Professor McGonagall began by explaining the dangers of Transfiguration, making sure the young witches and wizards understood its risks.
Then she demonstrated some Transfiguration techniques.
With just a light tap of her wand, she turned the desk before her into a wild boar, which charged toward the front row of desks. Hermione instinctively shrank back.
Credit where it was due-she really was a Gryffindor. Even facing a charging boar, she did not scream. Perhaps she simply trusted her professor enough.
Professor McGonagall certainly would not betray that trust. Just as the boar was about to crash into the front row, its body stretched out, transforming into a black panther that leaped over Hermione's head.
"Wow!" The young students gasped.
Even Tris's eyes lit up.
Wait, this wasn't in the films!
What a shame-special effects back then really held them back!
Professor McGonagall's demonstration was not over. The black panther darted nimbly around the classroom, leaping up and down. Suddenly, it sprang into the air and transformed into a flock of crows, which circled overhead.
The crows made no harsh cries, merely circling in neat formation. Then they suddenly began fighting, scattering countless feathers through the air.
Before the feathers could reach the floor, however, they turned into hundreds upon thousands of butterflies. The butterflies gathered into a swarm and flew toward Professor McGonagall, finally turning back into the original desk before her.
Thunderous applause erupted!
Even the little snakes of Slytherin clapped vigorously, heedless of their reddening palms.
Tris was among those clapping the hardest.
Awesome. Absolutely awesome!
Since arriving in the wizarding world, he had seen plenty of people use magic. At home, for instance, his mother used magic to do the housework every day.
He even practiced magic himself every day.
Yet despite that, he had never seen such a dazzling magical performance.
"That was so cool!" Ron whispered. "Will we get to learn magic like that?"
He was asking Tris.
As far as he knew, Tris was always reading and knew plenty of things he did not. Harry thought the same and also looked at Tris expectantly.
"Heh. Dream on." Still applauding, Tris rolled his eyes at his foolish older brother.
"If we get a grade in our fifth-year O.W.L. that satisfies Professor McGonagall and make it into her advanced N.E.W.T. class, then managing the first step of that demonstration before graduation would mean we hadn't wasted our seven years here."
"Oh..." Harry and Ron both visibly deflated.
Turning a desk into a wild boar was pretty impressive, but compared with everything that followed, it seemed rather underwhelming.
Once Professor McGonagall finished showing off her skills, she began the day's lesson.
She gave everyone a matchstick, then began explaining the incantation and magical logic behind basic Transfiguration. Her explanation was meticulous, covering everything from magical principles to the structure of the incantation, from the intent behind the spell to the movement of the wrist.
Tris had already mastered this most basic form of Transfiguration involving small, inanimate objects.
At the time, he had thought the textbook was quite detailed, and Percy's explanations had added plenty of experience and insight. All of that had helped Tris quickly master this supposedly difficult magic-though, of course, his Memory Palace's ability to perfectly retain every detail had also played a part.
But after listening to Professor McGonagall today, he realized that both the textbook and Percy's guidance fell a level short of a true master!
Professor McGonagall lightly tapped the matchstick with her wand and clearly pronounced the incantation. Of course, she did not need to do that; she was simply giving the young students the most complete demonstration possible.
The matchstick instantly became a silver needle with a soft sheen, even bearing a faint pattern.
"Transfiguration requires more than an understanding of incantations and magical structures. Equally important are your understanding of objects and your imagination. That also involves the stability of material structures, conversion efficiency, and the proportions of magical power and intent required.
"Although these are things you would normally only need to understand in later years, when studying more advanced Transfiguration, I still hope you will begin keeping this concept in mind now, if you wish to achieve anything in this subject in the future.
"For example, the needle you see now was once a matchstick, but it is now a needle. What, then, changed in between? When the magical effect wears off and it reverts, what causes that change?
"If it ultimately changes back, has its fundamental nature truly changed? If the answer is no, then what distinguishes Transfiguration from advanced illusions capable of completely deceiving the senses?"
Most of the young students present, even Hermione, could not understand what Professor McGonagall was saying.
Only Tris seemed to grasp something.
He had seen Professor McGonagall mentioned in the newspapers and knew she was at the forefront of research into Transfiguration. She had published papers in many highly specialized magical journals, attracting considerable attention and discussion worldwide.
But as for the standard of Britain's Ministry of Magic-well, those who knew, knew.
It subscribed to a considerable number of newspapers, and not just British ones. It subscribed to most wizarding newspapers across Europe and even North America and the Middle East and Asia. Arthur quite shamelessly brought a sizable portion of them home, giving Tris a far broader understanding of the wizarding world than he had originally gained from the films.
There were also plenty of magazines alongside the newspapers.
Witch Weekly, for example, which had earned Tris over a thousand Galleons.
