Cedric's Consultation

Scott and Eddie parted ways after walking down from Ravenclaw Tower.

Eddie set off on his ambitious path as an underground merchant, while Scott carried his books to the second floor of the main Hogwarts castle.

Professor McGonagall's office was located along the second-floor corridor, so the Transfiguration Club she hosted was conveniently arranged in a small classroom on the other side of the same hallway.

"Scott!"

Walking down the corridor, Scott heard someone call his name. He turned around to see Cedric climbing up the stairs.

"Good evening, Cedric."

Scott stopped in his tracks.

"Good evening."

Cedric hurried over.

"I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice." He looked a bit hesitant. "Ever since the first Charms class after the term started, I've tried many times to do what you and Professor Flitwick mentioned—sensing magic—but unfortunately, I haven't made any progress."

Sensing magic?

Scott looked at him with some surprise.

Cedric smiled at him a bit shyly, his face turning slightly red.

"Of course, if it's not convenient for you to talk about it, that's fine too." He added quickly, seemingly afraid of putting Scott on the spot.

"It's not inconvenient." Scott shook his head. "May I ask to what extent you can do it now?"

"Of course." Cedric brightened up. "I can only sense the magical fluctuations of others at close range, especially when they are casting spells."

He frowned slightly. "But I can't distinguish how the magic of different people differs."

Hearing this, Scott thought for a moment. He didn't know how to explain it to Cedric. The fact that he could sense things with such clarity was largely due to his own talent.

After thinking it over, he chose to be honest with Cedric. "I'm sorry, Cedric. Regarding sensing magic, I actually can't clearly explain to you how to do it. It's not like a spell; there are no fixed incantations or gestures. Because this kind of perception is just like our sight or hearing—we master it naturally and slowly from birth, as if following an instinct."

"That's alright, Scott. It's probably because my study of magic isn't deep enough yet."

Although Cedric was a bit disappointed, he didn't forget to thank him. "Still, thank you for telling me this. It's given me some inspiration."

Watching Cedric's sincere expression of gratitude, Scott couldn't help but sigh. This really was an honest kid; no wonder the Sorting Hat placed him in Hufflepuff.

"No need to thank me, Cedric."

Scott couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, so he decided to share a little more.

"Although I can't clearly describe this ability, I can tell you some methods to enhance your sensory perception. That might be helpful to you."

"Really?" Cedric was overjoyed. "I don't know how to thank you, Scott!"

Scott smiled. "Don't mention it. It's only a possibility, as I discovered this method by coincidence, and I'm not sure if it will work for you."

"You telling me the method you discovered is the greatest help of all," Cedric said gratefully.

"Alright, this is actually something I discovered while studying Transfiguration in depth," Scott said.

Cedric listened to him intently.

"As you know, truly advanced Transfiguration isn't just about changing an object's appearance. After achieving that first step, we hope to truly change the material of the object as well."

Scott began to describe the process of how he discovered that method.

"So, in the previous school year, I collected many things of different materials—different woods, different metals, or more complex items, and even some animals. I kept trying to sense them with magic."

"Is this the training method you mentioned?" Cedric understood what Scott meant. He was also a wizard with quite a bit of talent in Transfiguration, and he had done similar exercises himself.

"It did start from this approach."

Speaking of this, Scott couldn't help but complain.

"Speaking of which, I made a lot of useless efforts at the beginning. Back then, I couldn't figure out that magic and Muggle science are completely different."

"It was only later that I realized that the foundation of everything in magic lies in magic power."

"I don't need to use my brain to memorize what elements those different materials are composed of, or think about complex problems like molecules or atoms."

Under Cedric's confused gaze, Scott continued: "I just need to use my own magic to remember that feeling—different items present different sensations when sensed by magic. When performing Transfiguration, following the feeling in that memory allows one to successfully change their material."

Cedric could understand this part, so he nodded quickly.

Scott suddenly chuckled and stopped talking.

He had just forgotten that Cedric, who knew nothing about science, couldn't understand these things, and talking about them was meaningless.

When he first started learning magic, his thinking hadn't shifted yet, so he habitually treated magic with scientific thinking. The result, of course, was that he was barking up the wrong tree.

It was a bit like when he was learning English in his past life; whenever he saw an English word, he always habitually translated it into Chinese in his mind first.

Putting these past thoughts behind him, Scott finally got to the point. "I believe you've done similar exercises, but perhaps you can start from the simplest materials, just like I did."

"For example, a piece of willow wood, a piece of refined iron—I collected many different materials. I kept holding them in my hands, using my magic to touch them and feel the differences between them."

"Also, keep trying to change them with Transfiguration, feel the difference between the material you transfigured and the natural material, and then adjust it bit by bit."

"That's about how it started. After that, just slowly increase the difficulty according to your own progress." Scott thought for a moment and found nothing else to add. "In short, during this process, my perception of magic naturally became clearer."

"Is that so?" Cedric looked thoughtful upon hearing this. He looked at Scott with some admiration. "It seems you really are more diligent than I am, Scott."

"I'm only doing this out of interest," Scott said dismissively, "though the process might indeed be quite dull for those who aren't interested."

"That doesn't matter, I'm very interested too," Cedric laughed, "it seems I should start collecting different materials."

He added a sincere word of thanks, "Anyway, I'm very grateful to you for telling me this, Scott."

"Don't mention it, it might not even be useful to you."

Scott patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't blame me if you try it and find it doesn't work."

"Of course I won't!" Cedric said earnestly, "Even if it doesn't help with sensing magic, it can at least help me improve my Transfiguration, can't it?"

That was true.

Scott nodded.

"Gentlemen."

Just then, the door to the classroom next to them was pushed open, and Professor McGonagall stepped out to stand in the doorway.

"I believe our Transfiguration Club activity has already begun." She pursed her lips somewhat sternly, "I wonder why the two gentlemen everyone has been waiting for are still standing at the club door instead of coming in?"