Chapter 5: Classes
The three-person team finally entered the classroom before the start of class.
"I bet! Those stairs must be deliberately designed to make us late," Ron grumbled as he rubbed his still-red nose, entering the classroom first. He glanced at the empty podium with a sigh of relief.
"It seems like we're not too late. The professor hasn't arrived yet," Harry added, shooting Ivan a somewhat grateful look. Thankfully, he had woke them up early; otherwise, he would surely have been late.
"No, I think the professor has arrived..." Ivan dismissed the comments of the two, instead glancing at the brindle cat on the podium before quickly returning to his seat.
Harry and Ron were puzzled, but after they took their seats, they saw the brindle cat on the podium suddenly leap off the stage, distorting and deforming mid-air. When it landed, it had transformed into a witch – Professor McGonagall!
Harry and Ron were stunned. They understood what Ivan had meant now, but they couldn't understand how Ivan had known that Professor McGonagall was the cat.
Professor McGonagall was also surprised. She had used her Animagus form to observe the situation of the young wizards in this class, and she had utilized this transformation technique to start the class. She hadn't anticipated being recognized by a student at the beginning of the lesson.
Acknowledging Ivan with a slight nod of approval, Professor McGonagall began teaching the content of the first Transfiguration class.
"Before we begin the class, I want to remind you... Transfiguration is arguably one of the most complex and dangerous spells you'll learn at Hogwarts . If anyone in my class misbehaves, I expect them to leave immediately and never return!"
Professor McGonagall waved her staff and transformed the podium in front of her into a pig, eliciting exclamations from many young wizards. She then quickly changed it back.
Ivan sat at the front, witnessing the entire transformation process.
Precise, quick, flawless...
Being able to transform a wooden podium into a sentient creature was akin to directly altering the structure of matter, even temporarily granting intelligence to the lifeless. The enigma and might of magic became evident in that moment.
The wizarding world's magic, while perhaps slightly lacking in destructive force, possessed its own uniqueness in various other aspects, making it comprehensive and holistic.
Professor McGonagall's demonstration immediately piqued the curiosity of the young wizards. After explaining the methods and techniques for casting the Transfiguration Spell, she distributed a match to each student with the aim of transforming it into a silver needle.
As Professor McGonagall began her explanation of the Transfiguration Spell, a notification rang in Ivan's mind.
[Ding, you paid close attention to the professor's explanation and noticed that the content was somewhat obscure, leading to a slight improvement in your proficiency with the Transfiguration Spell...]
Ivan accessed the information panel and saw an additional line in the magic section.
[Transfiguration Spell Level 0 (6/100)]
Seeing that it matched his expectations, Ivan felt a touch of delight. It indicated that regardless of the type of magic, repeating practice would enhance his proficiency, enabling him to learn quickly.
However, after half a class of repeated practice, Ivan realized that it wasn't as straightforward as he had initially thought.
...
Professor McGonagall looked at the matches on the table of a disheveled-haired young witch which had undergone significant transformations, resembling needles to varying degrees. She then relaxed her pursed lips, revealing a hint of satisfaction in her expression.
After cautioning the young wizards who were still struggling with their assignments, Professor McGonagall shifted her attention to the boy in front of her. She spoke sternly, "Mr. Hals, I believe I should remind you that casting this spell can be quite hazardous, and you must maintain focus before releasing the magic."
"In addition, simply repeating mechanical exercises won't provide much assistance. You should strive to be more attentive, focused, and visualize what the silver needle should look like..."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I will heed your advice," Ivan Hals responded politely. He concentrated his thoughts under the scrutiny of the professor, and his wand, measuring nearly twelve inches, began to move through the air with an unusual, rhythmic pattern.
On the black-gray wooden table, a match appeared to be manipulated by some invisible force, twisting and contorting as it slowly transformed, gradually taking on the shape of a silver needle through the influence of magic.
However, just as the match was undergoing its slow transformation, it appeared to be disrupted, abruptly reverting to its original state in an instant.
This occurrence didn't seem to surprise Professor McGonagall. After observing it, she simply nodded and left the student with an instruction for further practice before turning away. After all, it was not uncommon for most newly enrolled young wizards to encounter such difficulties.
As the Professor departed, Ivan sighed softly to himself.
"It seems that accumulating proficiency isn't as easy as I thought..."
After dedicating most of the class to practice, Ivan had lost the initial excitement he had felt. The rate of proficiency growth had slowed down after the initial surge, and it wasn't possible to increase his proficiency every time.
After some reflection, Ivan began to suspect that this practice wasn't solely aimed at increasing proficiency but rather a way to demonstrate one's own skill level through the measurement of proficiency.
As most of the class time elapsed, Ivan struggled to perform a stable transformation spell.
In the midst of Ivan's efforts in Transfiguration class, he suddenly felt a series of pokes on his side.
Turning his head, Ivan realized that Harry, brimming with excitement, was pointing at two pointed, faintly shimmering objects on the table in front of him and exclaiming loudly.
"Hey, Ivan... Look, I did it, I did it!"
"Well, indeed, Harry, you are exceptionally talented!" Ivan acknowledged, glancing at the needles on the table and offering a nod of approval. Achieving such significant changes in the matches during the first Transfiguration class, and maintaining their form for an extended period, already placed Harry at an skilled level among the young wizards. He was undoubtedly more proficient than Ivan.
"Right? I never expected this. My relatives, they're all Muggles. I often wondered if I could even perform magic before coming to school..."
Ivan affirmed Harry's concerns and previous worries. Before entering the magical world, Harry had been an ordinary 11-year-old boy. Suddenly, he found himself thrust into the role of the savior, receiving immense attention and glory, but also bearing the unimaginable weight of expectations.
