[You gained new Alchemy knowledge, Alchemy experience +1] [You gained new Transfiguration knowledge, Transfiguration experience +1]
What was the difference between Transfiguration and Alchemy?
From what Will knew so far, the two most striking differences were duration and what each required in exchange.
Alchemy used precious materials and array formations to transform matter for years, or even permanently. Transfiguration used a wizard's magic to make short-lived changes.
Seen that way, the Animagus transformation was indeed very similar to Life Alchemy. Could someone modify it to perform Life Alchemy a second time?
Too much remained unclear. Will needed time to let everything settle and digest what he had learned. Rome hadn't been built in a day.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The clock on the wall chimed and popped out a label: Herbology.
It was a gift from the Weasley Brothers. Will had, after all, given them a substantial sum to start their business. The clock was also one of their rare creations without a prank built into it.
Second-year Herbology students would spend a long time tending Mandrakes. Getting a Mandrake leaf wasn't difficult. As long as these half-plant, half-creature things remained in the soil, cutting off a leaf barely drew a reaction. It only left the Mandrake listless for a while.
In Herbology, Professor Sprout talked at length about Mandrakes. "These adorable little things grow to about twelve inches, or thirty centimetres, tall. Their roots branch out in the shape of a human body.
"If you take good care of them, you'll see bell-shaped white or blue flowers after the Christmas holidays. Their fruit is a juicy, almost perfectly round berry. There's a superstition that Mandrakes bring happiness and wealth to a household, but the Herbology expert Mr. Grom proved back in 1331 that it was only a rumour.