Chapter 9: Transfiguration Class

Next, Professor Flitwick began teaching the use of the Lumos spell. For this spell he had already practiced to perfection, Allen felt a bit of his interest wane; he began to drift off, his mind wandering into wild speculation, fortunately without Professor Flitwick noticing.

Thus, the first Charms class at Hogwarts came to an end.

Allen and his roommates quickly adapted to the study life at Hogwarts.

This afternoon was the Transfiguration class that Allen valued most; this course concerned his very life and livelihood, leaving him no choice but to take it seriously. He had already read the textbook "A Guide to Beginner's Transfiguration" several times before coming to Hogwarts and had attempted the transfiguration spells a few times, but the results were not very good. He found that Transfiguration was far more difficult than he had imagined.

Professor McGonagall taught Transfiguration. She was different from the other professors; the students could see at a glance that this professor was not someone to trifle with. She was strict and intelligent. As soon as they sat down for the first lesson, she gave them a stern warning.

"Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will study at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone who fools around in my class will be asked to leave and never allowed to return. I have warned you."

Then, she turned her desk into a pig, and then back again. The students were all captivated, wishing they could start learning immediately, but they soon realized that turning furniture into animals would take quite some time.

"Students who have read the entire Transfiguration textbook after receiving it, please raise your hands!" Professor McGonagall scanned the whole class sternly.

The students in the class raised their hands sporadically. Hermione, sitting in the very front row, raised her hand the highest. Allen also raised his hand lightly, while Harry, Ron, and Neville, sitting nearby, could not withstand Professor McGonagall's stern gaze and lowered their heads, refusing to look into her eyes.

Professor McGonagall pressed her lips together, which meant her good mood was worsening. "I hope the students will take this Transfiguration course seriously. It will be the course that helps you the most in the future. Whether in life or work, mastering Transfiguration will allow you to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"We will start from the very basics. Please turn your textbooks to page five." Professor McGonagall pushed her glasses up.

"I believe students who have previewed the textbook in advance have already discovered that the entire book contains only one spell, and that this single spell is what you will need to learn and master over the coming years."

Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a line of writing appeared out of thin air in the air:

"veraverto" (Note 1)

"This is the core spell of Transfiguration, without exception!"

"Half of the book 'A Guide to Beginner's Transfiguration' is dedicated to explaining this spell, and the other half of this book, as well as your Transfiguration textbooks for the coming years, are all about how to use this spell precisely, safely, and efficiently to achieve the transfiguration effect you desire."

"However, do not underestimate this spell; its precision and complexity are very high. If operated improperly, the target object might only achieve partial transfiguration, or even become permanently fixed in a certain state, unable to revert, resulting in permanent full transfiguration or permanent partial transfiguration." Professor McGonagall said sternly.

Allen felt that when Professor McGonagall finished saying this sentence, her gaze lingered on him for a moment. Immediately after, he discovered that all the students in the class were also secretly glancing at him, glancing at his ears...

Alright! Today, Allen had randomly received a pair of rabbit ears of an unknown breed.

Feeling the pressure of the entire class's gaze, Allen couldn't help but lie flat on his desk, burying his chin in his arms, hoping to reduce the pressure brought by others' stares this way. At the same time, he felt his ears rapidly heating up and filling with blood.

From the corner of his eye, he discovered that his pair of ears were actually drooping down at this moment...

"WTF! I clearly have no feeling of embarrassment, so why is this thing changing so much? Does it get embarrassed on its own?" Allen thought silently in his heart.

Harry, sitting nearby, gently patted Allen's shoulder and whispered, "Allen, don't take it too seriously!"

At this moment, Professor McGonagall also noticed that the classroom discipline was becoming increasingly chaotic. She waved her wand to create a loud bang. "Please, all students, bring your attention back! Do not engage in other irrelevant matters! Students, listen carefully!"

The students were stunned by Professor McGonagall and all began to pretend to listen carefully. Allen also raised his head, preparing to listen seriously, but he discovered that Hermione, sitting in the front row, was looking at Allen's ears by the light of the lamp, her eyes sparkling. Allen could only glare fiercely at her, and Hermione quickly turned her head back.

"I believe that during Charms class, Professor Flitwick has already taught you the four elements of a spell. 'veraverto' is a very magical spell. We mainly achieve various transfiguration effects by changing the third element of the spell—the caster's subjective consciousness of the spell's effect."

"Now, let us learn the pronunciation and wand movement of this spell. Please pay attention to my pronunciation and movements, and recite with me: veraverto." Professor McGonagall recited.

"veraverto!"

Half an hour later, seeing that everyone had basically mastered the pronunciation and movements of the transfiguration spell, Professor McGonagall handed each of them a matchstick and began to let them try to turn it into a needle.

"Now you each have a matchstick in your hand. Focus your attention now, imagine the shape of a needle in your mind, then wave your wand at your matchstick and recite the spell. Remember, you must be confident. Firm and decisive wand movements are extremely important. At the same time, avoid unnecessary wavering or rotation of the wand, otherwise the transfiguration cannot succeed!" Professor McGonagall instructed everyone.

Then everyone began to cast the transfiguration spell on their own matchsticks.

Allen looked at his matchstick, constantly imagining the shape of a needle in his mind, then waved his wand and recited the spell. Nothing happened. He was not discouraged at all; he waved his wand again and recited the spell...

"Do not have any reservations in your hearts. Although Transfiguration is very dangerous, it is also a spell with a very high difficulty of casting. It is very difficult for you to cast a complete transfiguration spell right now, so do not have any reservations in your hearts. Wave your wand firmly and decisively and recite your spell!" Professor McGonagall walked back and forth in the class, guiding the students.

The students waved their wands hard, but there was little effect, making them feel somewhat discouraged.

Professor McGonagall keenly perceived the change in the students' emotions. "Be more confident, everyone. Confidence is also a very important point in Transfiguration. Turning a matchstick into a needle is simpler than you imagine. Cheer up, everyone!"

"The commonality is the bridge between the state of the object before and after the transfiguration. The closer the initial state of the object being cast upon is to the target state of the object after transfiguration, the simpler the transfiguration process. The shapes of a matchstick and a needle are so similar; it really isn't that difficult! Be more confident, everyone! Eliminate the distracting thoughts in your minds!" Professor McGonagall said.

Allen thought about the four elements of a spell, striving to eliminate distracting thoughts from his mind, constantly outlining every detail of a needle in his mind: "Silver stainless steel, one end sharp, and there's an eye..." After a period of self-suggestion, Allen waved his wand confidently again and recited the spell, but at this moment, the "needle" from "The Wandering Earth" flashed through his mind, and as expected, he failed again.

However, at this moment, the matchstick did undergo a change; it became a bit larger and seemed to have become a bit rounder as well.

Ron leaned over: "Are you trying to turn this into a needle for a giant to sew clothes with?"

Allen rolled his eyes at him: "Yours hasn't changed at all yet. Go focus on your own!"

Allen focused his attention again, eliminated distracting thoughts, and continued to give himself psychological suggestions. This time, he successfully made the matchstick undergo a gratifying change; the matchstick turned silver, one end became very sharp, but there was no eye...

Until the class bell rang, Allen had not managed to form the eye of the needle, but he was already the best in the class. Everyone else had only Hermione Granger making some changes to her matchstick.

Note 1: This spell was invented for the movies and does not exist in the original books. It appeared in the Transfiguration class in the second HP movie, where Professor McGonagall used this spell to turn a large hornbill into a goblet. Since the original books do not contain a spell for Transfiguration, this book has chosen to use this spell.