Transforming into Everything

At Dumbledore's command, the young wizards began practicing one after another, clumsily pointing their wands at matches and chanting spells.

Beside Xiwen, Elshiona had already started impatiently. She pointed her wand at the match and recited the incantation—"Facti Acus."

Nothing seemed to happen...

Elshiona pouted.

"Remember, as you recite the spell, clearly picture in your mind what you want to transform it into. The clearer and more detailed your image is, the more likely the transformation will succeed!" Dumbledore reminded the students below the platform.

Elshiona glanced at Xiwen, who was secretly amused by his own match, then stubbornly raised her wand at the match again. To picture the needle more clearly, she even closed her eyes.

"Facti Acus!"

Xiwen was surprised to see a faint glimmer streak from the tip of her wand toward the match—

The match had changed, but not entirely. It seemed only the end of the match had narrowed slightly...

Unlike Xiwen and Elshiona's disappointment, Dumbledore appeared delighted. "Miss Greengrass has already caused her match to change. Three points to Slytherin. Keep it up, everyone!"

The sounds of chanting around them grew even noisier.

Hearing Dumbledore's praise, Elshiona shot Xiwen a smug look. "Why aren't you trying?"

Xiwen looked at his match, then copied Elshiona and closed his eyes, imagining the shape of a needle.

"Facti Acus," he said.

Then, to his astonishment, he discovered that his mental power had left his body and enveloped the match. The whole match seemed to become a lump of dough he could knead at will, extraordinarily soft.

He tried pinching the end of the match, and it changed shape with ease.

Xiwen immediately became interested. He used his mental power to rub the match as though kneading dough, quickly shaping one end into a point. The other end bore black combustible material, which he felt did not suit the rest of the match, so he forcefully stripped it off before rolling the whole match into a thin cylinder...

When Xiwen opened his eyes, he found Elshiona staring at him in shock, while Dumbledore had already descended from the platform and was looking at him strangely.

"How did you do that?" Elshiona asked, shaking his left arm.

Dumbledore also asked in surprise, "Are you certain you cast the spell according to the method I explained, Mr. Rozier?"

"Apparently not, Professor..." Xiwen shook his head guiltily. He had apparently been too absorbed in the joy of kneading dough to follow the method the professor had described.

Dumbledore's expression remained strange. He gathered his thoughts, then said, "Mr. Rozier, in my view, what you just did was less Transformation and more using powerful force to forcibly alter an object's shape, while its nature remained unchanged. In my opinion, this method is rather laborious and unrewarding. Therefore, it is generally inadvisable. Of course, this is also something ordinary wizards are incapable of doing."

Xiwen's mouth twitched. Was Dumbledore saying he was not an ordinary wizard...?

With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore restored the match before Xiwen to its original state. Then he patted Xiwen's shoulder encouragingly. "Keep at it. Once you learn to control and make use of this power, it can greatly benefit your Transformation."

Until class ended, Xiwen still failed to get a proper feel for Transformation.

He gestured for his roommates to go eat first, then sent away the disgruntled Elshiona to join her own roommates. Afterward, he hurried out of the classroom and stopped Dumbledore in the corridor.

"Is there anything else, Mr. Rozier?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"Professor, I want to know what my problem is," Xiwen replied.

"Actually, your situation is very rare, and I cannot be sure where exactly the problem lies. But there is still plenty of time. You can go back and discuss it with your friends," Dumbledore said. "Hasn't your deskmate already managed to alter the material of her needle's tip? Mr. Malfoy also caused his match to change shape. You can use their experiences as reference."

Xiwen nodded silently. Seeing this, Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder, turned, and headed toward the castle stairs.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

Just as Dumbledore was about to reach the stairway, he suddenly heard Xiwen call out behind him. He stopped and turned to see Xiwen running over with a match in hand.

"Professor, I have one more question. I won't be satisfied unless I resolve it," he said firmly.

"Let's hear it, then." Dumbledore nodded helplessly.

"I want to know: how thoroughly do you believe one must understand the target object of a Transformation for that understanding to count as detailed?"

Xiwen raised the match in his hand, touched it with his wand, and recited, "Facti Acus!"

Yet the match did not change in the slightest.

Dumbledore also realized the issue and turned serious. "Then how much do you know about needles, Mr. Rozier?"

Xiwen said, "As far as I am concerned, I can already reproduce a needle's shape very well, so let's set that aside for now. In addition, needles are mainly made of copper, iron, silver, and other materials, each with different properties. In the chemistry Muggles speak of, I also know a little about the molecular structures of iron, copper, and silver..."

This was what Xiwen found most frustrating. He dared say that few people in the entire wizarding world understood the composition of matter better than he did. With the mindset of drawing inferences from one example to another, he had carefully read all kinds of twenty-first-century scientific journals and monographs during his treatment, gaining some insight into scientific knowledge across many fields.

The threshold for Transformation shouldn't be this high, should it? he thought.

Dumbledore suddenly smiled. "Mr. Rozier, I must say, the breadth of your knowledge is truly admirable."

"Thank you for the compliment, Professor," Xiwen replied calmly. He felt Dumbledore must be mocking him.

"Do you know what magic can be used for?" Dumbledore suddenly asked what seemed to be an unrelated question.

Xiwen frowned, but still answered, "It can accomplish many things—daily life, combat, self-defense, too many to count."

Dumbledore nodded, then shook his head. "Yes, and no. Magic is actually a very wondrous power, an almost unbelievable power," he said with feeling.

Xiwen nodded. That was indeed beyond dispute.

Dumbledore continued, "Wizards grow up in the magical world. Magic runs through every part of our lives, and very few would develop thoughts like yours. Rozier, I already know your problem. It might arise in young wizards of Muggle birth, but even then, it is exceedingly rare."

Xiwen's eyes widened in surprise.

"Possessing overly complicated knowledge is both fortunate and unfortunate. Other young wizards would never think to dissect matter as you do in order to analyze Transformation. So how do they complete such complex spells? The answer is simple: learn to let go."

"Let go?" Xiwen asked in confusion.

"That's right, let go. Do not think about the essence of things. Simply entrust what you wish to accomplish to magic itself," Dumbledore said. "Magic's true wonder lies neither in daily life nor in battle. Its most important and fundamental trait is this—transforming into everything!"

Transforming... into everything? Xiwen's mouth fell open, too shocked to speak. This was completely different from his understanding of spells at Kamar-Taj.

Dumbledore gave Xiwen a deep look and continued on his own. "Transformation is more about controlling magic to alter the nature of things, or manipulating magic to create or erase things. When one's magical ability reaches a certain height, it can even sometimes produce the illusion that nothing is impossible. In that state, one can achieve whatever one desires, and everything around them can be put to a wizard's use. That is the power of magic."

"Professor, has your ability reached such a height?" Xiwen asked hopefully.

Dumbledore smiled and lightly brushed aside the question. "Don't you want to try your Transformation now?"

Xiwen smiled as well. He pointed his wand at the match and softly said, "Facti Acus."

A flash of light passed, and the match instantly transformed into an exquisite silver needle, delicate patterns appearing upon it.

"Wonderful Transformation!" Dumbledore exclaimed, applauding.

Xiwen gave him a deep bow. "It was all thanks to your teaching, Professor!"

"No need to thank me. If you truly wish to thank me, perhaps you could let me go to the Great Hall. I might still catch a bowl of milk-and-honey pudding." Dumbledore winked playfully.

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