Chapter 35: A Daily Prophet Sensation
"They're adorable!" Penelope exclaimed, gazing at the white mice that Ryan had levitated onto the sterilized tabletop. "I've never seen such clean and pretty little mice. Where did you find them, Ryan? Are they your pets?" She reached out to pet one of the struggling creatures, but Ryan stopped her.
"They are not pets," Ryan said thoughtfully. "They are pioneers of Muggle science. For now, we cannot treat them as pets." Globally, tens of thousands of white mice probably had similar thoughts each day: Me, a pioneer? I think I'm about to die.
"Never mind that," he said, seeing the curious looks on everyone's faces. "Is the food ready?"
"All prepared," someone said, bringing out several plates with different kinds of food. Ryan selected several groups of mice, assigning each group a different type of food. Within each group, one mouse would eat the normal food, and the other would eat food created by a Duplication Charm. He then waved his wand dramatically over the mice, and a detailed, projected image of their internal biological structures appeared in the air above them, complete with indicators for temperature, glucose levels, and other vital signs.
"Is that a Projection Charm?" a student asked, their voice full of awe. "Combined with a Healer's Diagnostic Charm? Even a fully qualified Healer at St. Mungo's might not be able to do that."
"The Healers at St. Mungo's are highly skilled professionals," Ryan said modestly. "I certainly can't compare to them. I'm just using these spells so we can observe the mice's physiological reactions more directly." He then turned to Professor McGonagall. "Professor, we need your assistance now to duplicate the food. I imagine you are the only one here who can sustain a Transfiguration for several hours without the use of a stabilizing enchantment."
"The way you phrase things is in stark contrast to the way you act, Mr. Welles," she said dryly, then, with a flick of her wand, created a perfect duplicate of each plate of food. The students were a bit confused. Was she saying that Ryan spoke carefully, but acted recklessly? Neither of them offered an explanation.
As the mice began to eat, the projected images above them began to change. A long time passed. When the mice finally began to show signs of hunger again, Ryan compared the complete record he had kept of their physiological and hormonal changes.
The results were conclusive: there was no significant difference between the mice that ate normal food and those that ate the duplicated food.
The students looked at Ryan expectantly. They could see that the data was identical, but not understanding the underlying Muggle scientific principles, they were hesitant to celebrate.
Ryan cleared his throat. "Professor McGonagall," he began, "I believe we have corrected a long-standing misconception. We have made history." He announced his conclusion with a clear, ringing voice: "Food created by a Duplication Charm, as long as the caster maintains the spell, is functionally identical to normal food!"
"Remarkable! Truly remarkable, Mr. Welles!" Professor McGonagall was so excited that her voice trembled. She smiled at Ryan. "You have earned Ravenclaw another fifty points!"
The Transfiguration Club meeting, the longest in the club's history, concluded with this groundbreaking discovery. Everyone was buzzing with excitement. Professor McGonagall even granted them all the following Monday off to rest. In a wave of celebratory cheering, the young wizards took the mice—the true heroes of the experiment—down to the kitchens to throw a party.
.....
Hogwarts, Monday Morning.
A flood of owls descended upon the Great Hall, delivering the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. At the head table, Dumbledore picked up his copy. The headline read: Hogwarts Transfiguration Club Debunks Centuries-Old Magical Law.
He shot a quizzical look at Professor McGonagall, who was also reading the paper with a similar expression of surprise. He continued to scan the pages. The next section was titled: The Greatest School, The Most Brilliant Students. Things were getting strange. Dumbledore spread the paper out, taking in all the headlines at once.
"Inside Professor Minerva McGonagall's Transfiguration Club"
"An Interview with a Genius: A Conversation with Ryan Welles"
"The Greatest Seer and The Most Talented Wizard"
Dumbledore briefly wondered if he had accidentally slept through an entire year.
Professor Flitwick was beaming. "Ryan is my most brilliant student!"
Professor McGonagall nodded. "Indeed. Ryan is my most brilliant student." A minor debate began to ripple through the head table.
At the Ravenclaw table, Pablo Pierce pointed at the newspaper. "It seems you're famous again, Ryan. It looks like things have gotten very interesting in your Transfiguration Club."
"Not me, Pablo," Ryan said, trying to remain humble despite floating on a cloud of compliments. "It was all of us in the club. It was Professor McGonagall. It was us."
"Of course! It was us!" the Adventurers' Club members at the Ravenclaw table cheered.
Ryan raised his goblet. "To us!" he called out.
From all four tables, voices rose in response, a chorus of over twenty students momentarily silencing the din of the Great Hall.
"To us!"
"To us!"
At the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy held his goblet high, his chest puffed out with pride. It was the first time he had ever received so many looks of respect, and the first time it wasn't because of his last name. Beside him, Vaisey smiled and drained his glass of pumpkin juice. "Perhaps," he murmured, "not even Voldemort had the audacity to be this… brazen… right under Dumbledore's nose." He glanced up at the head table and saw Dumbledore nodding in approval, smiling at Ryan. "Voldemort would be jealous of Ryan," Vaisey continued. "No, he is jealous. Jealous that Ryan has earned Dumbledore's trust, the trust of the professors, and the trust of his friends."
Malfoy, who should have been trembling at the sound of Voldemort's name, merely flinched. He had already accepted this new reality. Crabbe and Goyle, however, were so terrified that they dropped their sausages.
At the Gryffindor table, Harry felt like he was living in a dream. From the hell of the Dursleys to the paradise of Hogwarts. He drank his pumpkin juice and grinned foolishly.
Hermione was already planning. "The Transfiguration Club… does anyone know what the requirements are to join?"
"You need to get a personal recommendation from Professor McGonagall," Percy informed her.
Meanwhile, in the Hogwarts kitchens, Penelope, who had skipped breakfast, was greeting the house-elves respectfully before heading to a corner where a miniature playground now stood. An inscription on its base read: To the pioneers of magic and science.
Inside, a horde of white mice were scampering and playing. Some of them spotted Penelope and froze, staring up at the strange, giant creature. Others scurried for cover inside a tiny slide. After the experiment, all the members of the Transfiguration Club had worked together to build this playground for the mice. Ryan had even used an alchemical matrix to turn it into a magical item. She didn't understand the specifics, but she remembered Ryan saying that the playground now had a mild healing and health-boosting effect, which was more than enough for the mice.
Thinking of it now, Penelope's cheeks flushed. She remembered, with crystal clarity, that Ryan had pulled out a vial of Amortentia—a Love Potion—from his ring and had incorporated it into the playground's enchantment, claiming it was "conducive to procreation" and "good for a large family."
"Pervert," she muttered under her breath.
~~~
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