Harry had even contemplated the humiliating possibility of being unable to master magic, but fortunately, the reality hadn't been as harsh as he had feared.
Ivan wasn't surprised by Harry's rapid progress in magic. After all, the Sorting Hat had made it quite clear when it placed him in Gryffindor—Harry possessed bravery, kindness, and exceptional talent.
It was entirely possible that Harry, the talented savior, might reach the level of a professor before graduation.
Regarding this, Ivan harbored no envy whatsoever...
After all, there were only a handful of truly gifted young wizards.
Ivan scanned the room discreetly, observing that most of the classmates appeared to be at a similar level of proficiency. This realization eased his initial concerns. But just as he was settling into this thought, he heard Professor McGonagall's commanding voice once more.
"Very well, Miss Granger! As you can all see, Miss Granger has successfully transfigured the match into a silver needle. Gryffindor gains five points!"
A short distance away from Ivan's seat, Professor McGonagall raised the silver needle triumphantly, gesturing to the surrounding young wizards.
Miss Granger sat upright, her gray and brown hair scattered haphazardly across her shoulders, her head held high with pride as she accepted the gazes of astonishment and admiration from the wizards around her.
Ivan stared blankly at the silver needle, and the optimism he had briefly mustered suddenly crumbled.
"Damn it, this is a bit frustrating! With more practice, Professor McGonagall should recognize my efforts..." Ron grumbled, poking the table with his wand and glancing despondently at Hermione.
Ivan shifted his gaze to Ron's table, where the once-transformed matches had reverted to their original state due to Ron's waning magical power. He couldn't help but think that, even with more lessons, Ron might struggle to reach Hermione's current level.
Though Ivan himself wasn't faring much better—in fact, he considered himself even worse—his earlier expectations for significant talent improvement through soul integration seemed to have fallen flat.
It appeared that the customary plot devices seen in various novels didn't quite apply to Ivan's situation. This made him appreciate the Sorting Hat's evaluation of his talent even more.
Of course, Ivan also suspected that his struggle with Transfiguration might be partly due to the reduced compatibility between his soul and the wand resulting from the soul replacement.
In an analogy, if magical power equated to electricity, and a magic wand functioned like a plug and wiring, then spells were akin to various electrical appliances.
Currently, his "wires" had occasional short-circuit issues, affecting the functioning of his "lights."
Ivan was acutely aware that he wouldn't be able to resolve this magic wand issue quickly, and he feared that he might have to make do with this wand for the entire school year.
After struggling with the match for the entire duration of the first Transfiguration class, Ivan still hadn't managed to stabilize its shape after the transformation.
Instead, he stumbled upon a somewhat impractical trick. By channeling his magic power through the wand in a chaotic manner, he could create a slender magical beam. Its sole purpose was to revert the unstable transformations back to their original form. Ivan had inadvertently discovered this while nearly causing an explosion in his umpteenth attempt, and the only practical application he found was to play pranks on Ron during the class.
As Professor McGonagall announced the end of the class from the stage, another voice chimed in Ivan's mind.
[Ding, after the host's unwavering efforts, the Transfiguration class has concluded. Please continue your hard work.
Comprehensive class evaluation: Medium
Evaluator: Minerva McGonagall
Reward: Academic points *5
...]
Ivan had never considered the possibility of receiving rewards for the class. He was genuinely surprised, especially when he noticed the term "academic points." It seemed points were evaluated by each subject's professors.
Ivan was content with this newfound system function. He just wasn't sure how these academic achievement points would be useful.
As he explored the system panel, Ivan noticed the academic achievement points section. To his disappointment, he found only one redemption option—an experience card. It required 100 academic points and promised to significantly boost learning efficiency within an hour.
Ivan had imagined trading for powerful magic or forbidden curses. But this also seems useful enough.
With a glance at the meager five academic points he'd earned from a single class, Ivan felt a pang of despair. With Hogwarts classes typically spanning three to five hours a day, accumulating the necessary points to redeem the one-hour experience card would take several days. He questioned the practicality of what one could achieve in just an hour.
Nevertheless, Ivan realized there was little he could do besides study diligently.
Transfiguration class had concluded, and the next subject on the schedule was the rather dull History of Magic, taught by Professor Binns—a ghost who droned on incessantly, paying no heed to the students' presence or their understanding of the subject matter.
Ivan found himself uncomfortable with the History of Magic class. He realized that his academic achievement points were closely tied to how professors evaluated his performance in their classes. Unfortunately, Professor Binns, who taught History of Magic, was an incorporeal ghost who paid little attention to students. Consequently, Ivan couldn't find an opportunity to improve his evaluation in this subject.
After enduring an entire class of History of Magic, Ivan received another middling evaluation and earned five points.
However, he soon discovered the silver lining of this subject. In the class, students learned how to smoothly apply magic power to objects, a fundamental skill for spells like Levitation. Despite the persistent issues with his wand, Ivan achieved success by the end of the lesson, although he had caused three props to explode in the process.
While Ivan's performance was slightly better than average, Hermione Granger had quickly mastered the technique, succeeding after just three attempts. Ivan consistently received negative evaluations in class and garnered only two grade points for his efforts.
On a brighter note, after a days of exploring Hogwarts, Ivan's progress in the [Explore Hogwarts] task reached 30%. For each additional percentage point, he received two grade points, accumulating a total of 60 grade points. This progress rate outpaced the daily reward for attending classes, giving Ivan newfound hope that he might eventually amass 100 academic points and redeem the coveted experience card.
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