read full story in patreon : Ilham20
only for 3$
In the corridor, Rock paused at the office entrance and knocked on the heavy oak door.
The door swung open. Professor McGonagall wasn't seated behind her desk; instead, she was standing in the center of the room.
"Good afternoon, Professor."
McGonagall didn't respond. She simply tapped her wand.
A mechanical robin flew over, instantly disintegrating into a dozen component parts in mid-air. Then, just as quickly, the gears and springs reassembled, morphing into a living, breathing robin that fluttered down in front of Rock.
Rock extended his hand, and the robin landed directly on his palm.
Moments later, its feathers began to fade, transforming into a clockwork orange. Finally, the mechanical fruit collapsed into a small pile of copper dust and vanished from Rock's palm completely.
The entire process was utterly silent.
"Good afternoon." McGonagall walked over, her gaze sharp behind her square spectacles. "Tell me, what did you see?"
Rock lowered his head in thought. He knew McGonagall was verifying whether he had completed last week's extracurricular study.
"Three transitions, one Vanishing Spell. You were demonstrating the mass conservation node during a morphological leap."
Rock looked up at McGonagall, stating his interpretation of the display.
"Node..." McGonagall repeated the word, the corner of her mouth twitching into a barely perceptible arc. "Be specific."
She turned and walked toward the long table.
"From mechanism to life, you supplemented the magic required for the 'illusion of life' while reducing the mass of the metal, then bestowed a transformation again. However, the final vanish wasn't a standard Banishing Charm; it resembled a precise molecular decomposition."
The room was quiet for a few seconds, save for the crisp crackle of the fireplace.
"You've memorized the book well, and your perspective is precise." McGonagall tapped her wand lightly, and several items appeared on the table. "But theory is merely the map. Transfiguration requires the journey."
"Cross-species transfiguration. The textbook example is transforming a hamster into a guinea pig." McGonagall pointed her wand, and a hamster on the table expanded, its fur becoming sleeker and longer until it transformed into a perfect guinea pig.
"You are likely familiar with animate to inanimate transformation. Now, try to reverse a cross-species change."
Rock nodded and drew his wand, aiming it at the guinea pig. "Reparifarge!"
The wand emitted a faint glow, and the guinea pig successfully shrank back into a hamster.
"Very good. Now, attempt a transformation between animals of similar body mass, but still across species. A hare. Focus, and be cautious."
McGonagall nodded and issued the next instruction.
Rock took a deep breath. Although she said "similar body mass," turning a hamster into a hare was significantly harder because the skeletal proportions of the hind legs and the skull shape were fundamentally different.
"Vera Verto!"
A halo of light erupted from his wand. Inside the light, the hamster began to stretch and morph. A few seconds later, a slightly nervous-looking hare appeared.
The form was impeccable, yet Rock frowned. It was a failure.
"Did you observe it?" McGonagall stepped up beside Rock. " The form can be changed, but the life template itself will resist. Right now, this isn't a real rabbit. At the very least, it doesn't realize it can jump."
Rock nodded. The core self-identity of a living organism was the hardest thing to alter.
"Alright, lift the spell. We'll move on to a genuine challenge." McGonagall spoke again. "Turn it into a hedgehog. Do you know why this is difficult?"
"I need to convert soft fur into sharp quills, as well as sculpt the muscle memory required for it to curl into a ball."
Rock waved his wand to cancel the transfiguration on the hare, answering McGonagall's question.
"Correct. It requires more processing of the epidermal layer than the hare, going from one extreme to another." McGonagall nodded, signaling Rock to begin.
Rock waved his wand again. This time was far more difficult than before; he could even feel a faint resistance traveling up his wand from the living creature.
Still, he completed it.
The hedgehog on the table had distinct, sharp spines, and as if startled, it immediately curled into a tight ball.
Rock exhaled deeply. That transformation had been more taxing than the hare; a thin layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
"Done." McGonagall waved her wand, pouring a glass of water from a pitcher and floating it over to Rock. "Do you remember the strain you just felt?"
"That is magic telling you that you are forcibly twisting the tendencies of nature. Remember that sensation firmly. Now, watch this."
McGonagall turned her wand toward the other item that had appeared with the hamster: a chunk of granite.
"Vera Verto!"
As the incantation was spoken, the granite on the table seemed to be kneaded by an invisible hand. It stretched and spun, transforming within seconds into a fluffy, soft ball of yarn.
Rock walked over to observe it closely. It was a perfect transformation. The material had undergone a complete overhaul, yet in his magical perception, there was a strange conservation of energy.
"Material transformation touches upon the essential structure of the object. Your intent must penetrate the appearance and understand the difference between hardness and softness."
McGonagall pointed to a wooden block set aside. "This is your homework. Transform this wood, in sequence, into a glass block, a sponge, and a lead weight of equal volume. Submit a written report describing the variance in magical output for each."
"Yes, Professor."
Rock pocketed the wooden block and nodded.
"True Transfiguration is knowing exactly where you will fail, and withdrawing your power before that failure occurs to avoid catastrophic consequences."
McGonagall returned to her high-backed chair. "Classroom assignments remain as usual. You must also complete the tasks I've assigned, and I expect you to record every anomaly in your transformations."
Rock pulled a stack of parchment from his bag—notes he had organized over the last week—and handed them to her. "These are the issues I encountered last week, Professor."
McGonagall expressed her approval. "Excellent. Keep it up."
After explaining the points recorded in Rock's notes, McGonagall produced several more books. "You won't find these in Flourish and Blotts. Miss Granger mentioned that your study group has been accumulating a lot of reading material."
"Yes, Professor. I still need to improve."
Rock reached out to take the books.
"Very good." McGonagall smiled again; she greatly appreciated Rock's attitude.
After organizing his notes, Rock bade McGonagall farewell. This single afternoon of private tutoring had yielded more insight than a whole week of solitary practice.
Rock intended to head back to Ravenclaw Tower, but he suddenly noticed the pendant in his pocket beginning to heat up.
It was... the exact same sensation as that night.
Rock scanned his surroundings.
At the top of the staircase, he saw a figure flash by and disappear.