24

September 3, afternoon, Transfiguration class, Hogwarts.

Before the bell had even rung, students from houses such as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were already sitting in their seats. Basically they were separate from each other, like two banks of a river. Only one desk stood out from the general background. Sitting behind her were representatives of both houses: Neville and Calder.

At the moment, the first boy was enthusiastically telling something to the second. Calder seemed completely oblivious to his words. Only rare nods refuted this theory.

At the moment, our hero was watching the cat with all his eyes. This representative sat imposingly on the professor's table and it seemed that no one was paying attention to her.

The cat closely watched all the students, as if it was aware of everything that was happening around.

If we go back to the boy, we can observe an interesting picture. His intent gaze of brown eyes did not leave the figure of the cat, his eyes seemed to sparkle under the rays of the sun falling from the huge windows of the classroom.

But suddenly, something changed in the boy's eyes. The eyes that once seemed brown have changed color. They turned gray, with a slight tint of blue. And not just a change in color. His eyes... they glowed... not even like that, they burned. It was as if there was a fire burning behind the sclera of the eyes. Even if it's still small, it's already so "hot" that it can make its way into our world.

But as soon as we blink once, the picture disappears. There was no longer the unusual color of the eyes, the light of the "bonfire". Everything has sunk into the abyss of ignorance. As if it was all a mirage. Or was it a mirage?..

Or maybe not after all?..

***

After the potions lesson, we went to the Great Hall for lunch. Today's lunch was, as always, nutritious and varied. What was there: pork, beef, poultry. And I'm generally silent about the various dishes that included plant foods. Yes, lunch is not breakfast. It is immediately obvious that the board of trustees does not skimp on their children.

After a hearty lunch, our two houses headed off to Transfiguration class together. Upon arrival there, we sat down and waited for the teacher to arrive. I sat down next to Nev. We need to maintain communication. And it's clear that the boy himself likes it.

The class itself did not have anything that stood out other than the armor in different parts of the class, as well as the cat.

Oh cat. As it became clear, it was Professor Minerva McGonogol. Apparently the tradition of demonstrating animagus occurs for all first-handers, every year.

What about the professor's animagus form? Well, first of all, this is a cat, as if that were already clear. Secondly, it was felt by the magical sense like an ordinary cat, and not like a disguised magician. Believe me, I have "probed" more than one cat with my instincts. After all, in many stories cats and cats are a symbol of magic or companions of magicians. And I am ready to confirm this. They feel the magic. Our professor is no exception. As soon as I "probed" the professor with my magical sense, the cat suddenly pulled out its head and began to carefully look around the class.

I wonder if the professor has this instinct from a cat? Or is it a trained skill? There is so much more to know...

The ordinary feelings of people and magicians cannot expose an animagus. But as soon as you connect unusual ones, that is, magician vision, the picture changes.

As soon as I looked at the cat in my magic vision, it became clear that it was a person. Why is this so? You see, cats in a magician's vision have the aura of a "cat," that is, their aura is not as large, active and varied than that of a person or a magician. Therefore, it is easy to find out who is in front of you by magician's vision.

But just as the aura of a person differs from the aura of a cat, so the aura of a magician differs from the aura of a person. In it, the part responsible for the "magical" beginning immediately becomes visible. True, it is not so easy to notice it; you need to peer closely at the object of study. Also, the magician's aura is even more "alive"; than the same in humans. Apparently this is the effect of the presence of mana in you.

Let's get back to the point. What do I see in a cat's aura? Well, first of all, the presence of a magician started. Secondly, the "liveness" of the aura. And thirdly, a crude attempt to disguise the magician's aura as the aura of a cat.

I remember in the Harry Potter books it was said that a magician's long stay in an animagus form has a bad effect on the magician himself. He begins to adopt habits, habits and some features of his form. A striking example of this is Peter Pettigrew. Being in the form of a rat for such a long time. It seemed to be in both his appearance and his character.

But this could not last long. About 3 minutes later, as we sat down in our seats, the bell rang.

