"It's okay, Mom. I don't need any presents. I just hope that when the time comes, Santa Claus can bring gifts for you and Dad instead."
Seeing the hesitation on his parents' faces, Dylan actually started comforting them.
After all, his System had already arrived. Getting into Hogwarts was practically guaranteed.
The reason he was so anxious to confirm whether an owl had taken his letter was because he wanted to head to Diagon Alley as soon as possible.
"Oh my, my baby is just too sweet!" Maeve's eyes shone with emotion.
By Christmas, she was determined to save up enough money to buy her son a proper present!
Just as Hubert was about to say something to console his son—
A sudden, light tapping sound came from the windowpane.
All three of them turned to look and saw an owl perched outside the window, head tilted, staring intently at the letter on the table.
"An owl?" Maeve exclaimed. "Is it here to collect the letter?"
Tap, tap.
Seeing that no one had opened the window yet, the owl pecked the glass again, the crisp sound ringing out like a polite knock.
"Hubert, hurry and open the window!" Maeve sounded even more flustered than Dylan.
As soon as Hubert slid the window open, the owl did not fly away. Instead, it hopped inside and planted both claws firmly on the envelope.
Tap, tap.
At that moment, a polite knocking sounded at the door as well.
The three of them exchanged glances, then looked toward the doorway together.
Hubert and Maeve were filled with nerves.
Dylan, however, stood up at once and strode toward the door, taking a deep breath.
Which professor would it be?
With a soft click, the door opened.
Looking up, Dylan's eyes first fell on a deep green robe.
His gaze rose slowly, landing on the slightly severe face of a middle-aged woman wearing square glasses.
"Nice to meet you. Sorry to intrude. I couldn't find a doorbell, so I had to knock."
"…"
Dylan tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That's all right. May I ask who you are?"
"Hello, Mr. Hawkwood. I received your reply. I am Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts."
Seeing Dylan, Professor McGonagall's eyes softened a little, but a strange look flashed through them right after.
Was it just her imagination?
Why did it feel like there was a trace of spell energy clinging to this little wizard?
"Hello, Professor McGonagall. It's nice to meet you. I'm Dylan Hawkwood. P-please, come in."
Dylan had thought he could remain calm, but the moment he actually saw Professor McGonagall, a tide of emotions surged up from his chest, making it hard even to speak—
It was not just the excitement of meeting a familiar character, but also the nerves of someone carrying three Unforgivable Curses while standing face-to-face with a master of magic.
Fortunately, McGonagall seemed used to such reactions from children. She did not scrutinize him for long. She followed him inside, then smiled and greeted Hubert and Maeve.
"Professor… McGonagall? To be honest, we're still having a hard time wrapping our heads around this whole magic business…" Once the elegantly dressed professor was seated, Hubert could not stop himself from speaking.
"Of course, I completely understand. That is one of the reasons for my visit."
Professor McGonagall's smile was natural and gentle.
"In fact, even if Mr. Hawkwood hadn't replied, a few days before term starts, the school would still send a professor to guide Muggle-born students and their families through Diagon Alley."
As she spoke, she drew her wand and gave it a light flick.
A notebook on the table transformed in an instant into an alarm clock, its hands ticking as they turned.
"Ring, ring, ring!" The alarm suddenly went off, and Dylan instinctively reached out to shut it off.
Watching this impossible scene unfold before their eyes, Hubert and Maeve finally accepted that magic truly existed.
Dylan was a little amazed as well. After silencing the alarm, he looked up. "Professor McGonagall, is this the Transfiguration you'll be teaching me later?"
"That's right. You'll learn it after you enroll," McGonagall replied.
"Can Transfiguration change living creatures? And if so, are those creatures truly alive, or is it more like an illusion that doesn't touch their essence?" Dylan pressed.
A hint of surprise flickered in McGonagall's eyes as she studied him for a moment. "Magic cannot truly alter the fundamental nature of a living being, but it can attempt to approach it."
"So this alarm clock only looks like an alarm clock, but at its core, it's still just a notebook?" Dylan blinked.
"You could understand it that way," McGonagall nodded.
"Then why does it still ring?" Dylan asked again.
"Because ringing is something an alarm clock is capable of doing," McGonagall answered.
"Something it's capable of doing?" Dylan did not quite follow. "Professor, could you explain that in more detail?"
"The essence of Transfiguration is the combined effect of will and magic. I wished for it to become an alarm clock that would remind me later, so it gained the ability to make sound. That is also a basic function of an alarm clock."
McGonagall frowned slightly. "Strictly speaking, this is the kind of content you should only learn slowly after school starts."
"But since you're interested, I can give you a brief explanation."
"The key to Transfiguration is having a thorough understanding of the object you're transforming, whether it's alive or not. Otherwise, what you change it into will only look right on the outside and won't feel real."
"If you want to transform a living creature, you even have to consider its natural reactions—its instincts and habits."
"Magic provides the foundation that makes the transformation possible. Willpower is what determines whether you can actually complete the transformation."
Willpower and magic?
Having lived two lives, Dylan had seen a lot.
Now, with three max-level Unforgivable Curses carved into his mind, it was easy for him to grasp what Professor McGonagall meant.
In truth, will was like a sheet of musical score, and magic was like the orchestra's instruments.
Casting a spell could be understood as performing that specific piece of music.
The wand and the incantation served as the conductor.
If the score was wrong, the performance could not succeed.
If the instruments were damaged, the performance would be flawed.
Just like when Professor McGonagall turned the notebook into an alarm clock.
The idea of "transformation" was the musical score.
The difficulty of Transfiguration lay in how to perform the piece according to that score when the instruments were intact.
In practical terms, when casting Transfiguration, the clearer and more complete the alarm clock in your mind, the more fully its functions would be realized, and the more likely the transformed clock would actually produce sound.
If you only picture the outer appearance of an alarm clock, then what you end up with is just a shell—something that looks right, but cannot "perform" the effect.