In the office next to the classroom, Professor McGonagall put away her teaching tools, sat down, and gestured for Loren and Hermione to sit as well.
Loren glanced around—there were no chairs. He couldn't tell whether this was a test to measure his Transfiguration skills or a subtle retaliation for what had happened earlier.
Unfazed, Loren pulled two empty potion bottles from his robe, flicked his wand, and transformed them into large armchairs identical to those in the Gryffindor common room. The chairs looked so real—even down to their slight wear—that if McGonagall hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she might have thought he had summoned them directly from the common room.
"Very impressive Transfiguration. If this were in class, I'd have given you five points," McGonagall remarked. She could tell from this demonstration that Loren's level already exceeded most students—turning small objects into larger, complex forms with such precision was no small feat.
"Thank you for the praise, Professor," Loren replied, bowing slightly before he and Hermione sat down. Then he asked his question:
"Professor, I can turn inanimate things into other inanimate things, and living things into inanimate things. But I can't seem to turn inanimate objects into living ones."
McGonagall frowned in thought. With his level of ability, such a feat should have been simple. She asked, "Didn't you explain your Transfiguration secret in class earlier? Why doesn't it work here?"
"That's exactly the problem," Loren explained quickly. "I always focus on the target's shape and material. It's easy to imagine an inanimate object and reproduce it, but I can't bring a living thing to life."
McGonagall immediately picked up on the flaw. "And how exactly do you imagine a living being?"
"Just the same way I do with objects—I tried to understand everything inside and out. For instance, when I first practiced, I chose bullfrogs. I dissected many of them, studied every part in detail. But when it came to Transfiguration, I could never make a living bullfrog."
Hermione shivered, recalling the endless bullfrog meals before term began.
At last, McGonagall realized his mistake and explained: "Your method isn't wrong, but your approach is. You've misunderstood the principle. Transfiguration cannot create life. Turning inanimate into animate doesn't create true life—it's still inanimate matter, only granted the qualities of life through magic."
"So if I want to transform an object into a living creature, I don't need to understand every detail of its inner structure—I just need to picture its external features and behaviors," Loren concluded, his misunderstanding cleared in an instant.
"Exactly. You don't have to imagine every inner part. Focus on its outward form—let magic handle the rest," McGonagall confirmed. She didn't quite grasp his term "biological behavior," but she understood the gist.
One sentence of true teaching outweighed a thousand pages of study. Countless Transfiguration books hadn't solved his problem, but McGonagall's single explanation did.
Loren pressed further, asking about transforming objects into edible food, or whether gases could be transfigured. McGonagall patiently answered each question. For the first time, Hermione felt out of her depth—the discussion was too advanced for her. Resolute, she vowed to study harder under Loren's guidance.
An hour later, McGonagall ended their conversation, as she had other matters to attend to. Before they left, she invited Loren to join her Transfiguration Club, where students could discuss such topics together. Loren gladly accepted. Before leaving, he transformed the chairs back into potion bottles and tucked them away.
Outside, Loren checked his magical panel—his Transfiguration skill had jumped from "Beginner" to "Advanced," skipping two levels in one go. A rewarding session indeed.
It was only 4:40 p.m. Dinner would start at five, so Loren and Hermione strolled slowly toward the Great Hall.
Along the way, Hermione bombarded him with questions about Transfiguration. Loren patiently answered and promised that after dinner, he would help her practice.
With that promise, Hermione practically sped up, eager to finish dinner quickly so she'd have plenty of time to train. She dreamed of improving fast enough to join McGonagall's club and keep up with Loren.
That evening's sumptuous meal barely distracted her. After just a few bites, she pulled Loren away, making nearby Gryffindors chuckle warmly at their eagerness.
Loren understood her mood and didn't resist. He led her to an abandoned Potions classroom—the very one where Harry, in another time, would discover Snape's annotated textbook. Few students ever came here, making it perfect for practice. Loren could also take the chance to study Snape's personal notes.
He summoned the house-elf Dotty to prepare food, knowing Hermione hadn't eaten much and would get hungry soon.
Until curfew, they practiced nonstop. With Loren's potions boosting her stamina, Hermione cast Transfiguration spells for hours—more in one evening than most students did in a month, since few practiced outside of lessons.
…
The next morning at five, Loren, Hermione, and Neville all rose early to wash up, then headed to the Black Lake for morning training.
Neville continued with the enchanted workout suit, Hermione practiced magical body tempering, while Loren stayed beside Neville, adjusting the suit and recording data. Thanks to his supervision, Neville didn't faint this time, though he ended up sore and collapsed on the ground.
Loren considered adding a recovery function to the workout suit and cast "Rennervate" on Neville.
By 6:30, training ended. On the way back, Neville sprinted ahead, stomach rumbling, eager for breakfast. Loren and Hermione strolled more leisurely.
At breakfast, with ever-increasing variety on the table, Loren checked his schedule: Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts in the morning, another Defense class in the afternoon, and Astronomy in the evening. A full day.
In Herbology, Neville once again shone—Hermione being his only rival. Loren barely paid attention, instead musing about using the Undetectable Extension Charm to create a Newt-like enchanted suitcase. Expanding space was easy for him, but replicating the kind of stable environment Newt had built for magical creatures remained a challenge. That level of magical theory was still beyond him—Dumbledore's domain. For now, the library would be his ally.
Next came Defense Against the Dark Arts. While most students complained about Professor Quirrell's garlic stench, Loren was bothered by something worse—the faint odor of rot beneath it. Others couldn't detect it, but there was no way Dumbledore or Snape hadn't noticed.
Quirrell's behavior was suspicious too. Trying to kill Harry in full view of the school by knocking him from his broom? Only Voldemort in his desperate state could think that was a good plan.
Loren mused: a Ravenclaw like Quirrell couldn't be truly foolish—only consumed by knowledge, trapped by it. His antics seemed like a cry for help, an attempt to draw Dumbledore's attention. But if that was the case, he was wasting his efforts. Dumbledore had already decided to use him as a stepping stone in Harry's growth.
So Loren watched quietly, even amused, though the stench spoiled the show.
Defense Against the Dark Arts being a core subject, they had two consecutive classes. By the second, Loren was bored of Quirrell's bumbling act and interrupted, asking him to teach actual spells from the textbook instead of useless rambling.
Students perked up at the chance to learn, but Quirrell's stammer and repeated spell failures killed the enthusiasm quickly.
Loren sighed inwardly: "No wonder Dumbledore doesn't bother saving you. Your teaching drags down exam pass rates like a stone. Why would any headmaster tolerate that? You're disposable—next term, they'll just replace you. No reason to waste effort on you."
The man's clumsy spellwork drained every ounce of interest from the students. Loren even wondered if Quirrell's incompetence was Voldemort's idea: "If I can't have it, I'll ruin it."
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