Let's Go Find the Four Founders' Treasure

"Therefore, I believe that the reason Wizards have failed to transform into magical animals is simply because their magical abilities were insufficient. In my view, Animagus transformation consists of two steps: first, transforming into an animal form; second, retaining one's sanity in that animal form and transforming back into human form."

"When the target of transformation is an ordinary animal, both steps are relatively easy. The second step in particular is less difficult than the first, so as long as a Wizard successfully transforms, there is no risk of being unable to change back. But if the target is a magical creature, the difficulty of both steps rises dramatically. The increase in difficulty for the second step, especially, may far exceed that of the first. Thus, most Wizards fail during the first transformation, while the small number who succeed fall at the second step, completely losing their sanity and never being able to return to human form. According to rumors, some magical animals in the Magical World today are the result of Wizards who failed Animagus transformations in the past."

"I'm rather busy now and don't have any spare time to research Animagus transformation. So I plan to study Animagus transformation in depth once I have the time, then decide whether to learn this magic. But even if an Animagus can transform into magical animals, there's a good chance I still won't learn it. I believe the human form is a Wizard's strongest form. Rather than envy the unique magical abilities of magical creatures, it is better to work hard to strengthen our own magical abilities. After all, we are the rulers of the Magical World."

After finishing his explanation, Bell turned to look at Hermione and found that her eyes had turned into spirals, with steam practically rising from her head.

"Uh, sorry, Hermione. I got a little too excited."

Hermione shook her head.

"Although I didn't understand all of it, I think what you said makes a lot of sense. And I'm very happy that you were willing to tell me so much valuable knowledge."

Hermione had always had very few friends... well, none at all, so she enjoyed chatting with others. And when the topic of conversation was magic, she was even happier. After all, nothing was more interesting than magic.

After parting with Hermione in the Great Hall, Bell headed toward the Ravenclaw table. Since he had been engrossed in chatting with Hermione along the way, the other first-year students had already mostly taken their seats and begun eating.

"Bell, when did you leave this morning? None of us noticed," Bell's roommate, Anthony Goldstein, asked.

"I'm used to getting up early. I got up at six this morning."

Several Little Wizards stared at Bell in surprise, unable to comprehend it. But Bell had no intention of making them understand, so after briefly greeting everyone, he prepared to eat.

"Bell, your Transfiguration is amazing! Can you teach me?" Mandy Brocklehurst asked.

Even by the end of class today, she had failed to turn her matchstick into a needle.

"Me too! Bell, if you have any tricks, hurry up and teach us," Bell's roommate Michael Corner quickly added.

Losing to Bell was one thing, but losing to a Little Witch from Gryffindor was something Michael simply could not accept. Ravenclaw was supposed to be the smartest and most knowledgeable House.

The other first-year Little Wizards also looked over. During the Transfiguration lesson just now, aside from Hermione and Bell, no third person had managed to complete the transformation before class ended. Professor McGonagall had required everyone to successfully complete it before the next lesson, or they would be punished.

"What trick could there be? The only trick to learning magic is constant practice and constant use," Bell said as he ate.

He had not eaten much that morning, and by the middle of class, he had started to feel hungry.

Although Bell said it casually, and although the words sounded perfunctory and generic, they were indeed the only conclusion he had reached after long periods of research and study.

Upon hearing Bell's answer, some appeared thoughtful, while others snorted unhappily, believing that Bell was hoarding his knowledge and refusing to share his tricks because he was afraid they would surpass him.

The afternoon classes ended quickly as well. One noteworthy incident was that during Curses class, Professor Flitwick became so excited upon calling Harry Potter's name that he fell off the stack of books he was standing on. It really was far too embarrassing. He should just quit.

Overall, the classes were fairly easy, just a little boring.

Many Little Wizards were attending class for the first time. Once the novelty wore off, many of them immediately began to find it unbearable.

Before the day before yesterday, at this time, they should have been digging for gnomes in their own yards. But now, they had no choice but to sit in classroom seats. Not only could they not move around freely, they also had to listen to professors drone on about a pile of dull theory! Many Little Wizards began to vaguely realize what awaited them over the next seven years.

Of course, Bell was not among those restless Little Wizards. Most of the time, he quietly read books. The only thing he found regrettable was that he could not practice magic during class. He did not want to accidentally get dozens of people killed.

After dinner, Bell returned to the Ravenclaw common room to finish today's homework. Before long, one of Bell's roommates suddenly sat down beside him, looking rather furtive.

Bell's roommate glanced at the books spread across the table, his face full of disbelief.

"Bell, you're doing your homework already? There are still several days until the next class!"

"If I don't do it now, I'll probably forget all about it tomorrow. It would be awful if I couldn't hand in my homework when class came around," Bell said with a shrug.

He had so many things to do every day that something as minor as homework was not worth taking up space in his mind. Bell was certain that if he did not finish and put it away tonight, then once he woke up tomorrow morning, he would have completely forgotten about it.

"Forget about this boring homework." Bell's roommate looked around, and after confirming that no one was paying attention, whispered to Bell, "Let's go on a night patrol!"

"A night patrol?"

Bell gave him the look one gave an idiot.

"Is your bed not soft enough? Or is your blanket not silky enough? Isn't it wonderful to lie comfortably in bed and sleep at night? Besides, if you want to explore Hogwarts, isn't there plenty of time during the day?"

Roommate-kun was so stunned by Bell's nonsense that he stood there dazed for a moment before finally reacting.

"Daytime won't work! There are too many people around during the day. It isn't convenient."

"Huh!? So are you planning to do something shady?"

Bell was about to call the police. It was only the first day. Even if they wanted to cause trouble, they should at least scout the place first and figure out the situation. Were terrorists these days really so careless about their work?

"Of course not! Keep your voice down," Roommate-kun said helplessly.

He looked around once more and lowered his voice. "I'll tell you a secret, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else! I heard that the Four Founders each left a treasure somewhere in Hogwarts, and no one has ever managed to find them. So let's go treasure hunting!"