Transfiguration Today: A Conjecture

Professor McGonagall appeared suddenly, and only then did Scott and Cedric react. The two of them had been standing at the entrance of the Transfiguration Club classroom, so engrossed in their conversation that they had completely lost track of time.

"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall."

Facing Professor McGonagall's slightly stern gaze, the two did not make excuses, but instead lowered their heads and admitted their mistake obediently.

As for Scott and Cedric, both being excellent students, Professor McGonagall did not dwell on the matter. After giving them a warning look, she turned and walked into the classroom.

"Come in quickly, Mr. Trollope and Mr. Diggory."

Scott and Cedric hurried into the classroom, closing the door behind them.

Afterward, under the varied gazes of the other students, the two quickly found their seats and sat down.

"How rare, Cedric and Scott, even you two good boys can be late," a girl sitting nearby teased.

Angelina Johnson, a Gryffindor student in their year, was also a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Scott said in a low voice, "It was an accident, Angelina."

Angelina smiled, and just as she was about to say something more, Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze from the front of the room immediately swept over, causing her to quickly shut her mouth.

"Our first topic today," Professor McGonagall said, holding a magazine, "is to read and discuss a paper published in the latest issue of Transfiguration Today."

The stern expression on her face softened. "Even I have found some inspiration in this paper."

As she said this, the severity on her face vanished completely, and she couldn't help but reveal a proud smile.

"The author of this paper is one of the most outstanding students Gryffindor has ever had, Bill Weasley."

Scott was quite surprised to hear this.

Bill Weasley? Scott remembered the Weasley twins mentioning that their eldest brother had gone to work as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Egypt after graduating from Hogwarts.

Wizards capable of being Curse-Breakers were generally the most proficient in Arithmancy, Charms, and Ancient Runes. He hadn't expected that Bill Weasley would also have such deep research into Transfiguration in his spare time.

He was truly a formidable figure who had once achieved 12 O.W.Ls.

"Start reading now." Professor McGonagall put down the magazine. "For those who have already read it, you may look it over again, or start thinking about what you want to say during the discussion."

The students immediately began to move, either opening their own magazines and notebooks or standing up to retrieve new copies from the bookshelves along the classroom wall.

Scott, sitting near the bookshelf, turned and grabbed two copies of Transfiguration Today, handing one to Cedric.

"Thanks."

Cedric took it and opened it impatiently.

Scott also opened the magazine. "It seems you haven't had a chance to read the latest issue yet either."

The copies of Transfiguration Today in the Transfiguration Club were ordered by Professor McGonagall with school funding. Additionally, the Hogwarts library also subscribed to some.

It was precisely because both the club and the library had the magazine that Scott hadn't bothered to pay for his own subscription. This often resulted in him not reading it the moment it came out.

"Yes, I've been busy with Quidditch training lately." Cedric quickly found the paper Professor McGonagall mentioned via the magazine's table of contents and began reading it intently.

Scott also turned to that page, his eyes catching the title of the paper at first glance—A Conjecture: Perhaps We Can Make Transfiguration More Complex.

Transfiguration Today was an academic journal focused on the latest developments in the field of Transfiguration. The journal published both articles and papers by distinguished and knowledgeable scholars in the field.

Furthermore, the magazine also presented the Transfiguration Today Most Promising Newcomer Award to Hogwarts students who were particularly skilled in Transfiguration.

Professor McGonagall had complained more than once during Transfiguration Club activities that no Hogwarts student had won this award for several years.

And every time she brought up this topic, she would specifically look at Scott, which always made him feel flustered.

Although Scott had shown superior talent in his study of Transfiguration, he had never published a paper in the magazine.

Professor McGonagall had once given him advice, hoping he would strive to find a direction to write and publish some papers to compete for the Most Promising Newcomer Award, but Scott had politely declined each time.

Because it did not align with Scott's own ideas.

Over the past three school years, Scott's study of Transfiguration had never strayed outside the content defined by the textbooks. It was just that within those boundaries, he learned much more deeply than the average student.

Many students only pursued the ability to perform magic. If a spell could be cast successfully, they considered it learned.

But Scott did not think that way.

He didn't just demand that he be able to do it; he had to do it well, and he was always striving to do it better.

In Scott's view, this was the foundation-building phase, and he had to make that foundation solid and secure. These foundational pieces of knowledge were not enough to support him in writing a paper worthy of publication or an award.

If he wanted to publish an award-winning paper, Scott would have to research some novel and eye-catching topics, and he was unwilling to disrupt his own learning plan for a newcomer award from a magazine.

In his view, he was on a path of steady accumulation, and he was still in the "accumulation" stage.

The Transfiguration Club classroom was quiet, with only the sound of pages turning and quills scratching against parchment.

Scott, however, could no longer hear anything; his gaze was firmly locked onto the paper before him. As he read carefully, his eyes grew brighter and his heart more excited.

This paper gave him great inspiration, and some of the viewpoints coincided with some of his own unverified hypotheses.

After finishing the paper, Scott gradually calmed down and looked at the title again—A Conjecture: Perhaps We Can Make Transfiguration More Complex.

Having finished the paper, Scott understood that the author, Bill Weasley, had indeed only presented a conjecture in this paper.

Although the author provided some evidence for this conjecture based on his experiences in Egypt, this evidence was not entirely convincing.

So, it really was just a conjecture.

Even the editor-in-chief of Transfiguration Today had only commented at the end of the paper that "this conjecture is interesting enough." Between the lines, it was clear that he did not believe this conjecture was actually achievable.

But Scott felt, for no reason, that this conjecture had great potential and that it was not impossible to realize.

He wanted to continue researching along the lines of this conjecture.