Chapter 58: The path ahead! Suddenly wide open!

A cat.
In the blink of an eye, it turned into a human.
Such a scene elicited an uproar and gasps of astonishment from the group of young wizards in the classroom.
"A cat! The cat turned into a professor!"
"Oh my god! I was just thinking about catching it and taking it back to our dormitory!"
"That's so cool! I want to turn into a turtle! The kind that can live for ten thousand years!"
Seeing that the young wizards were all stunned by the opening effect of this first class, the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth could not help curling up slightly. Every professor at Hogwarts knew how to arouse the young wizards' interest in learning in this way.
"If I hadn't forgotten the mealtime, I generally wouldn't appreciate people secretly doing other things during my class."
After reminding Ian, Professor McGonagall raised her hand and made a gesture, signaling Ian and the other two to go and choose their seats.
Inside the spacious classroom.
There were plenty of desks and chairs.
Perhaps.
During some period in the millennial history, this place had also been bustling with noise and excitement. But now, the thirty-odd young wizards obviously couldn't even fill half of the desks and chairs in the classroom.
"Good morning, everyone. I am Minerva McGonagall, and I will be your Transfiguration teacher for the next few years," Professor McGonagall began with a brief self-introduction.
After signaling everyone to be quiet.
"Transfiguration is a complex and magical branch of magic, extremely practical in both daily life and combat." With that, Professor McGonagall waved the wand in her hand.
Almost in the blink of an eye.
The podium beside her turned into a fierce leopard.
"Roar!"
The leopard let out an angry roar, startling the young wizards into a series of screams. Michael and William's eyes nearly popped out of their heads, while Ian's eyes shone brightly like green gemstones.
Transfiguration!
His lifelong nemesis!
When would he ever reach such a level?
"Roar! Roar!"
The leopard truly looked like a living creature, pacing and leaping about in the classroom for quite a while before turning back into an ordinary-looking podium at the wave of Professor McGonagall's wand.
"Do you think she just turned a desk into a leopard, and then back into a desk?" Michael suddenly whispered to Ian and the other two.
"What else would it be?"
Ian and William both looked completely bewildered.
"What if the professor had turned a leopard into a desk beforehand and put it there, and then turned it back into a leopard and then into a desk right in front of us?"
The way the black kid viewed problems seemed somewhat unique.
"..."
Ian was left speechless.
At this moment.
Professor McGonagall, unaware that she had been subjected to a "conspiracy theory," had already begun speaking softly to the eager young wizards who were dying to learn Transfiguration right away.
"Turning furniture into animals is advanced coursework for older years." Her method of arousing their desire to learn was simple, yet extremely effective.
A hopeful young wizard raised his hand.
"Professor, if I learn Transfiguration, can I turn my younger brother into a My Little Pony?" This was a cute little Hufflepuff witch wearing round-framed glasses.

Her question made Ian snap his head around to look at her.
Whose subordinate was this?
Why didn't she go to Slytherin?
"Transfiguration is forbidden on your own species, Miss Laura. I hope you will banish this dangerous notion from your mind," Professor McGonagall warned in a stern voice.
"Perhaps you might find the scene just now very entertaining, but in fact, Transfiguration can almost be considered the most dangerous magic you will study during your student years."
The voice of the elder cat-lady wasn't particularly loud, but it allowed everyone to hear every word clearly. "Turning any object into another is a hazardous process."
"It is known that sixteen magical creatures were created by wizards' failed transfiguration attempts, including the notoriously famous harpies from Greece."
"Wretches who, due to their own lack of caution, doomed themselves and their descendants to become creatures of enduring agony, and that is actually considered a relatively favorable outcome among transfiguration accidents."
Professor McGonagall swept her gaze over every young wizard present.
Her words carried profound meaning.
Leaving plenty of room for chilling contemplation.
"Therefore, caution is forever the primary rule you must keep in mind when studying Transfiguration. I sincerely hope I never hear of you becoming a cautionary tale in a textbook in the future."
Such a serious reminder.
Made the young wizards in the classroom somewhat nervous.
"If I could turn into a Hungarian Horntail, I think I wouldn't mind even if I couldn't change back," William muttered quietly to the side, prompting Ian to look at him several times.
Truly worthy of someone suspected of having oviparous bloodline!
"I presume you have all recognized the danger of Transfiguration. Now, let me lead you to begin appreciating its charm—let us start by turning a match into a needle."
As expected.
The first challenge first-years face in Transfiguration class is forever the classic match.
Following Professor McGonagall's distribution, everyone received a match. Ian was no exception. Looking at his personal status panel, he couldn't help letting out a soft sigh.
[Transfiguration (Level 0) 38/50]
He hadn't stopped practicing recently, but his progress in this area remained minimal as usual. A single class period probably wouldn't be enough for him to cross the threshold.
"Remember, every pronunciation of the incantation must be precise. At the same time, you must construct the image of what you wish to transform in your mind."
With her instruction concluded, Professor McGonagall told everyone to begin practicing.
"Vera Verto!"
Recalling the contents of the textbook, Ian tried again. He concentrated hard on building the structure of a steel needle in his mind, yet just like the many times he had practiced before.
The match trembled and twisted, but ultimately failed to turn into a steel needle.
Time slipped away.
The surrounding students were all diligently studying and practicing. Soon, William became the first to successfully transform a match into a needle, and Professor McGonagall awarded Ravenclaw five points in praise.
Perhaps driven by unwillingness to lose, or perhaps tempted by the reward points, the students on Ravenclaw's side began successively completing the task. Even over at Hufflepuff, someone managed it as well.
"Hiss!"
Seeing that Michael the black kid was also getting close to success, Ian finally couldn't sit still any longer.
"Professor."
He raised his hand.
"Mr. Prince, is there a problem?"
Professor McGonagall immediately cast her gaze over. In truth, she had been observing Ian's transfiguration all along, but the match on Ian's desk hadn't undergone any major changes.
This didn't quite seem to match what Dumbledore had said?

