"Time is up. Please take your seats, gentlemen and ladies," Professor McGonagall announced, her voice cutting through the low hum of first-year chatter. "Your first Transfiguration class has now begun."
She surveyed the room, her gaze sharp and appraising. "Before we begin, I need to inform you that Transfiguration is one of the most complex, dangerous, and difficult branches of magic to learn. I expect your full attention in my classroom. Do not whisper or engage in any form of disruptive behaviour. Otherwise, for the sake of ensuring everyone else's ability to attend class normally, I will have no choice but to ask you to temporarily leave my classroom." Her eyes swept over them once more. "If everyone understands, then our first class begins now."
As her words fell, Professor McGonagall elegantly raised the magic wand in her hand and gave it a gentle, precise wave. The new students gasped as the very texture of the stone floor beneath their feet seemed to ripple and flow like water currents. From the wooden surfaces of their desks, a multitude of flowers, vibrant plants, and even small, perfectly formed trees began to sprout and grow with astonishing speed.
These magical flora quickly bloomed, their colors a riot against the grey stone, and then, just as rapidly, bore fruit. The ripe fruits tumbled onto the desks and, upon impact, burst open. From within each fruit, tiny sparrows emerged, taking to the air in a flurry of wings. They circled and flew throughout the classroom, which had transformed into a miniature, enchanted forest, their chirping forming a melodic, rhythmic chorus.
With another graceful wave of her wand, everything in the classroom instantly reverted to its original state. The flowers, trees, and sparrows vanished as if they had never been. Professor McGonagall looked at the young, awe-struck wizards and witches before her. "Transfiguration," she stated, her voice resonating with a deep respect for her subject, "is a very profound and intricate magic. It is a rare wizard indeed who can practice Transfiguration to a truly advanced level, even if he dedicates his entire life to its study."
She paused, letting her words sink in. "Therefore, you just need to take it one step at a time. If you are diligent enough and possess a sufficient aptitude for Transfiguration, then one day, when you look up from your work, you will find that you have already travelled a great distance on the path of Transfiguration."
"Next," she continued, her tone becoming more instructional, "I will teach you the most basic and commonly used form of Transfiguration: object Transfiguration."
At this point, Professor McGonagall gently waved her magic wand and tapped the sturdy wooden podium beside her. Instantly, the podium shimmered and changed, transforming into a small, perfectly formed pig that grunted contentedly and began to pace back and forth at the front of the classroom.
As is well known in the wizarding world, pigs possess an extremely strong natural resistance to magic. Being able to use Transfiguration to turn an inanimate object into a living creature – and not just any creature, but a flawless, healthy little pig without any imperfections – was a powerful demonstration of Professor McGonagall's profound expertise in the art of Transfiguration.
Sean was very clear about the difficulty of such a feat. A significant portion of the notes Gavin had given him before he left for Hogwarts documented various conjectures and experiments related to Transfiguration. Sean had flipped through those notes and discovered that even at the end of his Hogwarts career, when Gavin graduated, he had not yet succeeded in turning a completely inanimate object into a living animal. And yet, even without that specific achievement, Gavin's Transfiguration skills were considered quite excellent by Hogwarts standards, which only served to highlight the immense difficulty of the discipline.
Therefore, ever since he had obtained his magic wand, Sean had attached great importance to practicing Transfiguration. Drawing upon some of the experiential knowledge and private techniques regarding Transfiguration that Gavin had meticulously recorded in his notes, Sean could be considered to have initially grasped the fundamental basics of this complex magic.
At the same time, the subject of Transfiguration was also earmarked as the first crucial step in Sean's personal plan to earn back those lost house points.
Halfway through Professor McGonagall's introductory lecture, with a flick of her wand, a single wooden match appeared on the desk in front of each student.
"This," she announced, "is the practical content you need to learn in this first lesson. Please follow the methodology I have just taught you and attempt to turn this match into a needle. This is the direction you need to work towards for the remaining half of this class."
It was, pointedly, merely a direction to work towards, not a task they were all expected to achieve immediately. In reality, Professor McGonagall was acutely aware of how deceptively difficult this seemingly simple transformation was, especially for young, inexperienced wizards on their very first day of formal magical instruction.
Sean looked at the match resting before him. When he had practiced Transfiguration at home, he hadn't specifically attempted to turn a match into a needle. He had, however, tried transforming other small objects. Since transforming one inanimate object into another was based on the same underlying magical principles, Sean wasn't particularly nervous. He took a deep, steadying breath, focused his mind, and pointed the ebony phoenix wand in his hand at the match.
