The Calm Before the Storm

After lunch, Harry and Ron, still trying to guess where Professor Moody had been going the night before, hid in the library with Hermione for the sake of peace.

"Are we going to do more magic today?" Hermione asked Ivan as she sat down next to him with a thick book.

"No, let's read for a while. I need to look up some information." Ivan got up and took a few books on biological transformation from a shelf to read.

He was so busy investigating Barty Junior and Moody that he almost forgot about it.

Fortunately, the poor Crumple-Horned Snorkack didn't starve to death, and he put some grass and leaves and water in the jar beforehand, enough to last the creature a week.

After a few days of observation, Ivan was able to determine that the Crumple-Horned Snorkack would never return to its original form — a true biological transformation.

He also attempted to perform a Transfiguration Charm on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack to turn it into a button.

The entire spell-casting process was very smooth, and there were no obstacles along the way. It was no different from transforming into any other creature. After a period of time, the magic would disappear, and the button would revert back to the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

However, after a few experiments, the poor little fellow became a little jumpy, and Ivan was worried that he might accidentally kill it, so he let it go and did not continue to torment it.

Ivan spent the rest of the afternoon searching for information on high-end Transfiguration magic.

Ever since his Transfiguration had been upgraded to Level 7, his proficiency had increased like a tortoise crawling, and normal magic practice had little effect.

Therefore, he needed to find the key to the biological transformation and understand the principles behind it. If he could really crack it, his Transfiguration would probably reach an unbelievable height, and the benefits would be self-evident. At the very least, he would have endless wealth.

After all, if he could create creatures out of thin air, wouldn't it be easy for him to turn stones into gold?

Wait, turning stone into gold…

Yvonne rubbed her chin and muttered to herself for a moment, then threw the book aside and grabbed an old one from the shelf on the other side of the room.

"Ivan? Are you looking for something?" Hermione asked curiously, having noticed Ivan's unusual behaviour.

"Do you think it's possible for a wizard to transform a piece of wood into a completely non-existent creature and create a new species?" Ivan asked casually, flipping through the pages of his book.

"How is that possible? Professor McGonagall told us at the beginning of the school year that magic can't change the nature of things!" Hermione retorted, thinking it was inconceivable that even Professor Dumbledore could do such a thing.

Ivan, however, shook his head and pointed to a line on the page in his hand. "No, it's possible! Alchemy can do something like that."

Hermione leaned forward and read the words aloud:

"Ancient alchemy involved the refinement of Philosopher's Stone, a magical substance of astonishing function, the most celebrated of which was the turning of stone into gold and brewing the Elixir of Immortality…"

"It shows that it's possible to convert something completely into something else … or at least the Philosopher's Stone can do that," Ivan said excitedly, raising his eyebrows.

Apparently, according to the book, the stone could be used to convert matter and change it completely, otherwise it would not have been recorded in such a large volume.

This was because simply conjuring a piece of gold was not a big deal. Many wizards and witches could do this with Transfiguration, but it was only a temporary change. They might be able to fool Muggles, but if they dared to use it in the wizarding world, they would be caught red-handed.

Although this was different from his biological transformation, both had completely changed the essence of matter. Perhaps there was a connection…

The more information he read, the more Ivan realised how difficult it was to do this. Transfiguring and creating creatures was supposed to be the domain of the gods. No wonder Nicolas Flamel claimed that the Philosopher's Stone was the ultimate creation of alchemy…

"That seems to be true, but Ivan… what are you looking for?" Hermione teased Ivan when she saw a description of the stone. "Are you going to make one?"

"You never know!" Ivan laughed.

Some time ago, he had reached the limit of Level 6 in alchemy. When he returned this summer, he could ask Nicolas Flamel how to break through. If he did, he might be able to have his own Philosopher's Stone next year.

Hermione thought Ivan was joking and pretended to beg him to give her a piece of gold.

The two of them chatted and flipped through the pages of the book until evening. Then, they packed up and headed to the Great Hall to enjoy their dinner.

Ivan was in a good mood, despite not being able to find many crucial clues all afternoon.

This was because he did not have to worry about dark wizards lurking in the shadows, nor did he have to worry about conspiracies. All he had to do was flip through books and bicker every day.

After dinner, Ivan went straight back to his room, took out a quill and started writing to Luna.

[I've found some information about the Tracking Immortal Tree and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. If you're free, we can meet under the Whomping Willow the day after tomorrow evening — your loyal friend Ivan Hals!]

After writing the letter, Ivan looked at it to make sure it was correct, and then he called out to Majka to deliver the envelope to Luna.

It was thanks to the little witch's help that he and Hermione were able to sort out the misunderstanding, and Ivan was naturally grateful.

It just so happened that he had a living Crumple-Horned Snorkack, which he had to take care of regularly and could not figure out anything about, so he might as well give it to Luna as a gift and let her keep it for him. He could just borrow it from Luna when he needed it.

… .

After sending the letter, Ivan spent the next two days looking for a suitable location to renovate the Forbidden Forest, in addition to his daily lessons and reading materials in the library.

How could a Crumple-Horned Snorkack not have a Traceless Tree?

Although creating a Vanishing Tree out of thin air, which only existed in the imagination and produced beautiful flowers, was difficult, a Level 7 Transfiguration was more than enough for Ivan to overcome.

Of course, this tree was different from the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. It could not exist forever, and everything was created by magic…