With its ringing, everyone fell silent. There was deafening silence for 20 seconds. But as soon as these seconds passed, whispers were heard from all sides. "Where is the professor?", "Are we in that office?" and so on.

I felt a push and turned towards Nev.

-What Nev?

-Kol, where do you think the professor is? – he asked excitedly. - Or maybe we were wrong? Or maybe...

A wave of my hand interrupted his growing speech.

-Shh! - I asked him to shut up, while putting my finger to my lips. - Everything is ahead. Look at the professor's desk.

As soon as Neva turned to the table, the cat, which had been sluggishly looking around, jumped. Once upon a time there is a middle-aged lady standing on the ground. Strict, thin, in a traditional green robe. She topped off her look with a pointed hat. Just the standard of the classic style of magicians.

"Good afternoon, class," the teacher's stern and undoubtedly dry voice was heard. "Welcome to Transfiguration class." Here you will learn how to give any thing and not only things, any image. How to create any animal out of thin air, be it an ordinary bird or a real Grimm, or even a dragon - her voice seemed to bounce off the walls of the classroom. Her severity and, emphatically, correct speech were forced to remain silent and listen to her words. - But enough words, it's better to show you what I'm talking about.

As soon as the words sounded, a wand appeared in her hand. A wave and the table begins to smoothly turn into a flock of pigeons before our eyes. Another wave and all the birds, having gathered in one flock, turned into a black dog, whose size could compete with a real bull. His bloody eyes seemed to drag you into the depths of the underworld. The next swing, in place of the dog, a dragon of appropriate size appeared. Its red scales with a golden pattern glittered in the light, and its mouth could bite anyone there in half. The last wave and we again see the professor's table.

"As you can see, transfiguration is capable of, if not everything, then a lot," Minerva continued. – What you saw at the beginning of the lesson, namely my transformation from a cat to a human, is also a section of transfiguration. Can anyone tell me what exactly this section is?

Of all the children, I was the only one who raised my hand. Maybe they're all impressed.

-Yes? Do you know the answer? – I answered her question with a nod. - Well, please. Just introduce yourself first.

"Calder Wilson, ma'am," came the answer, and I stood up from my desk. – The section of transfiguration that allows the magician to take on the appearance of an animal that personifies his inner world is called animagus. An animagus is a magician who can completely transform into his inner beast. That is you, professor.

-Good answer, young man. 10 Ravenclaw points. Sit down," As soon as I sat down, she continued. "Everything Mr. Wilson said is completely true." I am an animagus. Every animagus is required to undergo training, but we will learn about this in the 5th year, if you want to study my subject in depth. Please also note: all animagi must register with the Ministry of Magic. Remember this. - making sure that we understood her words, she continued. - Okay, now let's move on to the main topic of our lesson: Gump's laws. Who can tell you about these laws?

This time I decided not to raise my hand. Enough for today.

The red-haired girl from Halpluff raised her hand.

- Yes, miss...?

-Susan Bones, ma'am. Gump's laws are prohibitions in transfiguration. The main prohibition: food transfiguration.

- That's right, Miss Bones. 5 points to Halpluff. You said it right: Gump's laws are prohibitions...

The lessons continued under the professor's measured speech, and we took notes on the lecture. What is logical is that we did not cast magic. Who will give ordinary children, even magicians, permission to cast magic from the very beginning?

The use of charms or transfiguration spells will begin only from the third week of study, and during this time we will study theory and train gestures.

Only potions making stands out against this background. Already in the next potions lesson we will brew our first potion. Can not wait. I just want to cook it myself and also take part in the dance of mana. It will be interesting.

***

September 3, morning, potions class, Hogwarts.

Potions classes started as usual. Mini survey from Snape - check. Submission of new material on the upcoming potion - check.

And here it is - the recipe is on the board, the ingredients are in containers, and Nev and I are ready to brew the potion. True, if I felt anticipation, then Nev felt nervousness.

"Nev, Neev," seeing that he was not listening, he lightly pushed him on the shoulder.

-Huh, Ko-ol? W-what is it?

