Lynn's reason for making money was simple. After finishing the introductory wandlore book Ollivander had given him, he planned to start conducting some simple experiments.
While Hagrid could provide him with unwanted unicorn hair and let him scrounge for magical wood in the Forbidden Forest—stuff that grew in droves there, which Hagrid simply used as firewood—he still needed to buy tools and auxiliary materials himself.
Although the cores and wood could be obtained for free, the rest would not be cheap. No matter how he calculated it, he would need several hundred Galleons to get started.
Furthermore, Cho's birthday was approaching; there were only two weeks left. He needed to prepare a gift. Cho treated him very well; aside from being a little too eager about wanting to date him, she was impeccable toward Lynn.
Naturally, the birthday gift couldn't be shabby.
However, there was no need to give her a broomstick, because Harley had already ordered one. The little rich lady, Harley, was not short on money at all. If not for the rule forbidding first years from bringing broomsticks to school, she would have long since bought a Nimbus 2000 for both herself and Lynn. That amount of money was just pocket change to her.
As for brewing potions, Lynn only carved out a little time to do it now—once after lunch and once after dinner. With a batch of twelve cauldrons, he could produce about 120 bottles of potion a day. Rounding up, that was a profit of 21 to 22 Galleons. That amounted to a monthly income of over 600 Galleons, a salary comparable to the school professors. Even in the Muggle world, a monthly salary of 3,000 pounds was considered quite excellent.
After Tuesday's Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall invited Lynn to join her club. However, regarding the Transfiguration League, she told Lynn not to consider it for the time being. She hoped Lynn would focus more on basic Transfiguration exercises in the beginning, which was exactly what Lynn wanted to do.
Although turning objects into various animals was fun, he had already planned to spend more time practicing the most fundamental aspect of Transfiguration—"Material Shaping"—or the technique of processing materials, to aid his future studies in wandlore.
While this was the most basic of the basics in Transfiguration, its ceiling was incredibly high. Even if one knew none of the advanced content of Transfiguration and only mastered this single skill, it wouldn't stop them from becoming a Transfiguration master recognized by wizards around the world.
This Transfiguration technique, which did not involve changing the state of matter, was magic that directly interfered with the structural composition of a substance. It was also the new method by which modern wizards were exploring the legend of "Turning Stone into Gold."
Ever since a Muggle-born wizard successfully transformed a block of carbon into diamond through structural reshaping, the concept of alchemy—which had previously been tossed onto the scrap heap—had once again trended in the wizarding world.
Nicolas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone could be described as a magical miracle that others could not replicate, but the method of using Transfiguration to reconstruct material structures was something that could be learned and copied.
If there was any subject in magic that contained science, it was undoubtedly Transfiguration.
When Professor McGonagall shared this information with Lynn, he could hardly believe his ears.
"Is magic this advanced now, Professor?"
"Why not?" Professor McGonagall looked at Lynn calmly. "Magic has always been moving forward. As more and more Muggle-born wizards appear, they infuse the magical world with a great deal of fresh knowledge. Although there are many conservative wizards, it is undeniable that the proportion of pure-blood wizards who advocate for the old ways is getting smaller and smaller. Nearly half of Hogwarts students come from Muggle families, and of the remaining half, the proportion of half-blood wizards far exceeds that of pure-bloods."
"I am of half-blood origin as well," Professor McGonagall smiled slightly at Lynn. "My mother was a witch who graduated from Ravenclaw, and my father was a church minister."
"If magic does not progress with the times, then it is very likely that one day in the future, magic will completely decline. If you observe the magical world carefully, you will find that many Muggle inventions have already been integrated into it. However, the interference of magical magnetic fields on Muggle devices hinders a complete combination of the two. Perhaps one day in the future, we will be able to solve this problem."
"You should participate more in competitions that involve exchanges with other magic schools. The world is more wonderful than you imagine, Lynn."
"England is just a tiny, insignificant piece of land making up the magical world, and Hogwarts is not the entirety of it either. Go out, see the world. I believe this is something every wizard who wants to go far on the path of magic must do."
Sure enough, reality is different from novels.
After bidding farewell to Professor McGonagall, Lynn thought silently as he walked down the corridor. But this made sense. How many pure-blood wizards were there, really? In "ancient times" when the population was relatively small, such a family-inheritance structure could better preserve power and maintain their privileges. But now that the world had entered a period of general peace, the old rules and habits were difficult to sustain.
A tree moves to die, but a person moves to live. Not all wizards were stagnant and unenterprising; there were surely many willing to embrace progress. The new paths and new worlds they opened up would naturally attract followers to keep up. The rolling torrent of the times was unstoppable; those who blocked it would perish.
"Looks like I have to hurry. Perhaps this era I'm in is the Golden Age of magical development. The new order has just been born, and the old rules haven't yet shattered. When this destined tide arrives, it will be the time to ride the wave."
Suddenly filled with motivation, Lynn wished he could devour the remaining twenty-or-so massive tomes right then and there. However, no matter how anxious he was, finishing those books would take until around Christmas.
Time flew by, and soon it was Friday. The young wizards, having gradually grown accustomed to life at Hogwarts, began to settle into the right track of their studies.
During the second week's Herbology class, they finally got to take their small trowels to the greenhouse. However, the process of digging away with small shovels in the big garden was not as... pleasant... as they had envisioned.
"If you don't want your fingers to swell up to the size of carrots, don't reach out and touch them."
Professor Sprout's gaze swept back and forth across the greenhouse as she warned in a stern voice, "Although its fruit looks beautiful, the Dragon Claw Chili cannot be eaten directly. Mr. Weasley, surely you don't want to suffer an upset stomach again? Breathing fire is much more uncomfortable than vomiting."
A burst of laughter rang out in the classroom. The young wizards from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff turned their heads to look at Ron, who had been singled out by the professor. Beside him, Neville carefully tugged at his sleeve.
"I told you not to touch that..." Neville whispered.
"Then why didn't you say so sooner!"
After being called out by the professor, Ron turned his head away with a sour expression. Fortunately, it wasn't Snape; otherwise, Gryffindor would have lost so many points they'd be "Gryffin-poor" by now.
"Ignore him, Neville. That guy never listens anyway."
Dean, standing nearby, patted Neville's hand. Although they were in the same dormitory, it was clear that Seamus, Dean, and Neville—who had shared common topics since the start of school—had a better relationship.
"Now then, can anyone tell me what we need to pay attention to when planting Bubotuber seedlings?" Professor Sprout asked with a smile when she saw the students were in position.
"Water them frequently and soak the soil thoroughly."
Neville raised his hand cautiously; he had reviewed his lessons very seriously before class.
"Correct. Bubotubers love damp environments and have a high demand for water. Five points to Gryffindor. Does anyone have anything to add?"
"You cannot pack the soil too tightly, and you can bury a bit of tea seed meal underneath when digging the hole. It is one of the best fertilizers for Bubotubers."
"Very good, Hannah. Five points to Hufflepuff. Anyone else?"
The buzzing of discussion among the young wizards filled the lively greenhouse. The interesting practical Herbology class made them temporarily forget about the afternoon's schedule.
But the blade hanging over their heads had to fall eventually. After lunch, the gloomy underground classroom washed the color right out of the young wizards' faces.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze