"Extra tutoring?" Ron blinked. "What, he didn't eat enough and needs the professor to cook him another meal? Is he already that close with the teachers?"
Harry looked at him. "…Dylan's probably going to get extra lessons."
"Oh! Sometimes I really think Dylan should've gone to Ravenclaw!"
"…You've already assigned Dylan to three Houses. Which one is he going to in your head?"
"Gryffindor, of course!"
…
Dylan made his way to Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Her calm, dignified voice sounded from inside.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."
Dylan pushed the door open and entered.
McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, her quill scratching softly over parchment.
Seeing that it was Dylan coming for extra work, she lifted her eyes slightly. Her gaze passed through the square lenses of her glasses, flat and steady as it fell on him.
"You seemed rather average in today's flying lesson. Do you have some particular concerns about flying?"
Dylan walked up to the desk.
There was a small stool in the corner, which McGonagall had prepared specifically for him.
He dragged it over and sat down, then blinked.
"Professor, your information's a bit too up to date. I only just finished flying class."
McGonagall glanced out the window.
"I can see your flying practice from here. I noticed Potter has quite a talent for it."
"Madam Hooch mentioned it to me as well. We're already planning to recommend him to the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"As for you, I watched for a while at the window. You were… very standard."
Dylan smiled. "Zooming around in the sky is honestly pretty scary. I'd rather just take it one step at a time."
Hearing that, McGonagall did not press the point.
"What have you brought today?"
Dylan immediately set his notebook on the desk and pushed it over to her.
"Professor, I've formed some initial ideas about inanimate Transfiguration, and lately I've been trying to study turning inanimate objects into living ones. That's where I've run into trouble."
McGonagall took his notes and examined them carefully.
"Although you've told me about the essence of Transfiguration, when I try to turn an apple into a rabbit, even when my wand movements are precisely controlled and my magic output is smooth and steady…"
"And even though I've studied a rabbit's physiology and I'm sure what I'm picturing really is a rabbit…"
"During the transformation, the initial change in shape goes fairly well, but once the rabbit is fully formed, it just collapses, limp and lifeless."
"I've also studied rabbit behavior, so it shouldn't be like that."
Dylan pointed at a section in his notebook.
"I've been wondering if, as Advanced Transfiguration Explained mentions, something went wrong in the stage involving 'life magic compatibility'."
As Dylan spoke, McGonagall flipped through the pages, leaning forward a bit, listening intently to his questions.
When he finished,
she did not answer immediately. Instead, she read through all his most recent notes on Transfiguration before setting the notebook down and looking at him.
"Some of the ideas you've written here are quite original. That's very good."
Sitting straight-backed, hands folded on the desk, the corners of her lips lifted slightly as she spoke.
"As for the problem you've encountered, in my view, the crux is that your understanding of the connection between magic and life itself is still shallow."
"When you attempt to transform a lifeless object into a living being, wand movements and magic output are only the most basic actions."
"It's excellent that you've taken the time to study the creature's structure and even its habits. That's something you must do when practicing Transfiguration."
"However, even if you sketch out a blueprint of your target in your mind, beyond sensing its vitality, agility, and instincts…"
"Most importantly, you must imagine that what you're channeling isn't just magic, but magic in the true sense of 'life magic'."
Dylan's brows lifted slightly.
"Life magic?"
He had read about it in books.
Life magic was described as a special form of magic, primarily manifesting in spells related to creating life or affecting living characteristics.
He had originally thought it meant this:
that when studying life-related magic like Transfiguration of living forms—when giving a magical creature its specific vitality—he just needed to rely on a deep understanding of the essence of life.
In other words, that when using life-related magic, ordinary magic could be regarded as life magic.
He had not expected that so-called life magic also required him to consciously imagine that the magic he was using was life magic.
"That really is… idealistic…"
He could not help muttering inwardly.
On his face, though, he smiled. "So that's how it is. I think I understand."
McGonagall nodded, her tone gentle. "Generally speaking, life magic arises from a wizard's inner power, closely tied to the wizard's mind, emotions, and understanding of life."
"So when you experiment with living Transfiguration, beyond pouring your sense and understanding of life into your magic, you also have to believe your magic can truly bring lifeless matter to life."
Dylan dipped his head again.
"Since you mentioned life magic, let me briefly lay out my own simplistic understanding of the concept."
McGonagall watched him, a hint of expectation in her eyes.
Dylan said seriously, "Life magic may be an inner power of the wizard, but at the same time it has some deeper connection—one I can't yet grasp—with the life force in the natural world."
"So during Transfiguration, the two can interact, which in turn determines whether the transformation succeeds or fails, and how good or bad the result is."
At that, McGonagall's eyes brightened. The corners of her mouth drew up into a rare, broad smile, smoothing the fine lines at the edges of her eyes.
"Dylan, your understanding of magic is quite profound. For a first-year, that's very rare."
She patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"You're right. The magic within a wizard has the potential to become life magic, but not every use of magic is an expression of life magic."
"When casting certain spells, a wizard must resonate with the life force in nature. You can think of it as drawing energy from the natural world and merging it with your own magic to give your creation true living vitality."
McGonagall explained many such points to Dylan—things that were hard to extract just from the printed words in a book, the deeper meanings hidden behind the text.
Dylan came away with a great deal.
(End of Chapter)
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