Jason Fell Before He Could Rise

"Who are you?"

Jason slowly rose to his feet. The hand hidden beneath his cloak had already slipped around his wand, and he lightly tapped his toe against the floor-the signal they had agreed on long ago.

If possible, Jason would rather not fight in a house packed with explosives, but his instincts told him these visitors meant trouble.

"You're pretty good at running! I nearly wore out both my arms casting divinations to find you!" Zhang Chengdao complained, tugging at his collar. "That's what annoys me most about you wizards. You're lousy at fighting, but each one of you is better at running than the last!"

Zhang Chengdao spoke in Chinese. Jason couldn't understand him, but he could still hear the complaint and impatience in his voice.

Li Qingshu wore a long dress. At some point, a glittering golden talisman had appeared between her delicate fingers. She lightly stamped one slender, high-heeled foot against the ground, formed a hand seal, and called out, "Swift!"

The talisman blazed with light, turning into a streak that shot straight toward the wall. Jason and the others felt a jolt run through their bodies and instinctively tried to Apparate away, but Wilbur actually reacted faster than he did. Wilbur had begun Apparating the moment Li Qingshu threw the talisman.

But it was as though he had slammed headfirst into a solid wall. He screamed and was forced out of Apparition, shouting in terror:

"We can't Apparate! They've put up a counterspell!"

Zhang Chengdao chuckled. "I've got plenty of experience, after all."

Jason stared coldly at the young man and woman before him. Rather than asking why, he raised his wand and fired a writhing, violently trembling jet of green light. The others raised their wands at the same time, spells of every color pouring from their tips.

He only regretted that his newly purchased treasures, Heaven-Destroyer and Earth-Destroyer, weren't here. At a critical moment like this, he still had to use this lousy wand.

Zhang Chengdao flipped his hand over, and a small, round turtle shell expanded the instant it met the air. In the blink of an eye, it had grown to half a person's height, shielding him. Zhang Chengdao shook his head.

"Same old tricks. You haven't improved at all." To Zhang Chengdao, these dark wizards were absurdly set in their ways. They always liked to start a fight by throwing out an Avada Kedavra and trying their luck (note 1).

What if it hit straightaway?

Of course, most battles ended up turning into "You cast!" "I block!" "I cast!" "You block!" Both sides would stand less than ten meters apart, frantically firing spells at each other.

There were clearly better ways to fight. Why were they so obsessed with standing still and trading shots?

Zhang Chengdao had seen how truly formidable wizards fought. They cast all manner of spells effortlessly, making the fullest possible use of everything around them to achieve greater results at minimal cost-turning dirt into little birds to intercept powerful enemy spells, for instance, or changing the terrain to force their opponents into unfavorable positions.

Their judgment and command of spells had left Zhang Chengdao in awe.

Both sides fought for control of the battle's rhythm and the battlefield itself. Nothing like these human spell launchers!

To be honest, Zhang Chengdao wasn't confident about facing a wizard of that caliber either. A wizard's magic might not be especially destructive, but its effects were astonishingly varied.

"Heaven and Earth, Mysterious Ancestor..." A faint layer of golden light slowly appeared over Zhang Chengdao's body. It wasn't bright, but it was extraordinarily pure.

BOOM!

Li Qingshu stood at the entrance to the house, a trace of serenity on her lovely face as she gazed distractedly at the sky. She showed no concern whatsoever for what was happening inside. A little while later, Zhang Chengdao emerged with light steps, carrying his suit jacket and brushing the dust off it.

"All taken care of?"

"Mm. I had a quick look. They were all dark wizards with plenty of blood on their hands, so I sent the whole lot on their way. But why did they put so many explosives in the house? I only noticed after the fight. Gave me quite a scare! Good thing they didn't go off."

Li Qingshu sighed, paying no attention to what her husband said, and went on:

"I wonder how Xiaoxiao's doing. Has he settled into school? Is anyone bullying him? That little brat-I put the Far-Seeing Mirror in his bag, so why doesn't he think to contact us?"

Zhang Chengdao recalled the dozens of gang fights he had dealt with on his son's behalf over the past few years, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Bully him? We'd be lucky if he didn't bully anyone else!

"Achoo!" Zhang Xiao rubbed his nose and continued lecturing Malfoy and the other young wizards:

"Bullying people is wrong. If you can bully classmates whose families aren't as well off as yours, doesn't that mean I can bully you too?

Do you want to be bullied?"

Malfoy and the others immediately shook their heads frantically. Discrimination? No such thing! We Slytherins could never discriminate! Muggle-born wizards are family! Whatever the other years might think, the first-years are definitely family!

Zhang Xiao nodded in satisfaction. That was more like it. He waved a hand.

"All right, get ready. Class is about to start!"

The young wizards hurriedly picked up their books and sat up straight.

The door to the Transfiguration classroom opened, and Professor McGonagall strode in, her hair in a high bun, her expression stern and her lips pressed together.

With a rustle, Professor McGonagall unfurled a sheet of parchment and began taking attendance. Only after meticulously completing all her pre-lesson procedures did she speak:

"As I told you last lesson, Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will study at Hogwarts," she said. "Let me repeat myself!

Anyone who plays the fool in my classroom will leave and never return. You have been warned."

Then she drew her wand and gave it a gentle flick. Her desk turned into a pig! An actual pig!

Zhang Xiao immediately raised his hand.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "Mr. Zhang, do you have a question?"

Zhang Xiao stood and asked curiously:

"Professor McGonagall, last lesson you told us that the most basic rule of Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration is that you can't conjure food.

Then..." He pointed at the pig, which had lowered its head and was snuffling about with its snout, grunting.

"If we turn something into a pig first and then roast it, wouldn't that give us food?"

The corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth lifted into an expression that barely qualified as a smile.

"A good question. Very few first-years think about the problems and connections involved. Five points to Slytherin."

She motioned for Zhang Xiao to sit down and said gravely:

"First, Transfiguration is not permanent. Even I find it difficult to guarantee how long a transfigured object will remain that way. Furthermore..."

Professor McGonagall flicked her wand. "Diffindo!" The large white pig immediately shattered across the floor. The young wizards cried out in unison, but no blood or entrails sprayed out.

Instead, there was a pile of broken wood.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand again, restoring the desk. "As you can see, once the transfigured object was destroyed, it reverted to its original properties. Roasting a transfigured object is therefore not a good idea."

"Now, does true or permanent Transfiguration exist? Of course it does. But it involves extraordinarily complex magical changes and requires sufficiently advanced magical power and knowledge.

If any of you here can accomplish it someday, I will be proud of you."

Professor McGonagall watched the young wizards, who were listening intently, their hearts racing with excitement. With her lips pursed, she asked, "Did you understand?"

The young wizards answered in unison, "Yes, Professor McGonagall!"

"Then why aren't you writing it down?"

After they had taken a great many complex, difficult notes, Professor McGonagall gave each of them a match and had them try to turn it into a needle, informing them with a hint of pride:

So far, among the first-years, only Miss Hermione Granger had managed to make any change to her match by the end of the lesson.

And Zhang Xiao finally began his first experience with Transfiguration.

Note 1: In official canon, Avada Kedavra trembles violently when cast and is extremely difficult to control. Apart from Voldemort, who is powerful enough to use Avada Kedavra as a basic attack, wizards don't fire it repeatedly in combat, either in the books or the films. Most fight with control spells that are quick to cast and fast-moving.

The proper approach is to immobilize someone and then follow up with Avada Kedavra, or use Avada Kedavra in a surprise attack.