“Class started five minutes ago, Harry and Ron are definitely late!”
Chen Yu saw the system panel's time prompt of 9:05:24 and knew that Harry and Ron were late.
He glanced at the tabby cat still sprawled on the podium, thinking that the class wouldn't start until Harry arrived.
He felt that Professor McGonagall was really looking out for Harry, as expected of the “Savior.”
Hermione looked at Chen Yu curiously, wondering how he knew it was class time without ever seeing him take out a pocket watch.
“Did you bring a pocket watch? I didn't see you take it out to check the time. How do you know what time it is?”
Chen Yu spread his hands forward, mimicking playing an accordion, and said, “I have a special way of telling time.”
Knowing that the tabby cat on the podium was Professor McGonagall, Chen Yu and Hermione spoke in very low voices.
The sound of the classroom door opening echoed, and the Little Wizards all thought the professor had entered, craning their heads back to look.
It wasn't the professor who came in, but two Little Wizards.
They were Harry and Ron.
The two of them frantically ran to where the Gryffindor students were gathered.
Ron said while running, “We finally made it. If we were any later, her face would have been terrifying.”
Hearing this, Hermione shook her head helplessly, feeling that Ron was doomed.
Speaking ill of her in front of the professor, Ron was the first to be so bold.
Sure enough, upon hearing Ron's words, the tabby cat on the podium leaped forward and immediately transformed into a stern-faced witch in emerald green robes—Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall strode over to Ron, her eyes slightly darkened, her brows furrowed, staring at Harry and Ron, hoping they would explain why they were late for the first class.
Ron's mouth dropped open in surprise as he looked at the stern-faced Professor McGonagall, his eyes darting around as his mind raced.
He finally decided to flatter Professor McGonagall first, hoping she would be lenient with their punishment.
“That technique is truly brilliant.”
Professor McGonagall said expressionlessly, “Thank you for your assessment, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps I should turn Potter and you into a pocket watch. That way, at least one of you would be on time.”
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Harry quickly explained, “We got lost…”
Professor McGonagall replied, “Then turn into a map.”
At this point, Professor McGonagall didn't want to delay the other students' class time any longer.
She paused and continued, “You don't need a map to get to your seats, do you?”
Harry and Ron quickly found seats and sat down.
Professor McGonagall walked to the podium, looking at the Little Wizards who were whispering and laughing at the spectacle, and said, “Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous spell you will learn in your Hogwarts curriculum. Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and will never be allowed back in. I have warned you!”
“Class is now officially in session. Let's open our textbooks!” Professor McGonagall said, “A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration mentions that to learn Transfiguration, you need to pay attention to the following points: It is easier to Transfigure substances of the same material, for example, turning water into wine, or water into oil. These should be very simple for you. Conversely, turning water into stone or wood will be very difficult. Secondly, smaller objects are also easier to Transfigure successfully, such as turning a match into a needle, or a strand of hair into a thread. These are all very simple.”
“However, I must also warn you: Transfiguring one object into another is a rather dangerous process. Little Wizards are strictly forbidden from using Transfiguration on others after learning it, or even on themselves! There have been many instances in Hogwarts history where an insufficiently careful student has turned themselves or others into a pig or something worse! If fortunate, such a Transfiguration is not permanent, but if it is permanent, it is an absolute disaster for the wizard!”
“The Little Wizards among you should have heard of mythical creatures like the Sphinx with a lion's body and human head, the Minotaur with a bull's head and human body, the Gorgon with snakes for hair and a human body, and so on. But in the magical world, they have a common name—unlucky fools of failed Transfiguration!”
“Even so, these people are still lucky!”
“Although they became half-human, half-beast, they still retained some intelligence. But those truly unlucky ones, those wizards who completely transformed into animals, their intelligence would be covered by animal instincts, forever seeing themselves as a true animal!”
“If you do not want to end up permanently disabled or permanently turned into a foolish animal without intelligence due to your failed Transfiguration, then study Transfiguration well.”
Professor McGonagall gave a meaningful glance at the Little Wizards who were looking at each other, and the entire classroom became very quiet.
“Of course, after you understand the dangers of Transfiguration, I will lead you to discover its complexity and wonder!”
With that, she Transfigured the podium into a lion. After the lion roared, she Transfigured it into a snake flicking its tongue, and then Transfigured it back again, all under the astonished gaze of the many Little Wizards.
“Turning objects into animals is something you will learn in your senior years. For now, I will teach you the simplest, how to turn a match into a silver needle.”
After Professor McGonagall explained the release method and techniques of the Transfiguration Charm, she distributed a match to all the Little Wizards.
“Remember, I will say it again! When casting the Transfiguration Charm, you must recall the exact appearance of the silver needle in your mind, fix and solidify the image of the silver needle in your mind, without any slight change. When you feel that the match in front of you overlaps with the needle in your mind, wave your wand and say the spell Vera Verto!”
