Mysterious Journey

Chapter 912: A Person in a Case and a Box

Hogwarts, in Professor McGonagall's office.

On the wooden desk, the steel scratches left grotesque and ugly marks.

Meanwhile, the "quill" in Erina's hand was constantly changing.

Fountain pen, carving knife, dagger, wooden stick, copper chopsticks, gold bar, sausage, crab stick...

Almost anything that could be associated with the elements of "stick," "rod," and "pen" could be transformed at any time in Erina's hands, as if it were a shapeless wish-granter, and the ridiculous incantation of "change for me" seemed to mock something.

"How did you do this? Wait—what exactly did you figure out—"

Professor McGonagall stared at Erina in disbelief. Even most graduates couldn't transform so freely.

"So simple—unbelievable—"

Erina shook her head with a strange expression, her voice containing a hint of indescribable playfulness and emotion.

"I just realized that Transfiguration isn't actually transfiguration..."

"Not... Transfiguration isn't transfiguration? Then what is it?"

Professor McGonagall frowned, impatiently asking quickly.

In the magical world, the most direct way to judge whether a spell is effective is to evaluate it based on the result.

Judging from Erina's smooth transformation, she had obviously found a shortcut that no one had ever taken before.

Having served as a Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts for decades, Erina's almost epiphany-like breakthrough attracted McGonagall's full attention in an instant. She had an increasingly clear premonition that Transfiguration might be about to usher in an academic revolution.

Erina didn't answer immediately. She stroked the ever-changing quill in her hand, perfecting the epiphany in her mind...

Since entering this magical world, Transfiguration had been a difficult hurdle for Erina to overcome.

Although she accidentally reproduced alchemy magic, she still couldn't perform Transfiguration like Hermione and others. Even the simplest [match-to-needle] transformation was a heaven-defying magic that defied common sense for Erina.

And now she finally understood one thing—

It's not that this magic is so profound, but that it's so simple it's sad...

Erina looked up at Professor McGonagall, a hint of mockery in her voice.

"Really... what exactly have you been learning in Transfiguration all these years?"

"What do you mean by that? What do you mean, what have you been learning?"

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips tightly. The expression on the little witch's face in front of her made her feel a little inexplicably irritable.

"I'm saying, how much complex and cumbersome knowledge is there to learn in Transfiguration, Professor?"

"Vast as the stars, endless—just like this endless world."

McGonagall replied slowly, her voice full of pride.

"You're changing the subject, Professor McGonagall. The world is of course endless... I'm curious about Transfiguration."

"But," Erina raised a finger, looked at Professor McGonagall with a serious face, and said softly, "If we want to put a Hungarian Horntail into a box, we only need three steps—find a box big enough, open it, and throw the dragon into the box—I just realized that Transfiguration is the same... we're learning how to make boxes..."

As she spoke, Erina shook the pen in her hand.

"For example, this thing, it looks like a pen, feels like a pen, functions like a pen, and its texture and hardness are all pen-like, but it's just a feather—all of this is just because I gave it a shell called 'pen'."

"Transfiguration doesn't change anything. It temporarily swallows the target with a magically created concept..."

"Enough! Don't use Muggle thinking to speculate and study magic—"

Professor McGonagall said coldly, as if she had returned to the stone cottage by Loch Lomond a year ago.

Compared to the quarrel that had lingered in her mind last year, this topic was even more dangerous.

Professor McGonagall seemed a little nervous, but she tried to maintain a cold and tough teaching mode as she spoke.

"Transfiguration contains quite profound knowledge, Miss Kaslana. It contains all the secrets of the world, and these things can never be as simple and easy to understand as you imagine—do you understand what infinity means?"

"I know a little."

Erina said modestly in a soft voice.

"Humans are finite, and the world is infinite. We have been using the finite to describe and understand the infinite.

"Therefore, for humans, the thing that can interpret the critical point of the finite is 'infinity'—and Transfiguration is such a magic. We use magic to draw a finite box to contain and place the infinite world..."

"In other words, knowing 'what' the 'result' is is equivalent to knowing how to complete it."

After a few seconds of pause, Erina casually flipped through the Transfiguration textbook on her right.

"But from the current situation, the previous Transfiguration classes have not clearly defined this teaching goal."

From matches turning into needles to beetles turning into buttons; from rats turning into snuffboxes to clocks turning into plump-faced chickens; from summoning nearby object transformation spells to removing the target of the current spell with the Vanishing Spell; from "Quick, change!" to "I don't want to be human anymore!"...

Wizards create "boxes" one by one, and dispelling spells is to open the boxes.

