"Nice answer," Perenel nodded and smiled at Lilith. "What are you waiting for? Try lighting the candle! Pay attention to the burning of the candle. Generally speaking, further interpretation is required."
The students lit the candles, and not long after, everyone was surprised to find that the burning candles had various situations.
Lilith's candle flames had flares and bevels that flickered repeatedly.
The light of Tonks' candle hissed and cracked.
Leon's candle burned too quickly; almost as soon as it was lit, a third of it was gone.
Marcus's candle flickered, gradually forming a spiral flame.
Soldaya's candle wick "knotted," forming a double flame.
The candles of other groups also exhibited strange phenomena: Jericho's candle splashed with wax, almost shooting into his eyes, Cedric's candle couldn't stand up and kept falling as soon as he let go.
Most of the other students' candles emitted large amounts of smoke in various colors: white, black, purple, and even green.
The students were in a hurry to compete with their candles. Seeing this scene, Nicole Lemay's eyes flashed with emotion. Who is not an alchemy apprentice?
Until he saw Moriarty's candle standing evenly on the table, slowly burning, with a smile on his face. "Very well, Moriarty, we can see that your candle is different. Now, it's time for you to give me a reason."
"I think it's the result of spiritual power," Moriarty replied in a deep voice. There were many young wizards with magic power comparable to adult wizards among the students present. Compared to them, Moriarty's twenty years of magical experience were not particularly prominent, but his candle was the most normal. This indicated that Moriarty possessed an ability that the other students lacked.
Nicole Lemay affirmed Moriarty's answer. "It's mental power, children, keep in mind! Mental power is one of the most basic elements in the formula of alchemy."
"The reason why Moriarty's candle works is related to his stable mental power," Perenel explained to the students. "Through meditation, Moriarty has a unique connection with the candle. In fact, you have it too. This is a gift from the universe to wizards!"
"And when Moriarty's stable mental power envelops the candle, lighting it is like changing its way of life. Don't just watch the candle burn. Eventually, it will disappear and leave only a pool of wax. In fact, in alchemy, it simply changes into another form."
Moriarty asked, "Gas?"
"Yes," Nicole Lemay looked at him. "Dumbledore told me about the three-state transformation theory you proposed in Transfiguration. This theory only needs slight modification to become the three-state transformation theory suitable for alchemy."
"However, this involves practical alchemy props. Clearly, it has nothing to do with our course. We will discuss it in detail after class."
After speaking, Nicole Lemay walked to the podium, and Lilith raised her hand.
"Professor, is Mr. Filch's kerosene lamp an alchemical tool you provided him?"
Nicole Lemay and Perenel exchanged a knowing look and smiled. "After we came to Hogwarts, Mr. Filch told me that it would be difficult for him to catch the mischievous ones among you. He always goes out of his way to ask us to give him some help. So, you know, I gave him a kerosene lamp to help him catch students in invisibility, immobilize them, and a pair of shoes that, for a short time, could allow him to catch up with naughty kids sneaking out at night."
"So that's what happened!" The students suddenly realized, letting out a sigh. Now they understood why Lee Jordan had been caught and had to be careful around Filch when sneaking out for a night tour.
"Alright, children, stop gossiping," Perenel said, sitting back in her reclining chair. She asked the students to restore the candles and light them again until the flames became stable.
"Professor, I think I can go to the next stage," Moriarty raised his hand.
Nicole Lemay gave a brief nod. "Yes, let's begin attempting to shape."
Moriarty closed his eyes again and meditated.
In a state of deep concentration, Moriarty mobilized his magic, and in his mind, the shape of the candle and the corn gradually overlapped.
In less than five minutes, Moriarty had transformed a small piece of the candle into a small ear of corn.
Nicole Lemay held Moriarty's experiment in his hand and pinched it. "Your understanding of Transfiguration helped you quickly complete the shaping step. What we need to do next is to transform it into real, edible corn."
Moriarty looked at him, asking, "Is changing the essence the biggest difference between alchemy and Transfiguration?"
Nicole Lemay nodded. "Yes."
After receiving a positive answer, Moriarty tried to channel the "Magic Moon" energy into the corn.
Turning candles into corn during a corn month seemed like an easy task. However, Moriarty soon realized that magic power, spiritual power, the natural energy of the magic month, and the intrinsic properties of both corn and candles created a vast number of permutations and combinations!
When he tried to channel magic power, it caused changes in the arrangement and combinations of these elements. For alchemy, the control variable method wouldn't work. Only when the quality, quantity, and energy of the above four elements were balanced could the essence transformation be completed.
