Chapter 240: Elaboration

"One month, one month—"

Professor Terra's expressionless face softened slightly.

"What year are you in, child?"

"First year, Professor."

Wizard Sean spoke.

"Oh! Of course—otherwise it wouldn't have..."

The professor froze, pausing for a few seconds; then, seeming to harbor not the slightest doubt about the truth of his words, she merely narrowed her eyes slightly, unable to suppress the curve of her lips.

"Show me your diagram for crafting the Floating Quill... You improved the process, didn't you?"

"Otherwise, the final step wouldn't fit so perfectly."

"Yes, Professor."

Wizard Sean was somewhat surprised; could this really be seen?

While crafting the Floating Quill, he had noticed that the sample provided by the twins could be optimized; the Weasleys seemed unable to directly sense the fine flow of magic with their wills.

This caused the Floating Quills they made to appear rough. But Wizard Sean was different; he could always detect the subtle magic within, just as he had felt while on the flying broomstick.

Therefore, he had naturally proceeded with the optimization, and only after finishing did he realize the danger inherent in the process.

"Excellent alchemists can perceive the profound changes within their crafted objects; it is precisely this that re-grades alchemists."

Professor Terra's voice grew even kinder.

Wizard Sean had read this sentence in books before, but now spoken by the professor, it felt even more familiar.

"Sounds familiar; it seems you have read 'The Fifth Element: Exploration'... That is very good."

Professor Terra looked even more gratified; what she did not tell Wizard Sean was that on the title page were several large characters: By Flora Terra.

"Among all branches of magic, alchemy is the one most dependent on talent; great alchemists link to Truth through 'Aether' and reshape the world;"

"while mediocre alchemists deserve only to be lowly clerks in the Ministry of Magic, or producers of mundane creations, never glimpsing Truth in their entire lives."

So spoke Professor Terra; then she waved her hand, and a stool hopped out of her office; she slowly sat down upon it.

"Then tell me, child, why do you wish to study alchemy? Or rather, how do you view alchemy?"

Wizard Sean paused briefly, recalling the various inventions of Senior Weasley; though they were merely simple combinations, they could produce tremendous effects.

"Alchemy, perhaps, still holds many blanks... Transfiguration spells and trigger charms waiting to be activated could create Canary Cookies; Copying Charms and Duration Charms could create Eternal Ink... Magic, to some extent, completely disregards science."

"If there can be Canary Cookies, then there can be Falcon Cookies and Shark Pies;"

"if there can be infinite ink, then there should be infinite quills and infinite clothing;"

"if greenhouses can be cast with Temperature-Stabilizing Charms, then teapots, clothing, and boots should be able to possess them as well."

"This is merely the portion of alchemy explored by predecessors; many parts remain completely blank... Wizards can boil a kettle with a single Flame Charm, yet do not know the principles of steam operation; wizards can replicate and pressurize, yet do not know the principles of pressure pumps..."

The more he elaborated, the more Wizard Sean's eyes sparkled.

"Why must we necessarily study the mysteries of the alchemical field?"

"Because... it is there."

For a long while, the corridor fell into a deep silence.

In an instant, Professor Terra thought of many things; she recalled the alchemists from the previous Alchemy Convention who had transferred from Muggle Studies, possessing mind-boggling ideas.

Although limited by talent, they could only think and serve as advisory consultants.

"Are you a half-blood wizard?"

The professor asked softly, her tone impartial, containing only pure curiosity.

"I am a Muggle-born wizard, Professor."

Wizard Sean replied.

"I have heard many interesting concepts from that Weasley; his flying car was also quite excellent... Every Monday and Wednesday, I will set aside an afternoon for you."

Professor Terra said softly.

"Child, tell me your name."

"Wizard Sean Green, Professor."

Wizard Sean answered.

"Flora Terra. I am very glad to have met you today. Tell those two Weasleys that I will be in that corridor from now on—and also, stop pretending to fall every time; no wizard can fall in the same spot seven times."

After speaking, Professor Terra gazed for a long time at the notebook Wizard Sean had placed atop the pile of books.

"You haven't given me your quill crafting diagram yet, Mr. Green."

Slightly stunned, Wizard Sean finally realized he had momentarily forgotten this matter, so he hastily handed over the notebook.

In the corridor, Sir Cadogan had recently been dozing off noticeably more often; perhaps due to the cold weather, the knight drank until midnight every time, sleeping through the entire day.

Wizard Sean walked briskly; he was preparing to go to the Transfiguration office to practice Transfiguration when suddenly two bursts of fiery red darted out from a corner.

"You came out too soon! How did it go?!"

Senior Fred removed the helmet's visor, revealing his face hidden inside the armor.

"Don't tell us you failed—that means next time, we'll be charging Galleons."

George was hiding behind the armor and was now forcefully pulling Fred out from inside it.

Wizard Sean waved his wand, and the armor moved on its own, piece by piece detaching and then reassembling.

"Cool—"

Fred whispered in awe.

"The professor asked me to find her after class."

Wizard Sean's words carried gratitude; after a moment's thought, he added,

"Oh, right, the professor said she'll always be in that corridor—and don't pretend to fall every time; no wizard can fall in the same spot seven times."

Fred and George's faces turned red; muttering things like "How can a wizard's business be called falling?" and "It's clearly that the floor was too slippery," they vanished.

Wizard Sean had anticipated both the reliability and unreliability of the Weasleys; he quickly left the corridor. With two days remaining until Wednesday, he needed to familiarize himself with the framework of alchemy as much as possible in the intervening time.

Meanwhile, in the Alchemy office.

Professor Terra sat in her chair, watching the notebook in her hand with great interest; her expression deepened the moment her eyes reached the first sentence: [Potions and Alchemy should share a single source line].

The subsequent elaborations on the three stages of alchemy and their correspondence to Potions made her nod slightly.

Although Wizard Sean had not written down methods like Will Strengthening, unconsciously these theories had already influenced Wizard Sean's view of magic, causing his notes to always possess a depth of contemplation.

Professor Terra became even more satisfied; she turned to Wizard Sean's structural diagram of the Floating Quill—though still immature, the control over details was excellent.

However... what did these two days refer to?

The time spent engraving magical runes on the quill?

[Spent two days, barely managing to create a Floating Quill...]

Professor Terra stood up.