Transfiguration Class

Inside the Headmaster's Office.

After Harry left, McGonagall also rose and took her leave, saying she still had to prepare for the afternoon's Transfiguration lesson.

But when Snape was about to leave as well, Dumbledore stopped him.

"Severus, what impression do you have of the student Lucien Grafton? He should have attended your class by now."

Snape's body stiffened, but he quickly composed himself again and said calmly, "He is quite talented in Potions. Mm, and very modest."

The Great Hall.

There was still some time before class, and Lucien was sitting at the long table with a group of people.

Soon, someone sharp-eyed spotted the target.

"Oh, look, Harry's back!"

Lucien looked over and saw Harry coming in with his head held high, striding along with vigorous steps like a returning king.

Hadn't that kid been called in for a talk? Why did he look as if he'd gone to receive an award, all smug and proud?

"Harry, are you all right? What did the teachers say?"

Someone asked anxiously.

Harry laid out the punishment in full, including the fifty points deducted from Gryffindor, which directly wiped out the results of the past few days.

Quiet. Silence.

Two or three seconds later.

"Oh yeah! We won!"

"Gryffindor beat Slytherin again!"

"The teachers already gave the punishment, so that's recognition!"

"..."

A group of older Gryffindor students cheered loudly.

As for the first-years, they still had no idea what had happened.

The older students from the other houses who had stayed behind to watch the drama were already used to it. They all knew what the Lions were like.

Only the Slytherins, who had been waiting to enjoy the show and laugh at them, gave a cold snort, got up, and left.

Lucien, who had initially been baffled by Gryffindor's sudden cheering, understood the Lions' train of thought after listening for a few lines.

Lucien guessed that, in the Lions' eyes, Harry taking down Malfoy was basically the same as Gryffindor defeating Slytherin.

And the punishment given by the teachers—well, in a certain sense, it counted as official certification too?

Lucien couldn't help shaking his head. These two houses were practically "generational enemies." Points, the House Cup—none of it mattered as much as directly beating the other side and seeing them suffer.

Sure enough, the Weasley Twins had already lifted Harry up.

As if they were holding up a brand-new little lion fresh from the factory.

That afternoon.

Lucien arrived at the Transfiguration Classroom.

Looking toward the lectern, sure enough, Lucien saw a tabby cat, with markings like spectacles on its face.

Lucien nodded in greeting to the cat that Professor McGonagall had transformed into, then found a seat and sat down.

Was it that Professor McGonagall liked the feeling of turning into a cat, or was it the usual custom to put on a little show before the new students' first Transfiguration lesson and display the wondrous charm of Transfiguration?

Lucien swept his gaze around the classroom. This time, they were with Slytherin.

Not until class was about to begin did any young wizard go over to the lectern and try to pet the cat.

Fair enough. Lucien guessed that only Hufflepuffs, who loved small animals, or Gryffindors, the house that specialized in producing "Champions," would have young wizards trying to tease the cat before their first Transfiguration lesson.

As soon as the class bell rang, the tabby cat leapt down from the lectern.

It turned directly into a witch wearing deep-green robes.

Seeing a cat actually turn into Professor McGonagall, many of the young wizards cried out in surprise.

Terry, beside Lucien, also looked astonished.

"Lucien, look! What magic is that? It's amazing!"

"Animagus. A wizard who can transform themselves into an animal. The highest art of Transfiguration today."

Lucien casually explained it to Terry while also thinking through the relevant knowledge about Animagi.

It belonged to Human Transfiguration, and after turning into an animal, one could still retain one's own magic.

But it could not involve transformation into magical creatures. That was expressly forbidden in the wizarding world.

Generally speaking, an Animagus could only transform into one kind of animal.

"Transfiguration is a profound discipline, and also a dangerous one. It is magic you will have to deal with often in the future."

"To study this subject, you must be rigorous and serious."

"If anyone causes trouble in my class, I will ask them to leave at once!"

