Inside the Headmaster's Office.
After Harry left, McGonagall also stood up to go, saying she still needed to prepare for the afternoon's Transfiguration class.
And just as Snape was about to leave, Dumbledore called out to him.
"Severus, what's your impression of Lucien Grafton? He should have had your class by now."
Snape's body stiffened, then he quickly composed himself and said calmly:
"Quite talented in Potions, and, well, very humble."
…
Great Hall.
There was still some time before class, and Lucien was sitting at a long table with a group of people.
Soon, someone with sharp eyes spotted their target.
"Oh, look! Harry's back!"
Lucien looked over and saw Harry approaching with his head held high and chest puffed out, his steps vigorous, like a returning king.
Didn't this kid just get called in for a talk? Why does he look so smug and proud, like he just received an award?
"Harry, are you alright? What did the Professor say?"
Someone asked anxiously.
Harry recounted his punishment in detail, including the fifty points deducted from Gryffindor, which completely wiped out their progress from the past few days.
Silence. Quiet.
Two or three seconds later—
"Oh yeah! We won!"
"Gryffindor has defeated Slytherin once again!"
"Malfoy got his butt beat up and Potter didn't even get expelled! Ahahaha!"
"And the Professor even gave out a punishment—that's recognition!"
"…"
A group of older Gryffindors cheered loudly.
As for the first-year new students, they hadn't quite understood what had happened.
The older students from other Houses who had stayed to watch the drama were not surprised; they all knew the Lions' personality.
Only the Slytherins, who had been expecting a good show and a laugh, snorted and got up to leave.
Lucien, who was initially confused by Gryffindor's sudden cheers, understood the Lions' thought process after hearing a few sentences.
Lucien estimated that, in the Lions' eyes, Harry beating Malfoy was roughly equivalent to Gryffindor defeating Slytherin.
And the punishment given by the Professor—well, in a sense, it was official recognition?
Lucien couldn't help but shake his head. These two Houses were practically "arch-enemies"; points and the House Cup were less important than directly confronting the other side and seeing them frustrated.
Sure enough, the Weasley twins had already lifted Harry up—just like hoisting a brand-new little lion straight from the factory.
…
Afternoon.
Lucien arrived at the Transfiguration classroom.
Looking at the podium, he saw, as expected, a tabby cat with spectacle-like markings on its face.
Lucien nodded at the cat—Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form—then found a seat and sat down.
Was it that Professor McGonagall simply enjoyed being a cat, or was this a customary display of Transfiguration's magical charm before the new students' first class?
Lucien scanned the classroom; this time, they were paired with Slytherin.
Until just before class began, no young wizard dared approach the podium to try and pet the cat.
That made sense, Lucien thought. Only Hufflepuffs, with their fondness for small animals, or Gryffindors, who were always eager to produce "champions," would have a student bold enough to tease the cat before the first Transfiguration lesson.
As soon as the class bell rang, the tabby cat leapt down from the podium.
In an instant, it transformed into a witch wearing deep green robes.
Seeing the cat turn into Professor McGonagall, many young wizards gasped in surprise.
Terry, next to Lucien, also looked astonished.
"Lucien, look quickly, what kind of magic is that? It's so amazing!"
"Animagus—a wizard who can transform himself into an animal, the highest skill in Transfiguration today."
Lucien casually explained to Terry while recalling the knowledge related to Animagi.
It belonged to human Transfiguration; after transforming into an animal, one could still retain their magic. The point being 'retain'.
However, it could not involve transformation into magical creatures, which was strictly forbidden in the wizarding world.
Generally, an Animagus could only transform into one type of animal.
"Transfiguration is a profound and dangerous subject, a magic you will often deal with in the future."
"Learning this subject requires rigor and seriousness."
"Anyone who dares to make trouble in my class will be immediately asked to leave!"
As expected of Hogwarts' Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall's sternness made the young wizards immediately sit up straight.
"Of course, Transfiguration will also bring you a lot of fun."
With that, Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at the podium.
The podium immediately turned into a plump pig, which flapped its ears.
This made many young wizards' eyes light up, giving them their first real glimpse of the charm of Transfiguration.
Seeing their reactions, Professor McGonagall nodded with satisfaction, ready to begin her lecture.
Tap, tap, tap—
"S-sorry, Professor, I—we just rushed over from the Hospital Wing."
A young wizard, with a bandage wrapped around his head and his right hand and left leg in casts, walked into the classroom on crutches.
Two tall, stout boys followed closely behind him, afraid he might fall.
"Mr. Malfoy, you don't have to rush to class; you can rest well in the Hospital Wing."
Professor McGonagall frowned slightly. She remembered Snape mentioning in the Headmaster's office that Malfoy would temporarily be excused from class to recuperate.
Malfoy, however, raised his head.
"Professor, Harry Potter was volunteering in the Hospital Wing just now, and he happened to be in charge of taking care of me."
"Oh, and he also offered me a sincere, humble, heartfelt apology."
"Professor, I can come to class—I feel great now!"
Lucien watched in astonishment as Malfoy spoke eloquently, as if the bandages and casts on his body didn't exist.
No… was he really here to attend class?
Or was he here to "show off" that Harry had taken care of him and apologized?
An apology that was both humble and heartfelt—what was this, a reading comprehension exercise?
Lucien suddenly understood: Old Dumbledore, you were right—love is the most powerful magic in the world (or maybe he feared that this time Harry would poison him?).
Professor McGonagall had the three Malfoys sit down and continued her lecture.
After explaining the basic theoretical knowledge, Professor McGonagall had the young wizards begin practical attempts.
The task for this class was to transform a matchstick into a needle.
This was the most basic part of Transfiguration: inanimate to inanimate.
Moving up, from simple to difficult, in order: inanimate to animate, animate to inanimate, animate to animate.
Especially in the later stages, wizards needed to suppress the consciousness of living things, and the difficulty increased exponentially.
But even this first class—the simplest Transfiguration—already stumped a large number of students.
Terry kept poking the matchstick with his wand, eventually turning it silver; at least the color resembled a needle.
Malfoy struggled to wave his wand with his non-dominant hand, successfully making the matchstick emit light and heat—so he had to switch to another one.
Actually, theirs was still considered good; at least the matchsticks had changed to some extent.
But the matchsticks in front of most young wizards remained completely unchanged, exactly as they were.
Lucien raised his wand and tapped the matchstick.
A faint glow passed, and a well-proportioned silver needle replaced the matchstick.
He tapped it with his wand again.
The surface of the silver needle gradually became hollowed out, forming several complex patterns, as exquisite as a work of art.
Lucien, however, felt it wasn't enough. The most basic inanimate-to-inanimate Transfiguration had two extreme directions.
One was to achieve a change in properties, such as turning a stone into a dynamite barrel—one that could actually explode.
The other was complex mechanical structures, which represented extremely precise Transfiguration, symbolizing fine and subtle magical control.
Following his intuition, Lucien constructed the image in his mind while allowing magic to flow out through his wand, delicately shaping the silver needle.
A few seconds later, the silver needle had transformed into a small, miniature monocular telescope.
With clicking and whirring sounds of gears turning, the telescope extended and retracted on its own.
Lucien was about to reach for the telescope to verify if it possessed true functionality, rather than being a mere ornament.
His finger had just touched the brass-colored body of the mirror.
Ding, congratulations to the host for triggering a loan.
Loan Name: Mechanical Transfiguration Pocket Watch
Rating: Besides not being able to tell time, all other functions are complete.