"Don't be nervous, otherwise you'll start stuttering again," I tried to cheer him up. - Listen, I have an idea. Let me brew the potion itself, and you will prepare the ingredients. Is it coming? - nod. - Great. Just do this, follow the recipe on the board, okay?

Having waited for his consent, I proceeded to brew the potion. I put the boiler on the magic version of the heating pad. Lighted the fire. I filled the boiler floor with water.

Heat the boiler, then let it cool..

Heat again..

Pour in flobber worm mucus until the liquid turns pink.

Heat the boiler until the liquid turns orange.

Add dried nettles until the color of the potion changes to green.

Heat the boiler until the liquid turns blue.

Add crushed snake fangs until the color changes to pink.

Add porcupine quills until the potion turns orange.

Pour in crushed horned slugs until the color changes to blue.

Heat the liquid until it turns red.

Remove the boiler from the heating pad.

This is the recipe. On the desk. While Nev squeezes out the mucus, I heat the cauldron. Having poured the mucus into the water, I saw what I expected - the potion did not change color. It looks like you need to blow mana into the liquid itself.

Having started to supply mana, I noticed the desired reaction. The liquid began to change color to the color I wanted.

And so the process went. Nev serves the ingredients, and I add to the cauldron, while continuing to feed the mana in a thin stream.

In magic vision everything was much more interesting. The Mana I supplied mixed with the Mana of the ingredients and "changed" its color. At the same time, it partially merges with the general liquid in the boiler.

This is how the process continued until the very end of cooking. As soon as I took the cauldron off the fire, it exploded.

The mana in the cauldron, which had previously been barely contained in the cauldron, rushed out. Right before my eyes Mana gave me its color for all existing shades. But then she stopped, split into two parts and flew along the desired route. Most of it changed color to red and condensed into the cauldron, forming a red potion. As a result, the total volume of liquid decreased to 1/5 of the original volume.

A smaller part moved towards "me". Right as it approached, it changed its color to gray-blue, but it also contained some light green mana. And this whole cocktail poured into my seventh shell.

At the end of the process, I felt a small boost of energy, but still more mana was spent than returned. What is logical is an equal exchange.

After analyzing the entire process, I came to the conclusion that those interspersed with light green are the main catalyst in which a genetic predisposition to brewing potions is formed.

Having poured the resulting potion into flasks, 5 of them came out, Nev and I carried them to the teacher's table. At the same moment, Snape approached him.

"Professor," I began. "Neville and I are done."

What's interesting is that Neville and I are the only ones finished at the moment. Half of the children have not even reached the halfway point of the process. And for some it is already clear that the potion will not work.

"Okay, give it to me for evaluation," having given the potions to the professor, we began to wait.

The professor began checking the potions. It consisted of: visual inspection - eye test; smell test; check in the light.

At the end, the professor pointed his wand at the flasks and cast a spell so quietly that even I with improved hearing could not hear.

After standing for about 10 seconds, apparently receiving information from the spell, Snape, hiding his wand, stared at us.

Looking into his eyes, I felt touches on my protection. It's so good that I foresaw this and duplicated the memories in advance with the only difference that the magician's vision was replaced, and my thoughts were replaced by thinking about the recipe and my further trip to the library.

It is worth giving credit to the professor, he only looked at the memories of cooking. Although that doesn't diminish the fact that he was reading the child's memories.

Finally, having decided something, he spoke:

-Mr. Longobot and Mr. Wilson, right? – Having received our confirmation, he nodded with satisfaction. – This is the first time I've seen such a well-brewed potion in my first year, and even in my first lesson. Believe me, it's worth a lot. Your rating is excellent. And also, 10 points for your department. I hope you will continue to amaze me in the field of potion brewing. Right? Don't disappoint me. For the next lesson, prepare an essay on the topic of mistakes when brewing a potion for boils. All clear? – we nodded in response. - Free.

Under the surprised looks of our fellow students, we packed our things and left the potions class. But it's still the middle of the first couple... I'm too carried away with brewing potions...