"I've encountered a bit of a puzzle."
Ian had actually wanted to seek Professor McGonagall's help for a while.
"Please speak."
Professor McGonagall nodded slightly.
"As we all know, wood is primarily composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin, whereas iron is primarily composed of iron atoms."
Without looking at his classmates around him who wore blank expressions and muttered about what kind of "common knowledge" this was, Ian asked Professor McGonagall with an utterly serious tone.
"I've been trying hard to convert every component of the wood into iron atoms, but... this is really difficult." He was extremely puzzled by how easily the other young wizards had succeeded.
"??????"
Not only did the young wizards wear bewildered expressions.
Even Professor McGonagall's eyes widened by a fraction.
"It appears you have already conducted some research into alchemy..." Professor McGonagall looked at Ian with an immensely peculiar gaze, studying him repeatedly as if examining him anew.
"However, this is of no help in learning Transfiguration." After a brief pause of hesitation, Professor McGonagall looked at Ian with her wise eyes and spoke.
"Mr. Prince, I wonder how you view wizarding magic?"
Her tone was very solemn.
"Magic comes from the wizard himself, originating from the power of belief. It responds to the yearnings of the heart," Ian replied after a brief contemplation of his current understanding.
Professor McGonagall looked at him in surprise.
"It seems what Dumbledore said is true. Yes, indeed, you are quite right... Magic is the materialization of the soul, and also the echo of imagination..."
"Your failure stems from the fact that all you are doing is distorting matter."
Professor McGonagall used a completely novel vocabulary to describe magic, and at the same time, explained the reason behind Ian's slow progress in Transfiguration.
"An echo of imagination—doesn't it still require a reality-based medium? Isn't this no different from distorting matter?" Ian felt as though he were getting close to the truth.
Yet it remained elusive.
"Of course there is a difference, child. Distorting matter is merely attempting to use magic to convert one substance into another, and that is not the reason why wizards are powerful."
A flash of complexity crossed Professor McGonagall's eyes as she looked at Ian, along with a trace of internal struggle. After hesitating for quite a while, her expression softened, as if she had finally made a decision.
"I generally do not impart dangerous knowledge to young wizards, but Mr. Prince, I believe you truly need proper guidance in this area."
"I cannot simply watch you go astray."
Professor McGonagall looked at the students around her, each looking more perplexed than the last, and then back at Ian, whose eyes were filled with an eager thirst for knowledge. She spoke softly and gently.
"Remember, we wizards do not distort matter; wizards bestow new rules upon matter. Ancient wizards believed in a phrase, and it holds true in today's era just as well."
With that.
Professor McGonagall raised her wand.
Glowing runes emerged from the tip of her wand.
The young wizards present were all completely bewildered, staring at the runes floating in mid-air that shone like fireworks, whispering to one another as none of them could recognize the symbols.
"Wizards are gods."
The dazzling characters were reflected in Ian's eyes. Written in Runes by Professor McGonagall, the words at this moment seemed to push open the door to a vast new world for him.
The wheels of history... began to turn.