"Incantation speed!"
"The way you move your wand."
"Spell proficiency."
The students chimed in one after another.
Edward nodded. "That's right. All of those are correct. But there's one more extremely important factor—emotion. Or rather, the strength of your mind."
"The stronger the emotion, the faster the spell is cast, and the greater its power. Of course, that's not just my opinion. A wizard as powerful as Professor Dumbledore once told me that himself."
Harry Potter's eyes widened instantly. "Who was it?"
"That's unrelated to today's lesson, Harry. If you're really curious, you can ask me after class."
Edward continued, "There are many things that influence emotion—your purpose in casting the spell, your target, your mood at the time, your belief…and so on."
"But what does that have to do with Transfiguration?"
"A lot, Miss Granger. Have you forgotten? Transfiguration is also a form of magic."
Hermione suddenly understood. "So, maintaining strong emotions during Transfiguration can increase the success rate?"
"Exactly."
Edward nodded in approval. "But here's the thing—even when people understand that, many still struggle to evoke emotions during Transfiguration. Do you know why?"
No one answered.
"Because of something that's both ridiculous and real: they don't actually believe the snuffbox in front of them can turn into a brick, a chicken leg, a Golden Snitch, or a cat."
"If you don't believe it yourself, how can you expect to summon any emotions?"
Audrey silently agreed with a nod.
"Actually, over the years, I've realised that this disbelief doesn't just apply to Transfiguration—it affects all magic. Take this example: say someone has wizard blood but never encountered magic until age thirty. Then one day, they receive a Hogwarts acceptance letter and begin learning magic from scratch. That person will likely learn far slower than you all. Why? Because thirty years of experience have taught them not to believe in magic."
At this point, Edward steered the discussion back to Transfiguration.
"So if Transfiguration is just like other spells—dependent on emotion, belief, and the mind—why do people who are great at other spells still struggle with Transfiguration?"
"In my opinion, it's because Transfiguration spells are far more vague and broad in scope compared to most other spells."
He suddenly waved his wand at a desk, making it dance on its legs. Then, with another flick, he petrified the desk, shattered it into pieces, and promptly restored it with a final spell.
"See? Most other spells follow a one-to-one principle: one spell, one result. But Transfiguration isn't like that. One spell can lead to countless outcomes."
"Turning a matchstick into a needle? That's Vera Verto. Turning a snuffbox into a brick? Also Vera Verto. Turning Harry Potter into Ron Weasley? Still Vera Verto."
Ron grinned at Harry. "Ha! Harry, he actually said you could turn into m—AHHH!"
He suddenly let out a scream and jumped back in horror, pointing at Harry with wide eyes. "You…you…"
Everyone finally noticed—at some point, Harry Potter had transformed into an exact copy of Ron Weasley. From appearance and clothing to expression, the two were completely indistinguishable.
Several Slytherins were utterly stunned. They understood just how powerful it was to cast a silent spell that changed a person's appearance so flawlessly.
Harry, meanwhile, was touching his own face in confusion, completely baffled by what had happened.
Edward once again flicked his wand, returning Harry to normal, and continued his explanation: "That's why some wizards can easily transform one specific object into another, even nonverbally and without a wand, but struggle when it comes to a different object entirely. This is the reason."
"So how do you overcome that? I can't help you with that—you'll have to start by believing in yourselves."
At that, he clapped his hands. "Alright, theory is useless without practice. Let's see what you've got. Try transforming the snuffbox in front of you into whatever you want it to become."
Snuffboxes floated down in front of each student. The young witches and wizards instantly furrowed their brows, glaring at the snuffboxes as if sheer force of will might compel them to change.
Hermione was the first to succeed, transforming her snuffbox into a needle. Edward's explanation had inspired her—since she couldn't yet freely transform objects at will, she decided to recall the memory of turning a matchstick into a needle, and simply apply that same intent to the snuffbox. It worked instantly.
Audrey thought it over for a good ten minutes before she acted, ultimately transforming her snuffbox into a pocket watch.
Edward stood at the lectern, silently observing his students' progress, breathing a small sigh of relief. The first class was finally going smoothly. Everything he'd said so far had been drawn from his own experience learning Transfiguration—but whether it would apply to everyone, he honestly wasn't sure.
"Huh?"
