A certain broken Hogwarts

Chapter 12 Transfiguration Lesson

When I woke up, the lake outside the window was still dark and gloomy.

Irving pressed his palm against the windowpane and pushed for a long time. Only after finding that the window did not budge did he fully wake up from his daze.

After calmly tidying himself up and carefully smoothing out the wrinkles on his robe in front of the mirror, Owen arrived at the auditorium full of energy, chose a seat closest to the window, and leisurely ate his breakfast in the morning sunlight.

The staircases and corridors of Hogwarts were still dizzying. Owen and his companions wandered around aimlessly for a while before finally finding the Transfiguration classroom. Pansy wasn't with them today; she had gone to find Malfoy and the others.

When I entered the classroom, Professor McGonagall, with a stern face, was already standing on the podium, even though there was still some time before the class started.

Owen glanced at her, somewhat disappointed that he hadn't seen the cat with the glasses-like markings on its face—Professor McGonagall clearly had no intention of turning into a cat.

In fact, cats are Kyrie Irving's favorite pets, both in this life and the last, yet he has never chosen to keep one. As a magician, Irving keeps many magic pigeons, also known as white doves, which cats can easily eat, along with their young, which is why he hasn't kept any cats.

Well, so when Irving saw Professor McGonagall, his first thought was to pet the cat.

However, this idea could only remain a fantasy. Owen couldn't very well go up to Professor McGonagall and say, "Hello, Professor McGonagall, I heard you can turn into a cat. Can you show me? I really want to pet you."

Well, that scene would probably be very interesting.

Owen chuckled at his own thoughts. He pulled out his Transfiguration textbook and notes, watching Blaise clumsily practicing hiding a coin in his palm. Owen smiled as he watched, remembering how diligently he had practiced back then.

"Hmm? Who took the chalk box here?" Professor McGonagall, who was checking the teaching materials, suddenly asked, giving the young wizards in front of her a stern look.

Seeing the students' blank stares, she frowned, tapped the area under the lectern with her wand, and her frown deepened.

She then quickly walked out of the professor's room; judging from her footsteps, she must have entered the classroom next door.

The young wizards began to whisper among themselves, and a Ravenclaw boy exclaimed, "I know! Yesterday afternoon during our Defense Against the Dark Arts class, all the chalk in the classroom disappeared. Professor Quirrell ran to several classrooms but couldn't find it. By the time he came running back in a panic with a box of chalk, half of the class was already over..."

"Uh..." Blaise and Daphne both involuntarily looked at Owen.

"It's probably, really Peeves," Owen sighed, rubbing his forehead. Yesterday morning, he'd lied to Peeves, saying chalk was the most precious thing at Hogwarts, and sent him off to play hide-and-seek. It looks like that guy stole all the chalk.

Professor McGonagall returned just before class started, carrying a bag of chalk and exuding a gloomy aura.

When the class began, she looked at everyone with an unprecedentedly stern gaze and said in an unquestionable tone, "Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and never be allowed to come back. I'm warning you now."

"And don't let me find out which of you played the prank and took the chalk from every classroom..." Her gaze seemed to sweep across everyone's face.

The classroom instantly fell silent; you could hear a pin drop. Even Malfoy, who was always arrogant and seemed to think he didn't care about anything, couldn't help but straighten his posture and adopt the demeanor of a good student.

Before officially starting the lecture, Professor McGonagall surprised the students by turning the lectern into a large, squealing pig, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Well, although Irving knew this was to cultivate the students' interest before class, Professor McGonagall's stern face still gave him a somewhat threatening feeling...

Owen looked thoughtfully at the pig that had transformed from the lectern. He knew that learning Transfiguration progressed from simple to complex, starting from the youngest. To complete the Transfiguration demonstrated by Professor McGonagall, one would need to be at least in the fifth grade.

Transfiguration, as a discipline that analyzes the structure of all things and then alters their composition, can be considered the physics of the magical world. It is one of the most wondrous and also the most difficult aspects of magic.

Ever since he encountered magical theory, Owen had been fascinated by Transfiguration. Frankly, Transfiguration demonstrated the wonder of magic and its subjective power far more effectively than spells.

