38 Chapter 38: Let's Go Find the Four Founders' Treasure
"So, I believe that the reason wizards haven't been able to successfully transform into magical creatures is simply because their magical proficiency isn't sufficient. In my opinion, Animagus transformation consists of two main steps: the first step, transforming into an animal form, and the second step, maintaining rationality in the animal form and transforming back into a human form.
"In the case of transforming into ordinary animals, both of these steps are relatively easy. Especially the second step is easier than the first, so if a wizard successfully transforms, there won't be an issue with reverting back. However, if the transformation target is a magical creature, the difficulty of these two steps increases significantly. Particularly, the difficulty increase in the second step may surpass the first step by far. Therefore, most wizards fail at the first step of transformation, and the few who successfully transform often fail at the second step, losing their rationality completely and unable to revert back to human form. According to rumors, some magical creatures in the magical world now are the products of wizards failing Animagus transformation in the past.
"I'm quite busy at the moment and don't have spare time to research Animagus transformation in depth. So, I plan to study Animagus more thoroughly when I have the time in the future, and then decide whether to learn this magic. However, even if Animagus can transform into magical creatures, there's a good chance I won't learn it. Because I believe that the human form is the strongest form for wizards. Instead of envying the unique magical abilities of magical creatures, it's better to focus on strengthening our own magical abilities. After all, we are the rulers of the magical world."
After finishing his explanation, Bell turned to Hermione and found her eyes widened like mosquito coils, with smoke coming out of her head.
"Um, sorry, Hermione. I got a little carried away."
Hermione shook her head.
"I didn't understand much, but I think what you said makes sense. I'm glad you're willing to share so much valuable knowledge with me."
Hermione had always had few friends... well, none really, so she enjoyed chatting with others. And when the conversation was about magic, she was even happier. After all, there was nothing more interesting than magic.
After separating from Hermione at the Great Hall, Bell headed towards the Ravenclaw table. Because he had been chatting with Hermione on the way, most of the first-year students had already sat down for their meals.
"Bell, what time did you leave this morning? None of us noticed."
Bell's roommate, Anthony Goldstein, asked.
"I'm used to getting up early. I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning."
Several young wizards looked at Bell in surprise, unable to understand. But Bell didn't care if they understood or not, so he simply greeted each of them before preparing to eat.
"Bell, your Transfiguration skills are amazing! Can you teach me?" Mandy Brocklehurst asked.
She hadn't been able to turn matches into needles until the end of today's class.
"And me! Bell, do you have any tricks? Teach us quickly," Bell's roommate Michael Corner also hastily said.
Losing to Bell was one thing, but losing to a little witch from Gryffindor was unbearable for Michael. Ravenclaws were the smartest and most knowledgeable.
The other first-year wizards also looked over. Apart from Hermione and Bell, no one else had managed to complete the transfiguration before the end of class. Professor McGonagall required everyone to successfully complete the transfiguration before the next class, or else they would face punishment.
"There are no tricks. The only trick to learning magic is to practice constantly and use it constantly," Bell said while eating.
He didn't eat much in the morning, and by the middle of class, he was feeling a bit hungry.
Although Bell's words seemed casual, and this sentence also gave people a sense of perfunctoriness and universal applicability, it was indeed the only conclusion he had come to after long research and study.
Hearing Bell's answer, some people pondered, while others hummed disapprovingly, feeling that Bell was being secretive and unwilling to share tricks, afraid of being surpassed by them.
...
Afternoon classes ended quickly. It's worth mentioning that during the Charms class, Professor Flitwick, while taking attendance, got so excited at the mention of Harry Potter's name that he fell off the stack of books. It's truly embarrassing. You should just resign.
Overall, the classes were relatively easy, just a bit boring.
Many young wizards were attending class for the first time, and after the novelty wore off, many immediately felt a bit unbearable.
Before the day before yesterday, during this time, they should have been playing with gnomes in their own backyards. But now they had to sit in their seats in the classroom, unable to move around freely, and had to listen to the professor talk about a bunch of boring theories! Many young wizards began to vaguely realize what was waiting for them in the next 7 years.
These restless young wizards certainly didn't include Bell. Most of his time was spent quietly reading, and the only regret he felt was not being able to practice magic during class. He didn't want to accidentally cause a disaster.
...
After dinner, Bell returned to the Ravenclaw common room to finish today's homework. After a while, one of Bell's roommates suddenly sat down next to him, looking sneaky.
Bell's roommate looked at the books spread out on the table with an incredulous expression.
"Bell, are you doing homework already? There are still several days until the next class!"
"If I don't do it now, I'll probably forget about it by tomorrow. If I can't hand in my homework in class, it'll be miserable," Bell said, spreading his hands.
He had so many things to do every day, and something as trivial as homework wasn't worth occupying his mind. So, Bell was sure that if he didn't finish and put it away tonight, he would definitely forget about the homework by the next morning.
"Forget about these boring homework," Bell's roommate said in a low voice after looking around and finding no one paying attention to them. "Let's go on a night adventure!"
"Night adventure?"
Bell gave his roommate a look as if he was caring for an idiot.
"Is your bed not soft enough? Or is your blanket not silky enough? Isn't it great to lie down comfortably and sleep at night? Besides, why do you want to roam around Hogwarts at night when there's plenty of time during the day?"
Bell's roommate was stunned by Bell's sarcastic remarks and took a moment to react.
"No! Of course not! Keep your voice down." Bell's roommate said without words.
After looking around again, he lowered his voice and said, "Let me tell you secretly. You must not tell anyone! I heard that the four founders of Hogwarts left treasures here, and no one has found them yet. So let's go treasure hunting!"
