Huh?
Hermione?
Seriously what are the odds?
On the train, Sean's voice was nearly drowned out by the rush of wind outside. The endless fields had already slipped away, replaced by dappled sunlight filtering through a dark yew forest as the train sped on.
Hermione's ears turned faintly red. She opened her mouth, clearly wanting to say something, but her mind went blank. Sean only grew more confused.
"Oh! She was just saying, you can actually do Transfiguration? That's incredible!"
The voice belonged to Justin. He quickly stepped in for Hermione, pointing to the silver needle on the table and pulling their attention toward it.
"How did you manage that? Hermione said it's a really tough spell."
He sounded nervous, praying the boy across from him wouldn't take his words the wrong way.
"The incantation is Transfiguration. Break it between 'Trans' and 'figura'... emphasis on the fi. But more importantly, when you sweep your wand left to right, it has to be quick, no pauses."
Sean replayed his practice in his head, picking out the critical points. That was how he always learned.
"And of course, you have to clearly picture what you want the object to become. You can see that on page five of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration."
The train burst out of the forest, sunlight flooding the compartment again and lighting up Sean's emerald-green eyes like cut jade.
"So my problem was the pause, huh? Anyways nice to meet you! I don't know if you caught it earlier, but I'll say it again. I'm Justin. Justin Finch-Fletchley."
Relieved, Justin let out a breath.
"Hermione Granger," she said firmly, though her cheeks were still pink.
"Sean Green," Sean added simply.
Hermione seemed… a little off, but Sean decided not to dwell on it. He had bigger things to focus on.
Though he appeared to keep reading A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, his eyes were actually fixed on something else—his proficiency panel.
Let's see. What level of Transfiguration prodigy am I, really?
His gaze slid downward. His pulse spiked. He was even more nervous than when he pulled rare cards in his last life. A hundred times more nervous.
Game power-ups were fake. This was real. His future depended on it.
[Title: Transfiguration Apprentice]Small boost to Transfiguration perception. Slight increase in natural talent.
Exactly as he expected. Sean held his breath and read on.
[Wizard Sean, Transfiguration Talent: Light Purple (boosted by Apprentice title). Note: Average wizard talent = Green][Evaluation: You are a true genius in the branch of Transfiguration. With proper guidance, you will become a master of the craft.]
Purple tier?!
I'm really a Transfiguration prodigy?!
It felt like drums were banging in his ears, like someone was singing about good fortune right next to him.
If you've ever drawn white trash loot, you learn to treasure the purple epic even more.
And I can become a Transfiguration master—just by learning diligently…
Heart racing, Sean forced himself to calm down. One thing was certain: he had to stay at Hogwarts for all seven years. No matter what.
And to make that happen, he needed a plan.
His Transfiguration talent was way above his Charms talent, which proved one thing: magic talent in the Harry Potter world wasn't uniform. Different witches and wizards had different specialties.
Take Neville, average in almost everything, but a powerhouse in Herbology.Take Hermione. Brilliant in nearly every branch of magic, but weaker in Defense Against the Dark Arts than Harry, and an absolute disaster in Divination.
If Sean wanted top marks across all seven subjects, he'd have to work twice as hard in the ones he wasn't naturally good at.
And Hogwarts subjects weren't created equal. The hardest part wasn't even the material, it was the professors. They made or broke a class. Just like in college: the textbook is the same, but whether you suffer or breeze through depends on who's teaching.
By that logic, the toughest core class had to be Potions. Not only was Snape the professor, but the subject itself was crammed with detail-heavy knowledge, dangerous lab work, and homework essays that were way too long. On top of that, every lesson required you to hand in a freshly-brewed potion by the end.
Just thinking about Snape's sallow glare made Sean's stomach sink. Getting an Outstanding in his class? No small feat.
He could only hope he had at least some talent in Potions. Just a little. Please.
Second toughest? Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The class was dangerous, the teachers unpredictable. A double-headed man wasn't exactly normal. Another nightmare subject.
Sean rubbed his temples, eyes narrowing with determination.
Nothing will stop me from learning. Not even Voldemort.
After that, he figured the third tier of difficulty was Herbology, Transfiguration, and Charms. All three needed raw talent to excel.
And finally, the easiest were History of Magic and Astronomy. Those just required memorization. Nothing he couldn't handle.
"Transfiguration and Charms… I should be fine at my current level. Astronomy and History? Just a matter of memorizing facts. Nothing special.
So the real obstacles are Potions, Defense, and Herbology."
Decision made, Sean started thinking through how to put his plan into action.
But outside the compartment, the noise had been going on for a while now.
Every so often he heard shouts of "Harry!" "Harry Potter!" "Merlin's beard!"
Then came a loud bang.
Startled, Sean lifted his head only to lock eyes with Justin and Hermione again.
Justin immediately looked down, pretending like nothing had happened.
"Sean, look it's the Levitation Charm. Isn't that amazing?"
Sean followed his gaze. Above Hermione's wand, a feather was floating in midair.
The girl lifted her chin proudly.
"It's actually a really simple spell. I learned it from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. It's not hard at all I got it after just a few tries."
Her voice carried more than a hint of pride.
Sean, who had practiced it five hundred times before succeeding: Not exactly.
"Justin, you should give it a try. It's just a little charm. The Standard Book of Spells says it's usually one of the first spells young wizards manage to learn."
Hermione's tone was serious, though her eyes sparkled with encouragement.
"You'll have to coach me," Justin said eagerly.
He raised his wand, full of anticipation.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The feather didn't budge.
"You need to flick your wrist," Hermione corrected.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The feather trembled, barely moving.
"No! You have to say it firmly. If you hesitate, it won't work!" she scolded, a bit stern.
Justin straightened, taking it more seriously.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
…
"It worked! Hermione, you're amazing—you're a great teacher!"
Justin was overjoyed, thanking her earnestly.
"You were right. It's not that difficult after all!"