Just then, he noticed Draco Malfoy sitting there in a daze, murmuring incantations under his breath but clearly not actually practising. Before class, Edward had assumed this guy would be the biggest troublemaker of the day—but to his surprise, Malfoy had stayed quiet the entire time.
Could it be because of that secret he was carrying? But he hadn't seemed like this during dinner yesterday…
———
Twenty minutes later, the bell rang to signal the end of class.
"Alright, that's it for today's Transfiguration lesson," Edward announced. "Let's give a round of applause to Hermione, Audrey, Goyle, Harry, and the other nine students who successfully cast the spell and completed the transformation. Each of them has earned 2 points for their house."
The applause was scattered and light.
"Well then, see you all next lesson."
Edward gave a slight bow, exchanged a look with Audrey, and turned to leave the classroom.
"I've got something to do, I'll head out first," Audrey said to Hermione before hurrying after him.
"Do you have any more classes this afternoon?" Edward asked, taking the books from her arms.
"Nope. Why?"
"Then come wander the castle with me for a bit. I want to interview a few ghosts and the people in magical portraits—Nearly Headless Nick, the Grey Lady, the Fat Friar, and some of the former headmasters. With their help, compiling a record about Hogwarts should be much easier."
"Sure~"
The two walked side by side. Edward asked again, "By the way, what's going on with Malfoy?"
"Oh, that's because of this morning's Defence Against the Dark Arts class," Audrey explained. She recounted the incident with the Boggart turning into Lucius Malfoy, and then added, "...and then Harry quietly muttered, 'Blood doesn't make you worth anything, does it?' which immediately drew hostile glares from all the pure-blood students. He's definitely suited for the Hunter pathway!"
Edward rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Mm, yes, you're right. Then let's give him the Assassin potion."
"Huh?"
"Aren't Assassin and Hunter adjacent pathways? He can switch back later."
Audrey narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You're scheming something again, aren't you?"
"No no no, I just want to see how Snape reacts when faced with a Harry who's turned into a witch."
"You're…so evil!"
"Hahahaha, I'm just kidding, just kidding."
———
Hogwarts was home to many ghosts, most of whom had been 'alive' for centuries—some even over a thousand years. Nearly Headless Nick, for example, had been a noble in the 15th century. The Grey Lady's background was even more remarkable—her real name was Helena, daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Then there was the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar, and many others.
The first person Edward sought out was Helena Ravenclaw. Compared to the others, she undoubtedly knew the castle best.
The two of them first spoke with Professor Flitwick and, with his permission, proceeded to the entrance of the Ravenclaw common room.
"Why did Prometheus steal fire from the sun god Apollo to give to mankind?" asked the eagle-shaped bronze door knocker, its voice soft and musical.
Audrey thought for a moment and answered, "Because fire brought light to mankind, and with light came hope. With hope came progress, and with progress, a future."
The bronze knocker was silent for a few seconds. "A textbook response."
"And you, sir?" it asked Edward.
"Hmm…perhaps he simply didn't want humans to eat raw meat anymore? After all, cooked food is far tastier." The eagle beak on the bronze knocker replied, "That's also an acceptable answer. You may enter."
The Ravenclaw common room was a large, circular space. Elegant arched windows lined the walls, draped in blue and bronze silks. Through the windows, one could always see a stunning view, whether day or night.
Directly opposite the door stood a tall white marble statue in a niche—the founder of Ravenclaw House, Rowena Ravenclaw.
The students inside the common room showed little reaction to the arrival of two strangers, continuing about their own business. The pair made their way to the top of the Ravenclaw Tower, where they soon spotted a tall, long-haired ghostly woman floating a few inches off the ground, gazing out the window.
"Excuse me, Lady Grey," Edward called gently.
The woman turned, raising a brow with an air of haughtiness. "What is it?"
"Well, I'm compiling a record on Hogwarts, and I've heard you've resided in the castle ever since its construction. I was hoping you could share some of your memories with me."
Her lips curled into a cold, dismissive smile. "Not interested."
She turned and began to float away.
"Wait—do you still remember this?"
Edward pulled out the Ravenclaw diadem.
Helena froze mid-air, a look of shock crossing her face. "The coro—"
"It's a long story," Edward said quickly. "But to summarise, Voldemort—Tom Riddle—learned its whereabouts from you, took it, and turned it into a Horcrux. I later recovered it."
"No!"
She shook her head violently. "This diadem…why…why does it carry the aura of that world?!"
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.