The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 58: The Road Ahead! Suddenly, everything became clear!

一只猫。

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a single person.

This scene caused a stir and exclamations among the group of young wizards in the classroom.

"The cat! The cat has become a professor!"

"Oh my god! I was just thinking of bringing it back to our dorm!"

"That's so cool! I want to be a turtle! The kind that lives for ten thousand years!"

Seeing that the young wizards were all amazed by the opening effect of this first lesson, Professor McGonagall couldn't help but smile slightly. Every professor at Hogwarts knew how to arouse the young wizards' interest in learning in this way.

"If I hadn't forgotten about mealtimes, I've never really liked it when people were secretly doing other things in my classes."

After reminding Ian, Professor McGonagall raised her hand and gestured for Ian and the other two to choose their seats.

The classroom was empty.

There are quite a few tables and chairs.

perhaps.

Over the course of a thousand years, there was a time when this place was bustling with activity. But now, the thirty-odd young wizards clearly couldn't even fill half the desks and chairs in the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Minerva McGonagall, and I will be your Transfiguration teacher for the next few years," Professor McGonagall began with a brief self-introduction.

After signaling for everyone to be quiet.

"Transfiguration is a complex and magical art, extremely useful in both daily life and combat." With that, Professor McGonagall waved her wand.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The podium next to her transformed into a fierce leopard.

"roar!"

The leopard roared, startling the young wizards who screamed repeatedly. Michael and William's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, while Ian's eyes shone like bright green gems.

Transfiguration!

His lifelong enemy!

When will I reach this level?

"Roar! Roar!"

The leopard was truly like a living creature, leaping and bounding around the classroom for quite a while before Professor McGonagall's wand transformed it back into an ordinary lecture platform.

"Do you think she just turned a table into a leopard and then back into a table?" Michael suddenly whispered to Ian and the other man.

"Otherwise what?"

Ian and William both looked completely bewildered.

"What if this professor turned a leopard into a table beforehand, then turned it back into a leopard and then back into a table right in front of us?"

Blackie seems to have a rather unique way of looking at problems.

"..."

Ian was speechless.

at this time.

Unaware that she had been caught up in a conspiracy theory, Professor McGonagall began to speak softly to the eager young wizards who were eager to learn Transfiguration.

"Turning furniture into animals is something for older students to learn." Her method of arousing everyone's desire to learn was simple, but very effective.

A young wizard, full of anticipation, raised his hand.

"Professor, if I learn Transfiguration, can I turn my little brother into a rainbow pony?" This was a cute little Hufflepuff witch wearing round-framed glasses.

Her question made Ian turn his head sharply to look at her.

Whose subordinate is this?

Why didn't you go to Slytherin?

"Transfiguration is forbidden on one's own kind, Miss Laura. I hope you will abandon this dangerous idea," Professor McGonagall warned sternly.

"You might find what you just saw very interesting, but in fact, Transfiguration is arguably the most dangerous magic you'll ever learn during your school years."

The older catgirl's voice wasn't particularly loud, but everyone could hear it very clearly: "Turning anything into something else is a dangerous process."

"There are sixteen known magical creatures created by wizards' failed transformation spells, including the famous harpy from Greece."

"The poor man, due to his lack of caution, made himself and his offspring into creatures suffering greatly, but this is actually considered a relatively good outcome among the transformation accidents."

Professor McGonagall scanned each of the young wizards present.

Her words were quite meaningful.

It has enough blank space to make people think about it in a chilling way.

"Therefore, caution is always the first rule you must keep in mind when you learn Transfiguration. I don't want to hear about you becoming cautionary tales in textbooks in the future."

A rather serious reminder.

This made the young wizards in the classroom a little nervous.

"If I could become a Hungarian wood bee, I think I'd be happy even if I couldn't turn back," William muttered to himself, drawing several glances from Ian.

No wonder he's suspected of having oviparous lineage!

"You must already be aware of the dangers of Transfiguration, so let me guide you to appreciate its charm—let's start by turning a match into a needle."

really.

The first challenge that freshmen face in the Transformation Class is always the classic match.

