Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration

Aside from Chu Yang, only a handful of Slytherin girls sat obediently in the classroom.

After waiting for quite some time, not a single Slytherin first-year had arrived.

Professor McGonagall's face visibly darkened.

As the school's deputy headmistress, this was the first time in all her years of teaching at Hogwarts that she had encountered something like this.

"Does anyone know what is going on with Slytherin? Where have all those boys gone?" Professor McGonagall swept the classroom with a cold gaze. Everyone immediately fell silent and hurriedly lowered their heads.

"Professor McGonagall, it seems those boys played in the Common Room all night yesterday. They all caught colds this morning and were taken to the hospital wing by some older students."

Pansy Parkinson, with her short hair, stood up with a gleeful smile at the corner of her mouth. She was happy to see those arrogant boys make fools of themselves. Malfoy, whom she liked, was not among them anyway.

"Thank you for answering my question, Miss Parkinson. Even so, Slytherin will still lose five points." Once she knew the reason, Professor McGonagall looked displeased and motioned for Pansy Parkinson to sit down.

More snickers of schadenfreude came from all around, making Pansy Parkinson, whose attempt to show off had backfired, flush bright red with anger.

"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall paced through the classroom and said sternly, "Now, open your books to the first section of the first page..."

Professor McGonagall began explaining some basic knowledge about Transfiguration, most of it introductory material meant to help the students understand what Transfiguration was and the risks involved.

She also described some unusual sensations—for instance, what it felt like when a person transformed into an animal and the clothes, glasses, and other items they wore turned into animal skin.

Only an Animagus could experience such sensations firsthand, making them valuable knowledge for other wizards.

In addition, Professor McGonagall briefly touched upon the five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.

Chu Yang summarized them. The first was that nothing except food could be transfigured into food. However, one type of food could be transfigured into another, or its volume could be increased.

Second, inanimate objects could not be turned into living creatures, nor could living creatures be turned into dead objects. Transfiguration could not alter a target's level or state of life.

Third, Transfiguration could not be cast on magical items, as the differences between the spell and the source of Magic Power would create a violent conflict.

Likewise, special forms of Transfiguration such as Animagus transformation had similar restrictions: one could not transform into a magical creature.

Chu Yang understood it as a conflict between Transfiguration and magical items—or creatures—much like adding two unrelated, even conflicting, pieces of code to a program. They would disrupt the program's normal operation.

The fourth was quantity. Transfiguration could not turn one target into several. Such replication or creation of individuals, like the second exception, was beyond the reach of human power.

The fifth was creating something from nothing. One could not use Transfiguration to conjure a substance out of thin air, even if it was something one had seen and understood deeply.

All five exceptional cases were attempts to use magic to violate the laws of "reality"!

Yet interestingly, Chu Yang vaguely felt that none of those five rules were truly impossible to overcome. They were more like shackles. Once even one was broken, magic would enter an entirely new realm and undergo a qualitative transformation.

For the first lesson of the new students, Professor McGonagall only briefly covered some necessary precautions. Since most of Slytherin's first-years were absent, she did not teach any spells.

"Go over everything I've just explained." After saying that, Professor McGonagall transformed once more into a tabby cat and sat upright on the teacher's desk, human-like exhaustion visible in her feline eyes.

After a brief silence, four figures burst into the classroom in a hurry. They were the Savior Harry and his friend Ron, along with Goyle and Crabbe, whose cheeks were badly swollen.

"Oh, good thing Professor McGonagall isn't here. Otherwise, we'd be in serious trouble. She looks so stern—when she doesn't say anything, she's terrifying!"

Ron grumbled as he pulled Harry toward their seats, completely failing to notice that Harry's expression had already changed.

Professor McGonagall transformed from the tabby cat back into human form, but she merely passed by the two of them. Her targets were Goyle and Crabbe, who had arrived late.

"I heard you had a wonderful time last night, so wonderful that you did not even wish to attend Transfiguration Class the next day? Should I tell Headmaster Dumbledore that Slytherin should study Transfiguration on its own?"

Professor McGonagall's face was icy. Her voice was not loud, but every word pierced Goyle and Crabbe's hearts. They now regretted not sleeping on the floor last night—otherwise, they could have gone to the hospital wing with everyone else for treatment.

"That's not it, Professor McGonagall. Please listen to my explanation." Goyle hurriedly tried to defend himself, then felt someone lightly tugging at the hem of his robe. He turned and saw Crabbe—and Chu Yang's amused smile.

In an instant, every hair on Goyle's body stood on end, as if a current of electricity had surged through him. He still remembered Chu Yang's feat of taking down the entire first-year boys' dormitory by himself last night.

How many punches could I take?

Not even one!

"We're very sorry, Professor McGonagall. We promise it won't happen again!" Goyle swiftly admitted his mistake, then obediently shut his mouth.

Professor McGonagall froze for a moment. She had still been waiting for his explanation...

"There will be no next time!" Professor McGonagall widened her eyes and declared, "Sit down!"

Goyle and Crabbe sat down at once, but they could not settle into the lesson at all. Their bottoms kept shifting as though their benches were covered in nails.

They were like this because their seats happened to be directly in front of Chu Yang's. Even without turning around, they could clearly feel the almost tangible gaze behind them sweeping over their bodies.

The Slytherin girls had originally planned to ask Goyle and Crabbe what had happened, but the two were like statues in the hall, eyes fixed on their noses and minds fixed on their hearts, utterly motionless until the next class.

The Potions classroom was in the dungeons, not far from the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. The entire corridor leading there was dark and damp, and most of the new students wore frightened expressions.

The atmosphere here was simply too gloomy. For a group of eleven-year-old children, it placed no small amount of pressure on them.

Hermione, who had originally planned not to speak to Chu Yang for the entire day, could not help quickening her pace and moving swiftly to his side.

Hermione cleared her throat and said sarcastically, "The people in your House are really impressive. On the first day of school, they already made Professor McGonagall this angry."

Chu Yang nodded noncommittally. "I think they're pretty impressive too."