After Professor McGonagall finished speaking, Chen Yu heard the system's prompt.
“The player listened carefully to the professor's explanation of the Transfiguration Charm, and the proficiency of the Transfiguration Charm has slightly increased.”
Chen Yu brought up the panel. Sure enough, having a teacher made a difference. His skill panel actually had an additional entry: Transfiguration Charm LV0 (1/100).
In other words, by practicing the Transfiguration Charm 100 times, he could raise its level to LV1 and successfully learn Transfiguration.
Chen Yu was instantly delighted. When Professor McGonagall allowed Chen Yu to start practicing, Chen Yu began to furiously grind proficiency on the match.
“Vera Verto!”
“Vera Verto!”
“Vera Verto!”
“Vera Verto!”
Chen Yu's wand moved up and down rapidly, and he quickly chanted the spell over and over again.
The spell to turn a match into a needle didn't consume much magic, only about 0.1 per cast.
Chen Yu confidently and boldly chanted the spell quickly, so fast that he felt his mouth would get worn out.
“Hey! Chen Yu, be careful, don't poke anyone's eye!”
Hermione nervously watched Chen Yu's constantly waving wand, afraid that it would slip from his hand and poke her eye.
“Sorry, I'll change direction.”
Chen Yu changed the direction of his wand waving from horizontal to vertical.
He continued to chant: “Vera Verto! Vera Verto! Vera Verto! Vera Verto...”
Professor McGonagall looked around, warned the Little Wizards who were slacking off and daydreaming during class, and then turned her gaze to Chen Yu, who was waving his wand wildly, and said sternly, “Mr. Chen Yu! I believe I reminded you during class that the casting of the Transfiguration Charm is very dangerous. You should remain focused when chanting, not rapidly and repeatedly wave your wand. Have you been focusing on imagining what the match would look like after being Transfigured into a silver needle?”
“Yes, Professor McGonagall, I will be careful!”
Although Chen Yu replied politely, he only slowed down the speed of his chanting and wand waving slightly.
The match on the table, driven by magic, was slowly deforming and twisting.
After multiple castings, a small part of the match on the table had already taken on the appearance of a silver needle.
Chen Yu felt that once he stopped casting, the silver needle would immediately revert to a match.
This situation was not unexpected by Professor McGonagall. Repeatedly casting Transfiguration on an object could indeed accelerate the match's transformation.
But very few wizards would do this. Why cast multiple times when it could be done once?
You can't expect to have to cast the spell over and over again to turn a mouse into a snuffbox during an exam to achieve the desired effect; that would be too foolish.
Although Chen Yu's method of mechanically repeating the Transfiguration Charm was foolish, he was already performing much better than many Little Wizards.
Some Little Wizards chanted the spell and waved their wands, but the match showed no change whatsoever.
It still lay there quietly, as if mocking the Little Wizard's incompetence.
Some Little Wizards chanted the spell and waved their wands, and the match turned into an unidentified object with a silvery sheen.
Once they stopped casting, the match would revert to its original state.
This stunned the Little Wizards who had initially been laughing at Chen Yu, and they unconsciously began to imitate Chen Yu in earnest.
“Boom!”
An explosion startled the Little Wizards and Professor McGonagall. Everyone looked over.
Seamus Finnigan's hair was singed yellow, and his face was completely black, as if he had been affected by some kind of explosive.
Harry, sitting near him, quickly raised his hand and said, “Professor, I think he needs a new match!”
With Seamus's mistaken demonstration, the other Little Wizards no longer dared to wave their wands as quickly as Chen Yu.
“Very good, excellent! Miss Hermione Granger, the first to successfully Transfigure a match into a silver needle, Gryffindor gets five points!”
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Chen Yu looked up at the adjacent table and saw a silver needle lying there.
“You successfully Transfigured the match into a silver needle?”
As expected of the future top student, she learned everything exceptionally fast.
Hermione snorted softly and said to Chen Yu, “The Transfiguration Charm isn't cast like that. You should...”
Before Hermione could finish, a system prompt sounded in Chen Yu's mind.
“The player's Transfiguration Charm proficiency has reached 100%, Transfiguration Charm LV+1.”
“The player's current Transfiguration Charm level is LV1.”
Chen Yu felt a surge of information about how to correctly cast the Transfiguration Charm flood his mind, and he immediately understood what posture to use to correctly cast the Transfiguration Charm.
“Vera Verto!”
After Chen Yu's last chant, the match finally transformed into a silver needle.
“Very good! Mr. Chen Yu, the second to successfully Transfigure a match into a silver needle, Gryffindor gets 1 point!”
Professor McGonagall was somewhat surprised by Chen Yu's success, but still awarded points to Gryffindor.
Hermione was even more surprised. She gaped, looking at Chen Yu in disbelief, her eyes seemingly saying, “No way, that works too?”