As expected of the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts and the head of Gryffindor, the moment Professor McGonagall turned stern, the young wizards immediately sat up straight.

"Of course, Transfiguration can also bring you a great deal of fun."

As she spoke, Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at the lectern.

The lectern immediately turned into a plump pig and flapped its ears.

Many of the young wizards' eyes lit up at this, giving them their first glimpse of the charm of Transfiguration.

Seeing the young wizards' reactions, McGonagall nodded in satisfaction and was just about to begin the lesson.

Tap, tap, tap—

"S-sorry, Professor. We, we just came over from the Hospital Wing."

A young wizard with bandages wrapped around his head, his right hand and left leg in casts, walked into the classroom on crutches.

Behind him followed two tall, stout boys, sticking close for fear he might fall.

"Malfoy, you needn't rush to attend class. You can rest properly in the Hospital Wing first."

Professor McGonagall frowned slightly. She remembered that in the Headmaster's Office, Snape had mentioned letting Malfoy suspend his classes temporarily to recuperate.

But Malfoy raised his head.

"Professor, Harry Potter went to the Hospital Wing to volunteer just now, and he happened to be assigned to look after me."

"Oh, right. He also gave me a sincere, humble apology from the bottom of his heart."

"Professor, I can come to class. I feel very well right now!"

Lucien stared in astonishment as Malfoy spoke so fluently, as if the bandages and casts on his body did not exist at all.

No, had he come to class?

Or had he come to "show off" that Harry had looked after him and apologized to him?

One apology, and he had to call it both humble and from the bottom of the heart. Were you doing reading comprehension over there?

Lucien suddenly understood. Dumbledore, you were right. Love really was the most powerful magic in the world. ()

Professor McGonagall had the three of them sit down, then continued the lesson.

After explaining the basic theoretical knowledge, Professor McGonagall had the young wizards begin their practical attempts.

The task for this class was to turn a matchstick into a needle.

This was the most basic part of Transfiguration: turning an inanimate object into another inanimate object.

Beyond that, from simple to difficult, came inanimate object to living creature, living creature to inanimate object, and living creature to living creature.

Especially in the later stages, wizards needed to suppress the consciousness of living creatures, and the difficulty rose explosively along with it.

And yet this first lesson, the simplest Transfiguration, had already stumped a great many people.

Terry kept jabbing his matchstick hard with his wand. In the end, he turned the matchstick silver; at least the color resembled a needle.

Malfoy struggled to wave his wand with his non-dominant hand and, very successfully, made the matchstick emit light and heat. He could only switch to another matchstick.

Actually, they were still considered fairly good. At least their matchsticks had changed, more or less.

But the matchsticks in front of most of the young wizards had not changed at all. They looked exactly as they had before.

Lucien raised his wand and tapped it at the matchstick.

A faint light flashed, and a well-proportioned silver needle replaced the matchstick.

He tapped it again with his wand.

The surface of the silver needle gradually became hollowed out, forming several intricate patterns, exquisite like a work of art.

But Lucien still felt it was not enough. For the most basic transformation from inanimate object to inanimate object, there were two ultimate directions.

One was achieving a change in properties, such as turning a stone into a barrel of explosives—the kind that could truly explode.

The other was a complex mechanical structure. This was extremely precise Transfiguration, symbolizing fine and subtle control of magical power.

Following his instincts, Lucien constructed the image in his mind while letting magic flow out through his wand, deftly kneading the silver needle.

A few seconds later, the silver needle had become a small, pocket-sized monocular telescope.

With clicking sounds of gears turning, the telescope extended and retracted on its own.

Lucien was just about to reach out and pick up the telescope to verify whether it truly had function, rather than being a mere ornament.

The moment his fingers touched the brass-colored tube,

[Ding, congratulations to the host for triggering a loan]

[Loan Name: Mechanical Transfiguration Pocket Watch]

[Evaluation: Aside from not being able to tell time, its other functions are all quite complete]