Loren noticed the shift in the twins' expressions. He patted their shoulders with a smile and said,
"I think you should be able to learn something from this Peeves incident. Give it some thought."
With that, Loren was about to leave the Room of Requirement, but at the door he suddenly turned back—he still had a question for the twins.
"Why does Harry get called so often by Wood to Quidditch training, while I've never been summoned again since the first practice?"
The twins, still pondering over Loren's earlier words, didn't immediately react. Finally, Fred regained his senses and answered.
"Wood said he wants to keep you as our secret weapon. Now that Harry's joined as Seeker, he's already drawn the attention of other teams. They often send people to watch our practices, so Wood hasn't called you again."
Understanding the reason, Loren dropped the matter. He left the twins in the Room of Requirement and returned to the Gryffindor Tower.
He honestly didn't care about practice one way or another. In fact, he was glad Wood didn't drag him into more sessions—no need to readjust his schedule.
For Loren, practice or not, it all boiled down to swinging the bat a few more times during matches.
…
Saturday, 7:30 in the morning.
After breakfast, Loren had planned to begin his research on Peeves, but Hermione caught him, insisting he help with the Transfiguration experiment.
In her eyes, this was his design, and now that it was about to yield results, he had to be involved.
Loren already knew the outcome, but seeing her determination, he agreed to accompany her.
After all, Hermione had poured so much effort into this, and lately—apart from morning runs, meals, and classes—they had both been busy with their own pursuits. It had been a while since they'd done something together.
Once Loren confirmed he would join, Hermione grabbed his arm and rushed to the agreed location from last week, ready to set up the materials and space before others arrived.
When they got there, they realized they weren't the first—many students were already waiting, some nearly a week. A number of them had even skipped breakfast to be early.
Seeing the crowd, Hermione immediately pulled the prepared materials from her magic pouch and started assigning tasks to arrange the site.
Loren joined in without being asked. He knew Hermione wanted to shine in front of him, and he was happy to support her.
With his help, the setup was finished quickly. Now they only had to wait until the appointed time—nine o'clock.
The Gryffindors' enthusiasm exceeded Loren's expectations. By half past eight, everyone had already arrived.
Ask them to show up at nine for class, and some would be late. But tell them nine o'clock was their chance to do something worth bragging about for life, and they'd come early, even skipping breakfast.
With everyone gathered, Hermione began co-hosting the experiment with senior student Irene Adler. Hermione oversaw the lower years, while Irene managed the upper years.
The experiment went smoothly, though Loren had long since known the result.
After all, it was he who had first proposed exploring Transfiguration on "air," already confirming the link between Transfiguration and material mass.
In practice, the spell's magical cost was proportional to the mass of the target, and the smallest particle one could affect depended on the caster's magic and perception. The stronger the magic, the finer the material one could sense.
By noon, the results were collected and handed to Irene Adler, as club leader, to pass on to Professor McGonagall. Hermione had only wanted to shine in front of Loren, and with that achieved, she was content to let others handle the follow-up.
Afterward, the students dispersed in small groups, chatting animatedly on their way to lunch. Some walked tall with pride, others slouched in defeat.
The proud ones were those whose Transfiguration far exceeded the average. The dejected were those who fell well below it.
Before, there had been no concrete yardstick; people would just say someone was "good." Now, with specific standards, they could quantify exactly how good.
While Loren ate lunch with Hermione, he overheard scattered comments: "Did you see? He could Transfigure a full cubic centimeter of wood! That's insane!" It made him feel as though he had stumbled into the wrong place—the tone was oddly shifted.
…
With the Transfiguration project wrapped up, Loren returned to his routine: classes, meals, brainwashing Peter, remodeling Spiderette, and magic research.
For other students, however, this period became one of the most important times in their Hogwarts lives.
Many of them got the only chance in their lives to be published in a professional journal.
In early October, Professor McGonagall received experiment reports from all four houses' Transfiguration clubs.
Gryffindor's report in particular was impeccable—well-structured, with detailed data, like a textbook.
Using the four reports plus her own, McGonagall compiled a paper that was published in Transfiguration Today.
The journal took her work seriously. McGonagall was a leading authority in the field, and the paper was groundbreaking—it didn't just study new applications or techniques but dug into Transfiguration's very foundations, opening doors for future scholars.
A special issue was dedicated to her work, containing not only her paper but also all supporting data and the reports from the four houses, with every participant credited.
This issue became the top seller in decades, fueled mostly by Hogwarts parents.
McGonagall ensured each student received a copy of the special issue. At school, their glory couldn't impress classmates who already knew their abilities—but at home, they could flaunt it to their parents, often gaining pocket money as a bonus.
Parents proudly bragged to relatives and neighbors that their child had been published. Sales skyrocketed.
Moreover, the issue encouraged ordinary wizards to replicate the experiments at home with alternative materials. Reports that passed editorial review would also be published.
This spread the journal's fame beyond academia. Many wizards, free from daily struggles, now had a new pastime. McGonagall, meanwhile, found herself busier than ever, rarely seen outside class, meals, or sleep.
Aside from McGonagall, another professor now drew attention: Quirrell, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
After his office was broken into, rumors about him spread widely. Thanks to George and Fred's planted whispers, students across all houses began obsessing over his turban.
At first, only a handful were tempted by the ten-Galleon bounty to hassle him.
But then a rumor caught fire:
"Professor Quirrell was hired by Dumbledore to test students' abilities. Whoever takes off his turban will be rewarded."
Baseless though it was, many believed it. Quirrell's lectures were dreadful, and outwitting a professor was thrilling. Handled carefully, there'd be no punishment.
The rumor snowballed. Snatching Quirrell's turban became a house-wide contest, with teams from each house devising plans against him.
As the frenzy grew, George and Fred's betting pool flourished—nearly out in the open by now.
Quirrell's poor teaching and absence from the reform effort had already earned him the disdain of all four heads of house.
He, however, felt wronged. Peeves had targeted him, striking directly at his weak point by going for the turban. Then Peeves had gone further, trying to spy on his secret in the office.
Quirrell had been ready to destroy him, until Voldemort revealed that Peeves was unkillable, forcing him to seal him instead.
Barely had Quirrell enjoyed a few quiet days when his office was broken into. The enchanted box containing Peeves was stolen. The devices only recorded a small wizard breaking in, and no further clues.
Frightened at first, Quirrell relaxed when nothing further happened.
But then the students took over Peeves' role, constantly scheming to snatch his turban. Now, outside his office, he was harassed nonstop, interfering with Voldemort's plan to steal the Stone.
Looking toward Halloween, Quirrell resolved to create a major diversion—something that would draw all eyes away, giving him the chance to act.
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