"I have to patrol the grounds until eleven!" Draco Malfoy shook his head, then instructed Gregory Goyle beside him, "Gregory, you take Christopher back to the common room. That bloody Weasley won't be bothering him again."
"Got it!" Goyle grunted, glancing at Jon. "Let's go, Christopher!"
The two of them parted ways with Malfoy and Crabbe, heading together toward the dungeons.
As they passed the Potions classroom, Jon suddenly sensed a streak of golden light darting past him.
"Gregory, why don't you head back first..." he suggested. "Something just occurred to me. I need to find Professor Snape... Or would you like to come with me?"
At the mention of Professor Snape's name, Gregory Goyle shuddered involuntarily. He'd endured more than his share of scolding from Professor Snape in Potions class.
"No need... I... I'll head back first..." Goyle stammered.
Within seconds, he vanished from sight.
The basement corridor was pitch-black. Jon deliberately walked to a corner devoid of portraits and called softly, "Fawkes?"
A flash of golden light appeared, and a large, crimson bird flew before Jon, blinking at him.
"Is Professor Dumbledore available?" Jon asked in a low voice.
The phoenix nodded, then extended her tail feathers toward him.
Grasping Fawkes' tail, Jon felt the world spin dizzyingly. Before his eyes, only a swirling mass of gold and crimson remained...
...
Jon Hart materialized inside the Headmaster's Office, slipping off the iron ring on his finger.
The wall before him, hung with portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses, now had nearly half its frames empty.
"They've all gone to deliver messages. We've been quite busy lately!" A gentle voice came from above Jon. Headmistress Dilys Derwent smiled warmly at him. "Serving the Headmaster of Hogwarts is our duty."
"Mhm!" Jon nodded with a smile to Headmistress Derwent, then walked around the wall.
Albus Dumbledore stood nearby, holding what appeared to be a sprig of sneezewort herb, feeding it to the phoenix.
"Ever since meeting you, Fawkes has become quite the glutton!" Dumbledore remarked with a smile. "That's not exactly good news... Jon, take a seat!"
Jon obediently sat down opposite Dumbledore, then pulled out his notebook and spread it open before him.
"Come to think of it, this is actually the first time you've sought my advice!" Dumbledore placed all the sneezewort onto the dish beneath Fawkes, wiped his hands, and sat down. "Fortunately, the question you seek guidance on falls within my area of expertise."
"No problem if it doesn't!" Headmaster Phineas Black's booming voice suddenly echoed from behind Dumbledore. "We're here too!"
Jon suddenly noticed the dozen or so headmaster portraits still present had all gathered behind Dumbledore, peering excitedly at the scene.
"Listen, don't interrupt Albus while he's speaking!" Jon heard Headmistress Dilys Derwent caution from the other side. "That would be quite rude."
"But if Albus can't answer, shouldn't it be our turn then..." Jon saw Headmaster Everard say this.
"And if he makes a mistake, we should point it out too..." The speaker was Armando Dippet, Dumbledore's predecessor. Jon had seen his portrait in Hogwarts: A History.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Dumbledore cleared his throat softly, pretending not to hear their conversation.
"Then let us begin…" he murmured. "From the very beginning!"
...
"What are your thoughts on Transfiguration, Jon?" Dumbledore inquired.
Jon pondered for a moment before responding, "Transfiguration is fundamentally a type of magic that uses magical energy as a medium to alter the essence of matter, transforming one substance into another!"
"An excellent summary!" Dumbledore praised. "Perhaps I should jot this down. Should I ever write a book on Transfiguration, I'll place this very sentence at the beginning of Chapter One!"
"Professor, you're joking..." Jon scratched his head.
"I am not joking..." Dumbledore shook his head. "Therefore, Transfiguration must adhere to several fundamental principles."
"The five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Transfiguration?" Jon asked softly.
"To be precise, three exceptions!" Headmaster Phineas Black's voice came in at an inopportune moment from the opposite wall.
"Don't interrupt, Phineas!" Headmistress Dilys Derwent snapped sharply.
"Such rudeness! Throw him out!" The other Headmasters chimed in unison.
Poor Headmaster Black was pushed out of the portrait and stormed back to his own, where he began pretending to sleep.
"Phineas is correct..." Dumbledore remained unfazed by their commotion, continuing with a smile. "The first two are actually irrelevant to us... The first is food, the second is money."
"First comes food..." Dumbledore raised his wand and tapped a silver knife on his desk. The knife gradually transformed, finally becoming a fragrant sausage.
"It's not impossible!" Dumbledore smiled. "Care for a bite?"
Jon shook his head hastily.
"Creating delicious food through Transfiguration isn't particularly difficult, but it's strictly forbidden. Different wizards possess varying levels of magical mastery. Someone like me can sustain such a transformation for centuries or millennia, ensuring the food remains harmless. However, ordinary wizards might only control it for a few hours. If consumed and the food reverts to its original form inside the stomach, the consequences would be dreadful."
"Therefore, to prevent such accidents, food-related transmutation is strictly forbidden... However, this doesn't prevent a skilled wizard, trapped in the desert and starving, from transforming sand into sustenance."
"The second rule concerns money, which logically follows the same principle as food."
"Ulick Gamp actually made a minor misstep in this regard... because the vast majority of gold-related magic available commercially consists of the 'Doubling Charm' or simple Bedazzling Hex..."
"Gold is arguably the most magically stable metal, which is why it was chosen as currency. For a long time, the wizarding world widely believed it impossible to use Transfiguration to convert other substances into gold... until my friend Nick's research emerged. He proved gold wasn't untransformable... though naturally, he also triggered a severe devaluation of the Galleon at the time."