Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration

Wednesday mornings begin with the Daily Prophet.

Harry Potter himself didn't like the fabricated newspaper, but because of previous reports, he had no choice but to develop the habit of reading the Daily Prophet every day after washing up.

This also allowed Harry to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the magical world.

Of course, he himself did not subscribe to it; even if Harry were rich, he would not subscribe to reports that defamed him.

For some reason, Anthony a bit strange lately, perhaps because Tina Goldstein, who shares the same last name as him, is not as famous as him.

Harry had actually noticed that Anthony was also a bit vain, just like his friends Michael and Terry, although Michael was the most flamboyant, Terry was second, and Harry himself was the most reserved.

This gave Harry a bit of a headache; he didn't know whose newspaper to borrow, and Anthony's was definitely out of the question.

"Huh?" Harry rubbed his eyes. There was a freshly printed copy of the Daily Prophet on his bedside table, but it was clearly not Anthony's —he had a copy on his bedside table, and he was the only one in his dorm who subscribed to the Daily Prophet.

"Harry is mine." Ryan nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let me see," Harry said.

Then a scream came from Harry's mouth. Ron, having finished washing up, came over worriedly and then also screamed.

Now Neville had no choice but to come closer. Logically, he should have kept at least two meters away from Ron wherever he was.

Neville stood frozen in place, and like the two before him, let out a terrified scream. However, Neville's scream was longer, first of surprise, then of despair.

At this point, Anthony's trio also came over with concern, and at this crucial moment, they completely forgot about their little emotions.

Harry, Ron, Neville were all furious, their expressions beyond words. The next second, they all started swearing, spewing out the most vicious words they could ever imagine.

"Damn it! They clearly mentioned me before, but this time they even got my name wrong!" Ron was incredibly absurd, and this was what angered him the most.

Harry and Neville were also surprised by what Ron cared about, and they even forgot to be angry.

This incident made them almost forget they had class in the morning, wasting a lot of unnecessary time being angry.

The other first-year students who were originally planning to go with Harry, the Peeves-Repelling Device, had already set off for class.

Fortunately, Ron and his friends maintained good sleep habits, always waking up early and rushing into the Transfiguration classroom on the first floor at the last second before the school bell rang.

"Don't worry, I understand why you're late today," Professor McGonagall said unexpectedly. It seems that since the last report, even Professor McGonagall has started to keep an eye on the Daily Prophet and has taken note of the reports.

Harry, Ron, and the others, panting heavily, managed to say thank you before sitting down in the last row. Ryan, of course, went unnoticed and leisurely sat down next to Hermione.

After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, she saw that the other young wizards below, who were unaware of the truth, looked puzzled, their minds probably not on the lesson at all. The other young wizards who knew the truth also had inscrutable expressions on their faces.

"Okay, if I don't finish this topic, you probably won't be able to attend class."

"As far as I know, Rita Skeeter published a report today about Harry."

"All I can say is that you Ravenclaw should know better what to believe; that report is full of absurd and baseless speculation."

"I hope that after you read this after class, you won't become suspicious of your classmates because of it!"

"Alright, class is in session!" Professor McGonagall pursed her lips.

"It is undoubtedly dangerous to use Transfiguration Spell if one cannot fully concentrate on it."

"So today, let's learn about the basic rules of Transfiguration, which were discovered and summarized by pioneers over thousands of years from countless failed cases," Professor McGonagall said.

"Professor McGonagall, is there no practical component in today's lesson?" Lisa Turpin asked, raising her hand.

"Yes, no."

"And have you practiced this regularly? Besides Ms. Granger, who else is proficient at turning matches into needles?" Professor McGonagall said, seeing the chorus of lamentations from the audience upon hearing only theoretical explanations.

"Alright, let's begin. If any of you have previewed the material, you can probably guess what I'm going to talk about today based on the keywords I just mentioned."

"Those are the five exceptions to the Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration."

"First, there are limitations to food Transfiguration. Wizards cannot conjure delicacies out of thin air, nor can they turn other things into food. Even if you eat it, you won't absorb any nutrients; instead, you'll suffer from indigestion, or even be in mortal danger!" Professor McGonagall paused briefly, looked around, and seeing that everyone had taken note, continued, "However, if you already have some food, you can Transfiguration it to make it bigger. Moreover, the food that appears on the plates at Hogwarts isn't conjured; it's transferred to the serving dishes on the table after the food has been prepared in the kitchen using a 'Summoning Charm.'"

"Secondly, there's a limit to the Transfiguration of living things; there can be no permanent transformation between living and inanimate objects. We can turn a button into a beetle, but it can't stay alive forever. Once the attached magic dissipates, it will revert back to being a button. Furthermore, even if the transformed beetle looks no different from a living one, its essence is still a button. If you feed it to a bird, it won't fill its stomach; instead, it will choke to death." Professor McGonagall gave an example, emphasizing once again that inedible things cannot be turned into food.

"Thirdly, it is the limit of alchemical Transfiguration. Transfiguration cannot create magical items; it can only be achieved through complex Alchemy. For example, automatic quills, automatic stirring cauldrons, and even Galleons are the same. The currency circulating among us wizards has been enchanted by Goblin. It will not oxidize, is not easily destroyed, and is also given the ability to automatically recognize and count."

"Fourth, there is a limit to the Transfiguration of quantity. Transfiguration cannot change the quantity. That is, you cannot turn a table into two cats, or three quills into a fork. However, there is an exception: if connected objects become a 'whole', then Transfiguration can be used to change it, and even if it is turned back, it will not affect the original arrangement and attachment." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

"In other words, if I were to turn Mr. Ron Weasley, who is wearing clothes, into an eagle now, and then turn him back, his clothes still wouldn't stick to him like feathers." Professor McGonagall made a joke that only someone who had read today 'The Daily Prophet could understand.

"Fifth, and lastly, and most importantly, is the limit of transformation into nothingness, that is, Transfiguration cannot create something from nothing. You may have seen upperclassmen use their wands to conjure a flock of birds or a bouquet of flowers, but these were never created using Transfiguration. Those Sickle just be temporary physical projections summoned by spells, or simply altered forms and hidden in the palm of one's hand."

Finally, at 11 o'clock, class ended. After assigning homework, Professor McGonagall hadn't left yet, so everyone eagerly crowded around Harry, asking him about everything that had been reported.