus's level of Transfiguration; he had already reached the basics of Spatial Transfiguration. He had mentioned when he came in that he had some questions about Spatial Transfiguration.

That only shows that he has made substantial progress in this area.

Strictly speaking, Spatial Transfiguration falls under the category of Morphological Transfiguration, but it is undoubtedly much more difficult than the Transfiguration of matter that can be seen, touched, and directly manipulated by Magic Power.

One exists in a dynamic space, the other in an animal body; the difference between them cannot be accurately measured by difficulty alone, as it represents a difference in dimensions.

Regulus was already able to Transfiguration space, while Sirius was still performing conventional Transfiguration on ordinary matter.

She worried that Regulus's casual remark, "What's the big deal?" would completely extinguish the little confidence Sirius had built up over the past few months.

But she couldn't say anything; it was she who had asked Regulus to stay and watch.

In hindsight, her worries were unnecessary; the two brothers have a good relationship.

Professor McGonagall gained a deeper understanding of Regulus; the boy was not only highly talented, but also quite remarkable in other aspects.

She did tell Sirius that there's no better approach than changing one's essence or Morphological Transfiguration; they're just different directions.

But that's just comforting talk. A person who can change the essence of matter must also be adept at Morphological Transfiguration.

Morphological Transfiguration is the foundation of Transfiguration, while Essential Transfiguration is the next level. Only when the foundation is solid can there be a place to stand on the higher levels.

It's not that Morphological Transfiguration isn't sophisticated; solids turning into liquids and liquids turning into gases, if used properly, can be just as powerful.

But Regulus's mind was no longer on this; he was on another level, while Sirius was still struggling with his Morphological Transfiguration.

In Professor McGonagall's view, Regulus's Transfiguration was certainly still quite rudimentary.

Compared to herself, and compared to Dumbledore, Regulus was far inferior, but that was another frame of reference.

Comparing him to a group of junior wizards is unfair to them.

In fact, even among wizards who graduated from Hogwarts many years ago and have ambitions in Transfiguration, Regulus's current level is not weak.

It's not top-tier, but it's definitely among the best.

A second-year wizard reaching this level in Transfiguration? In all her years of teaching, she'd never seen another one like it.

Sirius is good, but only within the group of young wizards.

Regulus can no longer be described as merely "good".

Both brothers are talented, but Regulus's talent has already been converted into real power, while Sirius is still on the path of discovering his talent.

Sometimes Professor McGonagall wondered if this was just how some wizards were destined to be extraordinary.

She thought of Albus.

She was Albus's student and knew him fairly well.

His strength is beyond doubt; in fact, no one doubts it, and no one dares to doubt it.

But to be honest, she Albus really sure what Albus was like during his student days, or whether he had shown talent in his early grades.

When she enrolled, Albus was already a Transfiguration professor, but one thing was certain: Regulus was the most unique person she had ever met.

She looked at the two children in front of her.

After Sirius finished his Transfiguration, that energy returned. He sat restlessly in his chair, wanting to say something but holding it in, shifting his body back and forth.

Regulus sat beside him, calm and composed, currently scrutinizing the animals.

The satisfaction on her face was genuine, but Professor McGonagall could tell it was merely recognition of Sirius's progress and ambition.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Regulus: "Mr. Black, what's your question?"