Hermione Granger had been feeling a bit down lately.
In fact, after receiving her acceptance letter to Hogwarts and learning she was a wizard, she was so excited she couldn't sleep for days. Wizards, magic... Hermione yearned for this new, unfamiliar field and held a tremendous passion for it. This drove her to prepare most of her textbooks before the start of the semester, as well as a large number of extracurricular magic books.
However, this enthusiasm was dampened on the first night of school.
She noticed that her two roommates seemed less close to her, especially after she pointed out two errors in their speech during a late-night chat last night. This morning, Lavender Brown had arranged to go to class with Parvati Patil but hadn't called her. She even overheard Lavender Brown whispering to Parvati.
"Look at her, always eager to point out people's faults... I was clearly talking to her last night!"
"Does she think she can be the best student in Gryffindor? Come on, everyone knows Ryan Elias will definitely be number one, even the Sorting Hat knows that..."
Although Parvati later gently pointed out that Ryan wasn't exactly a Gryffindor, Hermione was no longer listening. She felt only a sense of loss and familiarity. It was an experience from her previous school—her intelligence and desire to show off had always made her unpopular among her peers.
Apparently, this wasn't just the Muggle world but the wizarding world as well.
That's why she seemed a little irritable before class.
Even after Professor McGonagall announced the lesson topic—transforming a matchstick into a needle—her temper hadn't yet calmed down.
"..."
She bit her lip and waved her wand repeatedly at the matchstick in front of her. She had already reviewed the Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration and should have been able to perform this simple transfiguration by then. But the matchstick in front of her just wouldn't obey. Sometimes it became like a small metal stick, sometimes it became smaller at the top and larger at the bottom, but it could never really become a needle.
But at this moment...
"Don't let bad mood dominate your spellcasting, Granger." Hermione heard a voice from the front. She stopped her wand, and when she looked up, she saw Ryan's light blue eyes.
"Sorry?" She said softly, and her mood was still obviously not very good. By the way, she saw the match in front of Ryan that had turned into a needle. She even saw that there were fine and elegant patterns on the needle.
"Emotions." Ryan repeated his words patiently, just like when he used to teach the young witches and wizards accepted by the four Hogwarts teachers. "Emotions can affect your spells." He pointed to the needle on Hermione's desk, which had a big head, a small body, and a strange shape. "Good emotions are, of course, wonderful. They make some spells more effective and can even be the source of some spells. And bad emotions... they certainly exist, and can enhance certain spells—but remember, don't let them dominate you."
Ryan looked at the little witch. He didn't know what was happening to her, but he could sense she wasn't feeling well.
"All those troubles, sadness, negative emotions... they're just like flowing water. Let them flow, but don't let them stay." His voice seemed to carry a steadying power. "Now, wave your wand."
So, Hermione waved her wand, and saw a perfect needle appear before her. The little witch was stunned for a moment, then instinctively raised her head and looked forward. But at that moment, Ryan, hearing Seamus's call from the side, had already turned his head.
"Oh, Ryan, come help me too! Look at my needle!" Seamus called anxiously.
But Ryan remained noncommittal. "Oh, brother—this of yours..."
He looked at the object the other boy had conjured. It was true that the lower half was beginning to take on a metallic hue, but on top... why was the match head still there? And besides, why was there black smoke coming out from under this strange object?
"Not yet, Seamus..." Ryan said politely. He wasn't shy about offering some ideas. "The basic principles of Transfiguration are five steps, Seamus. Observe, Imagine, Build, Fill, Transform—observe the object, imagine the target, build the foundation, fill in the details, and complete the transformation. As for you, I'm afraid we'll have to start with the first step..." He said casually.
This was the basic formula his four teachers had taught him when they taught Transfiguration, and he had practically ingrained it into his bones through endless practice. But as soon as he finished speaking, he heard an exclamation of praise.
"A brilliant summary... yes, absolutely brilliant!"
Ryan looked up in surprise, only to see Professor McGonagall standing not far away. The witch's face was filled with unconcealable excitement. The more she thought about it, the more she felt Ryan's five words were simply brilliant. Admittedly, they were simple. But as an educator with decades of experience at Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall knew firsthand that in education, simplicity is precisely the most difficult thing!
As a master of Transfiguration, she could effortlessly perform extremely difficult transformations and had published over a hundred papers in Transfiguration Today. But when teaching young witches and wizards, such complex magical theories were clearly inappropriate.
And Ryan's five words...
"Observe, Imagine, Build, Fill, Transform." Simple, efficient, straightforward, clear, and to the point. Professor McGonagall excitedly adjusted her glasses. "Oh, I'm afraid I'll have to write this down... Son, did you come up with this on your own?" Only then did she realize what was happening, her eyes gleaming with disbelief as she looked at Elias.
"Of course not!" Ryan shook his head decisively. "I saw it in a book... Oh, the one I mentioned before—hmm, it seems to be a casual reflection from the author."
A lie often leads to more lies, and this statement was immediately true.
"Oh, of course..." Professor McGonagall nodded in relief. She found it hard to believe that a newly enrolled wizard could sum up these five words that directly addressed the essence of Transfiguration. But then, a burning curiosity betrayed her age. "Mr. Elias, you may have a work by a master of Transfiguration—I'd love to borrow it."
One could only say that, worthy of someone who had experienced the embarrassment of the Sorting, Professor McGonagall truly possessed some Ravenclaw qualities.
"..."
But Ryan, seemingly oblivious to Professor McGonagall's obvious hint, remained silent. Where would he find that book? Professor McGonagall was a little disappointed. She really wanted to see the book. But after all, they were still in class, and Ryan was only an eleven-year-old wizard.
Professor McGonagall didn't take it personally, simply glancing at the needles Ryan and Hermione had conjured. "Mr. Elias and Miss Granger have completed their Transfiguration. They'll earn Gryffindor House 10 points..." Professor McGonagall decisively ignored the fact that Ryan wasn't actually a Gryffindor.
This was a Gryffindor class, so what was wrong with her giving him extra points?
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief when Professor McGonagall didn't dwell on the topic of books. But then...
"What's that smell?" Ryan turned his head in confusion, only to see the black smoke from the matches in front of Seamus grow stronger. "No, Seamus... wait!"
But he couldn't stop him in time, as Seamus had already waved his wand.
BOOM!
Amidst the flash of fire, the sound of an explosion, thick black smoke, and Hermione's exclamation, Ryan's first class back at Hogwarts concluded successfully.
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Author's note
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