Transfiguration Class (Part 2)

Professor McGonagall was not stingy with her praise, and even for a student from Slytherin, she always treated everyone equally.

"I am curious to know how far you have progressed at this stage?"

After demonstrating Ezio's Transfiguration results to the other students, Professor McGonagall walked over to ask.

"I have basically mastered the transfiguration of inanimate objects into inanimate objects of similar volume, and I have also learned how to shape objects, but I have not yet succeeded in living-body transfiguration. Perhaps I have not yet found the method of suppressing living things that you mentioned earlier."

"Very excellent." A rare smile appeared on Professor McGonagall's face. "However, you do not need to rush into learning such difficult transfiguration. Understanding transfiguration requires time to accumulate experience. Transfiguration is not a spell; just because you can cast it does not mean you have fully mastered it."

"Let me give you a simple example."

Professor McGonagall waved her wand gently at the desk, and two pieces of parchment flew over.

"Try to turn this into a thin wooden stick."

Ezio nodded, then tapped one piece of parchment lightly, and it successfully transformed into a small wooden stick the thickness of a chopstick.

"Now, break it," Professor McGonagall said.

Ezio did as he was told, but just as he bent the stick and the wood was about to snap, the stick in his hand suddenly turned back into parchment.

"I cannot destroy it, Professor. The moment I was about to break it, the transfiguration failed."

"Now, try again." Professor McGonagall waved her wand gently, turning the other piece of parchment into a wooden stick.

Snap! The wooden stick was easily broken into two short pieces by Ezio.

"The entry-level of transfiguration is changing the form of an object, but once the transfigured object suffers 'damage,' the transfiguration is immediately broken. Because you cannot temporarily fix the magic onto it, the object you transfigured only changed its appearance."

Professor McGonagall spoke carefully; she was very fond of such a talented and intelligent student.

"But if you have a deeper mastery of transfiguration, you can leave magic within the transfigured object. Then, until your magic dissipates, the transfigured object will remain fixed in that form, until—"

The broken wooden stick turned into two torn pieces of parchment. "—until the magic you left on it is exhausted."

"The more severely an object is damaged, the faster the magic you left on it is consumed. Transfiguration cannot achieve permanent transformation; the duration depends on the caster themselves."

"This is also why transfiguration cannot turn things into food. Even if you change the shape and make it look like food, it is not real food; it will turn back into its original form during the process of chewing."

"What about the Philosopher's Stone? What about the Philosopher's Stone that Nicolas Flamel refined, which can create gold and turn one thing into another forever?" Ezio asked curiously.

"The Philosopher's Stone is indeed the only magical item in the world capable of permanent transfiguration. I am not clear on the specific principles behind it." Professor McGonagall was not surprised by this; after all, the ultimate goal of transfiguration is the permanent transformation that no one can achieve except through the Philosopher's Stone.

"However, it is not hard to guess that the Philosopher's Stone possesses some kind of ability to permanently solidify magic within a transfigured object. Only then can the miracles it achieves be explained. But as for whether it can turn things into food, you would have to ask Nicolas Flamel himself."

Ezio nodded with satisfaction, though his curiosity was not yet satisfied. During the holidays, he had accumulated too many questions he wanted answered.

"What about Animagus, Professor? I am also very interested in this magic. You are an excellent practitioner of Animagus transfiguration, and I am very curious about this magic."

"Do not try it lightly." Professor McGonagall shook her head slightly. "Having curiosity is a wonderful thing, but we need to proceed step by step. If you are interested, you can join my Transfiguration Club. You can come to my office every Saturday at three in the afternoon."

The conversation between Ezio and Professor McGonagall was also heard by the young wizards nearby, but for those who could not yet turn a matchstick into a needle, what they were discussing was far too difficult to understand. They only knew that Ezio had been invited by Professor McGonagall to join her Transfiguration Club during the very first lesson.

At Hogwarts, professors of every subject would organize small clubs for their courses, allowing talented young wizards to join. After all, these gifted students would surely achieve something in the future after graduation. Professors were also worldly; they were not stingy when it came to investing in the future. Even Snape had a very demanding Potions club. In the field of Potions, Snape was a golden ticket, and no one would question that.

Before long, the first Transfiguration lesson ended, and the young wizards left in twos and threes. It would not take long for what happened in the classroom to spread by word of mouth. Ezio knew this was inevitable. He was very clear that he could not remain obscure at Hogwarts, so from the beginning, he gave up on "stealth" and chose "direct confrontation," which he was also very good at.

In the end, it was all about a perfect assassination that wouldn't be discovered; as long as the result was correct, the process didn't matter much to him. The same applied to his studies at Hogwarts. Since he couldn't keep a low profile, he would start with a high profile and use it to gain the most benefits to achieve his purpose for coming to Hogwarts.

No one stipulated that an assassin must be sneaky. Can't one take down a target in a fair and square manner?

Walking on the way to the common room, Harry looked at Ezio with envy.

"You joined Professor McGonagall's club, Ezio! You'll definitely be able to learn a lot of powerful transfiguration spells, right!"

"The Animagus you mentioned earlier, that's the magic where Professor McGonagall turns into a cat, right!"

"Yes, Animagus is known as the most complex transfiguration. Few wizards can master it, but in reality, Animagus users are not rare. There are not many Animagi registered at the Ministry of Magic, but there should be quite a few who are unregistered."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, puzzled. "Is there any trouble after registering?"

"After all, it is an ability that allows for perfect disguise. Registering at the Ministry of Magic means your disguise will be known in advance. Hogwarts teachers like Professor McGonagall might not care, but some people will definitely use this to do things that are not quite right. Naturally, they don't want to be exposed."

"Moreover, as far as I know," Ezio stopped at the entrance of the common room, waiting for the students in front to enter, "at the Uagadou School of Magic in Africa, most of the wizards there have mastered Animagus. The youngest users are only twelve, and most of them can master this magic by the age of fourteen or fifteen. So, I also have the idea of learning Animagus."

"Cool!" Harry's eyes lit up. "If only I could learn it too. I wonder what animal I would turn into, but no matter what it is, I feel like it would be cool."

"Then start by turning a matchstick into a needle. Practice more and try to find the feel. I believe you have the talent for it."

"For the sake of Animagus!" Harry was suddenly full of motivation. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"