Whether it's transforming things of different materials, switching between living and inanimate objects, or using a vanishing spell to make something disappear, it's enough to make scientists faint on the spot. This is precisely the most amazing aspect of magic.

To be honest, even after studying Transfiguration theory for so long, Owen still only has a superficial understanding of it. Even though he can now barely understand Professor McGonagall's actions, there are still many points that he has doubts about.

This demonstrates the importance of a good teacher.

Owen stared intently at Professor McGonagall, listening attentively to her explanation of Transfiguration. As a master of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall's explanations were profound yet easy to understand, often containing subtle yet significant meanings. For Owen, who had already grasped the theoretical knowledge of higher grades, these explanations frequently brought moments of sudden enlightenment.

He listened attentively to the lecture, flipping through his thick Transfiguration notebook to add notes and make comments. He also noted down any questions that came to mind, planning to ask Professor McGonagall when he had the chance.

Owen listened with great interest, but the other young wizards didn't share the same view. Most of them were completely bewildered, and could only scribble down a huge pile of complicated and difficult notes, their eyes practically bulging with sweat.

After Professor McGonagall finished her explanation, she gave everyone a match and asked them to try to turn it into a needle.

This was Owen's first time practicing Transfiguration; his previous training had primarily focused on incantations. His first attempt at the spell wasn't very successful; he only managed to transform a matchstick into a shiny silver metal rod.

It can be said that he is currently only a theoretical giant with zero practical experience.

Even so, Irving's performance impressed Professor McGonagall: "To achieve such results on the first try, I believe you can reach your goal before the end of this class."

Irving smiled, closed his eyes, and carefully recalled the feeling from just now, summarizing what he did well and what he didn't do well.

"If only I had a microscope, I could see exactly what changes happened. Hmm, maybe I could make a copy and put it in the Wallfacer Space after the holidays..." he thought to himself, and then concentrated on reciting a Transfiguration Charm.

After a few minutes of practice, Owen quickly transformed his matchstick into a gleaming silver needle. He then devoted himself to making the needle he conjured more intricate. First, he carved a lifelike cat's head at the end, then added exquisite and complex patterns to the body—in the end, it no longer resembled a needle at all.

Even so, Professor McGonagall was still very satisfied and gave Slytherin ten points.

"Professor McGonagall, why don't we learn about the basic structure of different materials through some kind of spell before transforming? I think that would make the transformation much easier." Owen asked his question before Professor McGonagall left.

Professor McGonagall was surprised that he would ask such a question at this time, and after a long while she nodded and said, "What you are talking about is actually something outside of the Hogwarts curriculum, knowledge that is only encountered when studying Transfiguration in depth, and it is also a prerequisite for Transfiguration to be used in wizarding battles..."

"At this stage, what you need is to understand the various states of the Transfiguration Charm and their final results. This can only be mastered through continuous learning and practice, and it is the foundation of Transfiguration. If you were asked to analyze the structure of all things now, you would not be able to understand it."

Owen nodded knowingly. In other words, what they were learning at this stage was equivalent to basic formulas and algorithms. What they needed to do was to apply them proficiently to solve problems and know which combinations of formulas would achieve the desired results. Understanding the principles behind them, however, required more advanced knowledge.

Next, Irving raised all his accumulated questions one by one, and received satisfactory answers to each one. After the question-and-answer session ended, Irving was very satisfied, and Professor McGonagall also looked pleased.

"You're on your way to becoming a heartthrob," Blaise whispered after Professor McGonagall had walked away.

"I've always been popular," Owen said with a nonchalant smile, taking it for granted. How could a magician lack charm?

"What a coincidence, me too." Blaise raised his chin.

As he spoke, he poked the match with his wand, managing only to barely flip it over. Meanwhile, Daphne patiently waved her wand, her movements graceful and professional—if one ignored the fact that her match remained completely unchanged.

By the end of the class, no one else had managed to turn a match into a needle. The only one who managed to make a change was Harry; although his match was still made of wood, one end had indeed become sharp.

It must be said that pressure can be a driving force. Harry Potter has reached a crossroads in his life, and his future may ultimately be very different.

"I wonder what the future holds? I'm really looking forward to it," Owen thought.

(End of this chapter)