The tip of his wand touched the head of the match, then swept downwards towards its tail in a smooth, controlled motion.
Visibly, the match began to change. It gradually became more pointed, its wooden texture starting to thin and refine. As the magic wand in Sean's hand swept up and down repeatedly, each pass precise and deliberate, the match became progressively thinner and thinner. Its material composition gradually shifted, the dull brown of the wood giving way to a faint metallic sheen. Finally, on the seventh careful sweep of the wand in Sean's hand, the match completely transformed, now lying on the desk as a slender, perfectly formed silver embroidery needle.
"Sean succeeded!"
While attempting the transformation himself, Ron had tried numerous times, but the match on his desk remained stubbornly, frustratingly, a match. This lack of immediate success had made him a little distracted. He kept glancing around, his gaze flicking from Harry's equally unsuccessful efforts to Sean's focused concentration.
When he saw Sean successfully turn the match into an embroidery needle, he couldn't help but cry out in genuine surprise and admiration.
Ron's exclamation immediately attracted the attention of the entire classroom. The young wizards and witches all turned their gazes towards the gleaming silver needle lying in front of Sean. Professor McGonagall, her eyebrows slightly raised, quickly walked over to Sean's desk. She looked at the embroidery needle, picked it up carefully, and examined it with a critical eye. After confirming that the Transfiguration was indeed correct and complete, she nodded, a look of clear satisfaction on her face as she looked at Sean.
"Look, everyone," she announced to the class, her voice carrying a note of approval. "Mr. Bulstrode has successfully Transfigured his match. As the first person in this class to achieve a successful Transfiguration, I will award five points to Slytherin, where Mr. Bulstrode belongs!"
Although Professor McGonagall was the Head of Gryffindor House, she was, unlike the notoriously partisan Slytherin Head, Professor Snape, a remarkably fair and impartial individual. She would not withhold deserved points simply because a student belonged to Slytherin, nor would she refrain from deducting points from a Gryffindor student if their behavior warranted it. Sean had performed excellently in her class, demonstrating a clear aptitude for the subject, and thus, he was eligible to receive points, even if those points went to Slytherin.
If any other Slytherin student had earned points for their house, the other young Slytherin wizards would surely have cheered and offered congratulations, however grudgingly. But because the student in question was Sean and due to the lingering animosity fuelled by the presence of Malfoy and Millicent in their year, a stony silence met Professor McGonagall's announcement. Besides Blaise, who offered a genuine clap of congratulations to Sean, no other Slytherin celebrated Sean earning points for their house.
Sean wasn't too bothered by this pointed lack of enthusiasm. The points had been deducted from him, however unfairly, and it was only right that he should be the one to earn them back. As for other matters, the petty squabbles and internal politics of his new house, they had nothing to do with him. He just needed to focus on living his own life and achieving his own goals.
After the Transfiguration class ended, Professor McGonagall was the first to leave the classroom. Sean and Blaise said goodbye to Harry and Ron, who were still marvelling at Sean's success, and then headed to the location of their second class. This was Herbology, which, as they knew, took place in the greenhouses situated outside Hogwarts Castle. Here, the Slytherin first-years would be having their lesson alongside the students from Ravenclaw.
Sean didn't get an opportunity to earn any points in Herbology. Firstly, he hadn't had a chance to review any Herbology material beforehand. Secondly, many of the students in Ravenclaw, a house renowned for its intellectual prowess, possessed truly astonishing reserves of knowledge in various subjects, and Sean, at this early stage, was simply no match for their specialised expertise in magical flora.
During the lunch break that followed, Sean was eating with Blaise in the Great Hall when Samuel, the fifth-year male Slytherin prefect who had spoken to Sean briefly after the Sorting Ceremony, suddenly came over to their section of the table.
"Sean," Samuel began, his tone affable, "I heard you managed to get five points back for Slytherin in Transfiguration class today. Congratulations on a good start. It seems that earning back fifty points in a single semester might not be such an impossible task after all. We all look forward to you getting all those points back for Slytherin."
Samuel seemed very enthusiastic, his words encouraging. Sean, maintaining a calm and polite demeanor, chatted with Samuel for a couple of sentences, acknowledging his words without giving too much away.
Before long, Samuel excused himself and left the Great Hall, citing that he still had other prefect duties to attend to.
Sean watched Samuel's retreating back, a small, knowing chuckle escaping his lips.
Truly worthy of Slytherin, he thought. Every interaction seemed to be a carefully calculated move, every word weighed for its potential impact.
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