As Professor McGonagall distributed the matches, everyone received one. Ian was no exception; he looked at his profile and couldn't help but sigh softly.

Polymorph (Level 0) 38/50

He has done some practice recently, but as always, he has made little progress in this area. One class period is probably not enough for him to cross the threshold.

"Everyone must remember that every pronunciation of the incantation must be accurate. At the same time, you also need to construct the thing you want to change in your mind."

After Professor McGonagall finished her lesson, she had everyone begin practicing.

"Vera Verto!"

Ian continued his attempt, recalling the textbook, trying to visualize the structure of the steel needle in his mind, but just like many times before.

The match trembled and twisted, but ultimately failed to turn into a steel needle.

The clock is ticking.

The students around him were all studying and trying diligently. Soon, William was the first to successfully conjure a needle, and Professor McGonagall praised him by adding five points to Ravenclaw's score.

Perhaps driven by a competitive spirit, or perhaps by the lure of extra points, the Ravenclaw students began completing the tasks one after another. And Hufflepuff students also started completing them.

"hiss!"

Seeing that Michael was close to success, Ian finally couldn't sit still any longer.

"professor."

He raised his hand.

"Mr. Prince, is there a problem?"

Professor McGonagall immediately turned her gaze over. She had actually been observing Ian's transformation, but the matches on Ian's table hadn't changed much.

This seems to be different from what Dumbledore said.

"I'm having a bit of a problem."

Ian had indeed wanted to ask Professor McGonagall for help for a long time.

"Please speak."

Professor McGonagall nodded slightly.

"As is well known, wood is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin, while iron is mainly composed of iron atoms."

Ian ignored the bewildered classmates around him who were muttering about what was called "common knowledge," and asked Professor McGonagall in a very serious tone.

"I've been trying to convert every component of the wood into iron atoms, but... it's really difficult." He was very puzzled by the ease with which other young wizards succeeded.

"??????"

It wasn't just the young wizards who looked bewildered.

Even Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in surprise.

"It seems you've already done some research on alchemy..." Professor McGonagall looked at Ian with an extremely strange gaze, as if she had scrutinized him several times.

"However, this won't help you learn Transfiguration." After a slight pause and hesitation, Professor McGonagall looked at Ian with her wise eyes and spoke.

"Mr. Prince, what are your thoughts on wizards' magic?"

Her voice was very serious.

"Magic comes from the wizard himself, originates from the power of belief, and possesses the ability to respond to the desires of the heart," Ian said after a moment's thought, expressing his current understanding.

Professor McGonagall looked at him in surprise.

"It seems Dumbledore was right. Yes, that's right, you're absolutely right... Magic is the manifestation of the mind and the echo of the imagination..."

"Your failure stems from the fact that all you're doing is warping matter."

Professor McGonagall used a completely new vocabulary to describe magic, and also explained why Ian's progress in Transfiguration was slow.

"Doesn't the echo of imagination need a physical form? Isn't that no different from distorted matter?" Ian felt as if he was getting closer to the truth.

But it's also hard to grasp.

"Of course there is a difference, child. Twisting matter is merely an attempt to use magic to transform one substance into another, and that is not what makes wizards powerful."

Professor McGonagall looked at Ian with a complex expression and a hint of struggle in her eyes. She hesitated for a while before her gaze softened as if she had made a decision.

"I don't usually teach young wizards dangerous knowledge, but Mr. Prince, I think you really need to get proper instruction in this area."

"I can't just watch you go astray."

Professor McGonagall glanced at the increasingly confused students around her, then at Ian, whose eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge, and began to speak softly in a gentle voice.

"Remember, we wizards do not distort matter; wizards give matter new rules. Ancient wizards believed in a saying that still applies today."

talking.

Professor McGonagall raised her wand.

Shining words emerged from the tip of her wand.

All the young wizards present were completely bewildered, staring at the words that floated in mid-air and shone like fireworks, whispering among themselves, none of them able to decipher them.

"The wizard is the god."

The vibrant characters were reflected in Ian's eyes. The words written in runes by Professor McGonagall seemed to open a vast new world for him at that moment.

The wheels of history... have begun to turn.