But the Ministry of Magic almost never subscribed to genuine academic journals. For one thing, they were expensive; for another, hardly anyone could understand them.
Tris had seen the names of cutting-edge publications such as Transfiguration Today, New Charms, and Spell Frontier in the newspapers, but he had hardly ever seen the journals themselves.
Of course, even if someone gave him a copy, he probably would not understand it.
It was like how anyone who had completed a basic education could be said to know a little mathematics. But put an actual mathematics journal in front of them, and the only things most could understand would probably be the page numbers.
Professor McGonagall, however, was a longtime guest contributor to Transfiguration Today, the leading journal in the field, as well as a guest reviewer and a reviewer on its editorial board.
She was not merely a heavyweight-she was a heavyweight among heavyweights!
The newspaper reports had already made Tris aware of how incredible Professor McGonagall was. But only after actually hearing her teach did he realize how shallow his previous understanding had been.
As a leading figure in magic, Professor McGonagall was clearly already moving toward researching the fundamental nature of things through magic. It could practically be called a fusion of magic and modern science.
That was seriously impressive!
After finishing her explanation, Professor McGonagall did not wait for the students to react. She probably knew that, at their current stage, they would struggle to understand what she had said.
All she wanted was to plant a seed in these young children's minds, hoping that one day, perhaps one of those seeds would sprout and flourish, bringing fresh vitality to the wizarding world.
"All right. Next, everyone, follow along with me and familiarize yourselves with the incantation..."
What followed was much like Charms class. Professor McGonagall guided the young students through the incantation, magical logic, and hand movements. The only addition was that, while casting, they had to work hard to imagine what they wanted the object to become.
Only once she had confirmed that every student had mastered the incantation and gestures did she let them try it on their matchsticks.
Naturally, Tris turned his matchstick into a needle on his first attempt. He had been able to do that before. But after Professor McGonagall's explanation today, the needle he produced was different.
Previously, he had only seemed able to turn matchsticks into ordinary iron needles. Often, they were even wooden needles-or perhaps... toothpicks?
Now, however, the needle on his desk gleamed a soft, bright white under the classroom lights, quite unlike his earlier iron needles.
It was a silver needle!
"Oh?" As she walked around the classroom, Professor McGonagall noticed that distinctive metallic gleam. It was easy to spot; no one else in the room had yet truly changed the shape of their matchstick.
She came over to Tris's desk, picked up the silver needle, and examined it for a moment.
Not only did its shaft shine with silver's characteristic soft luster, but it had both a point and an eye, and even bore a faint pattern.
"An absolutely perfect transformation." Even Professor McGonagall, whose expression rarely changed, showed undisguised admiration at that moment.
"A first-attempt success, without repeated trials. No traces of the original object, and a complete final form. Young Mr. Weasley, have you practiced this spell before?"
"Yes, Professor." Tris stood and nodded respectfully. "I'm very interested in Transfiguration, so I practiced a little at home. But before this, I could only make wooden or iron needles.
"This is the first time I've managed a transformation like this, after hearing your explanation."
Tris spoke honestly.
"Though genius is always enviable, diligence is an essential ingredient of success." Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly. "One point to Slytherin for this exemplary transformation. Everyone else, keep working. I hope to award points to a second student before class ends."
Just as Professor McGonagall was about to leave, Tris spoke again. "Professor, may I ask you a question?"
"Of course." Professor McGonagall stopped and nodded. "Hogwarts always encourages its students' spirit of inquiry. Hmm... though taking it as far as your two older brothers might be going a little overboard..."
Tris almost lost his composure.
A sudden joke from the usually solemn Professor McGonagall was completely unexpected. Tris managed to hold himself together, but the other Gryffindor first-years, who had already experienced Fred and George's antics, could not help bursting into laughter.
Harry shook with laughter, while Ron nearly slid under his desk.
Perhaps because she was in a good mood, Professor McGonagall made the rare choice not to stop them. She waited until they quieted down before looking at Tris. "Now then, young Mr. Weasley, what would you like to ask?"
"Professor, watching your Transfiguration just now reminded me of something I read in a book. The next stage after transforming inanimate objects is turning living things into inanimate objects, then restoring them."
Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes. The difficulty lies in completely suppressing the living creature's characteristics as a living being without erasing them."
"Then, Professor, what I'd like to ask is, when an animal-for example... Ron, let me borrow your rat." Without waiting for Ron's consent, Tris pulled Scabbers, the rat missing a toe, from Ron's pocket and placed him on the desk.
"When an animal is transformed into an inanimate object, what state is its consciousness in? Does it still exist but simply cannot affect the transformed body, or does it temporarily enter a state in which it cannot perceive anything?"
"A very good question. Although it is a little early to discuss this, I'll make an exception today. Consider it an additional reward for that perfect transformation." Professor McGonagall gave a faint smile and pointed her wand at the rat...