And Professor McGonagall's extra credit in class is even more intriguing—successful casting will be rewarded, and exquisite and beautiful casting results will also be rewarded. This behavior rewards the "box," and its priority is even equal to "success."

Or, it is success itself.

Obviously, the magical world still treats the world with that familiar unreasonableness, and there has never been any change.

"On the last day of each week, the Hogwarts Academy City will formulate the research projects for the following week."

Erina snapped her fingers lightly, and the quill in her hand returned to its original shape.

She flipped her fingers over, pinched the slender pen tube, and handed it forward, continuing solemnly.

"I hope you can come to listen and guide. You know how to make things change, and some other people can answer another question—well, the answer we are looking for in class—why, and what is the use..."

"Why?"

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows and asked softly.

Her gaze rested on the quill in Erina's hand, and she couldn't see the expression in her eyes.

"You are the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. What the future of this course should be is up to you to decide."

"So... Miss Kaslana, you believe that the future of Transfiguration will undergo a huge change based on the theoretical foundations of Muggles? By people who cannot perceive or release magic, to tell us how we should learn magic? You know, there is a saying in the magical world: The land-bound bird can never describe the Quidditch pitch in the eyes of the chaser—"

"But I've also heard another proverb: The onlooker sees more than the player." Erina whispered.

"That's all for today. Same time, same place next Saturday—"

Professor McGonagall said calmly, took the quill that Erina handed over, and scribbled a few strokes on the parchment.

"These are the books you will start reading next week, the props you will prepare, and the moon charts you will consult... After you have completed all these preparations and adjusted yourself psychologically and physiologically, we will start learning to become an Animagus."

"Okay," Erina said.

She had only mentioned the invitation to establish a Transfiguration research project casually.

In any field, the more accomplished top scholars are, the less likely they are to be persuaded and impressed.

And in the magical world, this also has to take into account the gap between wizards and Muggles. Compared with directly leveraging the cornerstone of modern Transfiguration magic education from Professor McGonagall, it is no harm to let those former Soviet scholars tinker with some things unilaterally.

There are too many tasks to be completed in [A Certain Scientific Hogwarts], and some things must be actively grabbed to have them.

"In addition, since you can barely complete magical transformation now, remedial lessons will begin next class—"

Professor McGonagall tapped the stack of textbooks on the desk, adding thoughtfully.

"You've missed too many courses, and I have to find a way to get you to keep up with the teaching progress and see your limits by the way. Considering your safety, you'd better not cast Transfiguration spells outside of class for the time being, understand?"

"Understood."

Erina nodded. She couldn't wait to return to her bedroom to sort out her discoveries.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the mysterious magical world, and knowing and guessing the principles of the 'non-magic side' is just a ticket to enter the subsequent experiments. There is still a lot to be uncovered and written by her.

But it can be foreseen that every time she cracks a step forward, the world will move forward a big step.

"Note, Miss Kaslana... occasional success is quite different from proficiency!"

Looking at Erina, who was a little absent-minded, Professor McGonagall raised her voice slightly and said with utmost seriousness.

"But your situation, you know what I'm talking about, as your professor, I don't allow you to practice in private—even if you succeed ninety-nine times, if there is one wrong deflection to alchemy magic, you may hurt yourself, and perhaps the people around you... When you lose control, you can't rescue and recover in time..."

"I understand, so Professor, what do you think I just—" Erina blinked and asked softly tentatively.

"Many wizards find seemingly 'regular' shortcuts when learning magic, not just magic, Quidditch, Potions... and even exams, love, people easily summarize experience, but most of them are unfounded coincidences."

Professor McGonagall waved her hand impatiently, and her sharp eyes swept Erina.

"Today's class is over, you should go back to the dormitory to sleep—exploring the essence of magic is not your business, at least not what you should be considering now—your task here is to learn Animagus and make up for the previous Transfiguration lessons. Now take those Transfiguration textbooks I put on the table, you can leave..."

"Yes."

Erina said softly, responding obediently.

Then, she picked up the whole set of Transfiguration textbooks on the desk and stuffed them into her chest, and quickly walked towards the door.

When opening the door, Erina looked back at Professor McGonagall, who was staring at the quill in a daze. Her wand was unconsciously shaking up and down in her right hand, as if simulating the casting process in her mind.

As a top wizard who has studied Transfiguration for most of her life, Professor McGonagall couldn't possibly not understand her guess just now.

And in the magical world, when a wizard is curious and hesitant, there is only one choice she will make.

"Change—"

In the instant Erina closed the door, she heard an extremely light murmur coming from behind her.

At the same time, there was a subtle and familiar magical fluctuation.

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Yay!