Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 175 The New Transfiguration Wand Project

Professor McGonagall paced back and forth in the aisle, glancing at everyone's notes from time to time, and said, "This is very important content. It appeared in last year's OWL exam and the NEWT exam three years ago."

“I don’t expect all of you to be able to learn Animagus at the age of thirteen…”

She subtly changed her words and continued, "But I hope you can remember what I just said, at least so you don't make mistakes during the exam."

“Learning Animagus at thirteen? How is that even possible?” Ron muttered to himself.

“Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall said casually, glancing at Siron intentionally or unintentionally.

Xilun pretended not to see anything and focused on taking notes.

Ron was clearly unconvinced. Taking advantage of Professor McGonagall's inattention, he pouted and said to Harry and Sheron beside him, "Don't even mention thirteen. If anyone can learn Animagus before they're seventeen, I'll run around the castle wearing Percy's big-headed boy badge, and then wash Fred and George's socks for a year by hand, without any magic."

“You’re going to be busy,” Celen said. “Knowing Fred and George as I do, they might be going to change ten pairs of socks a day.”

"That is, someone has to learn Animagus transformation before the age of seventeen." Ron waved his hand dismissively. "That's obviously impossible. I dare say even Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't do it."

“Oh, right.” He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly added, “Nifadora Tonks doesn’t count.”

Nymphadora Tonks, the other graduated well the year they entered school, and immediately joined the Aurors, becoming a highly sought-after figure in the Ministry of Magic.

However, she was able to join the Aurors not because of her outstanding grades... Her grades were good, but they were still a little short of the Aurors' strict standards.

But she is a Disguise Magus, which means she can change her appearance, body shape, hair color, etc. at will. Whenever she wants, she can transform herself into another person.

What a convenient ability! Xilun thought with a hint of envy.

However, thinking about the possibility of transforming at any time, Xiren suddenly remembered another magical animal... or perhaps a magical creature.

Boggart.

A creature classified as a pest, along with vixens.

No one knows what a Boggart really looks like, because when you see it, it becomes the thing you fear most.

This transformation is even more unpredictable than that of the Disguise Magus, and it is not limited by species; it can transform into anything—human, animal, plant, stone, toy, anything.

Xilun rubbed his wrist and began to think seriously.

In fact, after learning Animagus transformation, the wand with Professor McGonagall's hair as its core was no longer of much use to him.

Although it's smoother to use it to cast Animagus spells, once you learn the spell, all that's left is practice.

It's time to get a new Transfiguration wand; a Boggart would be pretty good.

As pests on par with vixens, these creatures are not few in number. Find a house with magical traces, but one that hasn't been lived in for a long time. You're sure to find Boggarts in wardrobes and chests.

Moreover, this thing is even more detestable than a vixen; it's considered the most vile pest in the magical world.

Imagine this: you're cleaning your house, and as soon as you open a cabinet, you see your biggest fear.

It could be a spider the size of a washbasin, a python thicker than a car, or worse... the corpse of a family member.

Most people would faint on the spot.

The owner of the magical items shop across from Ollivander's wand shop was so frightened when he opened a chest inhabited by a Boggart while looking for something that he stayed in St. Mungo's for a week.

After he came out, he vented his anger by spending a lot of Galleons to hire more than a dozen wizards to blast the box and the Boggart inside into pieces with an explosive spell.

By the way, Boggart only looks like a ghost, not a real ghost. There are actually many ways to destroy it, and the Explosive Curse is one of them, although it's a bit too brutal.

After Transfiguration class, Cyren joined the crowd and had lunch noisily in the Great Hall with Harry and the others. Before afternoon classes, Cyren had planned to visit Boggart to prepare for making a specific wand.

In his view, Hogwarts has many empty classrooms that are not in use, so finding one or two Boggarts should not be difficult.

Ke Xilun spent an hour running between the lobby and the eighth floor several times, but he didn't see a single Boggart.

There was no trace of Boggart in those abandoned and unused classrooms; they were so clean it looked as if someone had already turned them over.

Xilun then set his sights on a more distant tower, and finally heard a rustling sound coming from an abandoned broom cabinet next to the Astronomical Tower.

If he's not mistaken, there should be a Boggart hiding here.

Xilun rubbed his slightly sore legs and opened the broom cabinet with excitement.

The scene before me suddenly became blurry, as if something was about to take shape.

It really was Bogut.

Next, it will probably become the thing it fears most.

As Xilun thought to himself, his arm remained in the motion of pulling open the cabinet door, but he turned it slightly, pointing the back of his hand at the blurry object.

A flash of orange-yellow light streaked past.

The basilisk's gaze was equally effective on Boggart, and even more so. The blurry thing vanished instantly, leaving only something in the broom cabinet that... even Siron couldn't quite put his finger on.

Like a cloud placed in a cabinet, you can clearly see its color and shape, but when Xilun reaches out, he can't touch anything.

His hand brushed right through the "cloud" but he didn't grab anything.

This won't do; what's the point if I can't take it with me...

Xilun regretted it a little; he should have let the unicorn try it first instead of using [Snake Eyes].

Should we keep looking?
The moment the idea popped into his head, Xilun immediately shook his head.

No, that's too much trouble. It took him more than an hour to find just one Boggart. If we have to find another one, who knows how long it will take.

And now that class is about to start, if he still wants to look for it, he can only wait until the afternoon or evening when he has more time.

But at that time, Xiren had other things to do. He had already taken apart the flying broom he had just bought a long time ago, and he wanted to find the magic formula suitable for the five-foot staff as soon as possible.

This is the real business; Bogut's idea was just a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Never mind, there's still some time before class, I'll try again.

Xiren tried many other methods: barrel filling, wind blowing, magic spells... but none of them worked. Finally, he slapped the broom cabinet in frustration.

With a creak, the broom cabinet shifted slightly to the left.

At this moment, Xiren suddenly noticed that the "cloud" left by Boggart was still in the cabinet, and like the old bucket inside, its direction and angle had not changed at all.

Xilun's eyes lit up, and he quickly thought of something. He gritted his teeth and stuffed the entire broom cabinet into the deformed lizard skin bag.

Strangely enough, the thing that Xilun couldn't reach didn't come out of the broom cabinet, as if it really was inside.

……

(End of this chapter)