The alchemical formula mentioned earlier by Nicole Lemay was a tool to help solve this problem.
For beginners, they needed to try and experiment repeatedly to find the most accurate combination and value before success could be achieved.
After hearing this, the students were disheartened. Would they really spend their lives trying to transform candles into corn? Was this alchemy? How ridiculous!
The students groaned, and Jericho slammed his candle onto the ground. "If my kids ask me what I did at Hogwarts, am I supposed to tell them—'Dad spent his whole life trying to turn candles into corn!' What nonsense! We had better options! Why do we even have to learn alchemy?"
Most of the students agreed. They said it was unacceptable. With alchemical formulas in hand, why not let them use it?
Nicole Lemay and Perenel lay back in their chairs, gently swaying, as a ball of light flew out from under the black cloth and floated above their heads, emitting a warm, sun-like light. Soon, both professors displayed expressions of comfort.
"Professor McGonagall?" Dumbledore suddenly asked, "Can you help us make some candles? I want to conduct this alchemical experiment."
The secret room fell silent, and the students turned in unison to look at Dumbledore.
Professor McGonagall conjured over ten small candles and distributed them to Dumbledore and the professors.
Dumbledore closed his eyes, and after a few seconds, he lit the candle.
Then came the shaping, which was equally effortless for Dumbledore and the professors.
"Ah, the next step is the transformation of essence for our Slytherin heirs," Dumbledore said, holding up the candle, inspecting it.
The students were stunned for a moment, then realized that Dumbledore was referring to all the students when he mentioned "Slytherin heir."
The Slytherin students lowered their heads in shame. What would Salazar Slytherin think if he knew they complained about difficulty and feared challenges in the Slytherin secret room?
What would Godric Gryffindor think if he knew?
"Huh? It's not simple, not simple at all…" Dumbledore sighed, rarely supporting his eyes and legs, and a thought flashed in his mind.
The students saw several bumps on the surface of the candle in Dumbledore's hand, and then a lot of popcorn popped out!
Dumbledore picked up a piece of popcorn and chewed it. "Hmm, tastes of wax oil. If you ask me, you should add sugar!"
"Hahaha…" The students laughed. Though Dumbledore had failed, he managed to close the gap with the students. The students realized that even the professors faced difficulties in the step of essential transformation.
This made the students feel more at ease, no longer afraid of failure.
Nicole Lemay had already discerned what Dumbledore had done wrong just by listening to the sound of popcorn popping. He shook his head and smiled, "Albus, you still can't change the habit of channeling 4.56% more magic than psychic energy. Remember 1890? You poured magic into a Hungarian Horntail, and dragon blood spewed uncontrollably from its mouth."
Thinking back to his experience with dragon blood, Dumbledore chuckled. "You've reminded me of Newt, who always disagreed with me, that boy who believed that mental power surpassed magic."
Nicole Lemay and Dumbledore exchanged a brief conversation, leaving the students stunned. But Moriarty caught a few key words.
Dumbledore had discovered 12 uses for dragon blood.
Newt referred to Newt Scamander, the Hufflepuff alumnus.
And the idea that magical power was greater than mental power.
At that moment, Dumbledore ended the conversation with Nicole Lemay. He stood up and walked tall through the secret room.
"Few people know this, but when Hogwarts Headmaster Armando Dippet was still in charge, I, as a Transfiguration professor, suggested the establishment of an alchemy class."
"I remember walking into Headmaster Armando's office to propose the idea. He stared at me for a whole minute before telling me to use handwriting instead of magic to respond to the Ministry of Magic and parents."
"Of course, I refused. Then, I understood what he meant and never spoke of the word 'alchemy' again."
The students pondered the story, but Dumbledore didn't give them time to think. He clapped his hands, drawing the students' attention.
"Listen, children, the early days of alchemy were full of bitterness, challenges, and obstacles. That's why our professors won't let you use easy methods like formulas."
"The two professors are preparing you for the future. Only after experiencing thousands of failures and still pushing forward with practice and learning, can the alchemical experiment be completed."
"After long trials, you will see that alchemical formulas, magical runes, and even creating alchemical items become easy."
"Alchemy, and even mysticism, hold vast potential. You can have your own place under this sky."
"Hogwarts' alchemy class is not about cramming knowledge into you for memorization. Trust me, that's not real magic! If we did that, Merlin and the Big Four would rise from their graves and curse me with a deadly spell!"
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