"Lucien, could you teach me Transfiguration?"
Lucien felt someone lightly tugging at the corner of his robe and turned around.
There sat Daphne with her blonde hair, holding up this weird half-match, half-needle thing in her hand, grinning at him all cheeky-like.
Whoa, everyone else gets a top-and-bottom split when their Transfiguration goes wonky—this girl's gone left-right. She's got some real talent there.
Might be worth a shot. If I can explain it clearly to her, that means I've got the knowledge down pat myself.
"First, let me ask you something: Why turn a match into a needle? Why not the other way around—needle to match?"
Lucien's question got Daphne thinking, and even Terry next to her started pondering.
These past few days in class, Terry had figured it out: Lucien was a total brainiac. Hanging with him—er, learning from him—was a no-brainer.
"Uh, 'cause matches are cheaper? Buy one box and it's enough for the whole class?"
Seeing Lucien and Daphne shoot him those pitying looks, Terry scratched his head.
"Heh heh, I wanna learn too. My match can only change colors so far."
"Of course—no problem."
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Lucien guided them both:
"Transfiguration's got this interesting quirk when you're changing inanimate to inanimate or inanimate to animate."
"Wizards only need to focus on the properties of what you want to create—not so much on the starting object."
"Like, say you want a needle. Whether you start with a burnable match or a writable piece of chalk, it doesn't make a huge difference."
His explanation clicked for them, and Daphne asked:
"So, Lucien, you mean when we cast Transfiguration, we should think about creating a needle—not transforming the match into one?"
Lucien nodded with a smile.
Yep, this Socratic method's gold—gets 'em thinking actively, so they really soak in the knowledge.
Nice, works well. Next time I tutor Harry, I'll use more of this for Potions.
After all, he's lending me his family's books—I gotta put in the effort.
Wonder what fields the Potters specialized in for their magic books. Hmm, figuring out that shampoo monopoly on the wizarding world? Probably loaded with Potions and Herbology stuff.
"Exactly, Daphne—you catch on quick."
Lucien tossed out his usual encouraging vibe like it was nothing.
But that made Daphne lift her chin a tad, her earlobes turning pink.
"It's 'cause you explain it so well, Lucien."
Lucien just shrugged and kept going:
"If you're always fixated on 'turning the match into a needle,' your mind bounces between the match's traits and the needle's."
"Honestly, at our age, our magic control isn't super precise yet. Messy thoughts mean the end result mixes features from both."
Daphne almost blurted out: Our age? Yeah, except for you, right?
Lucien's silent spell in the library this morning? That stuck with me big time.
"The needle's properties are straightforward and pure: hard, sharp, all one material—metal."
"Whereas a match is a wooden stick plus some flammable chemical stuff. Uh, think of the chemicals as alchemy ingredients."
Lucien slipped up there, dragging in his old world's knowledge. These magic folks wouldn't get the wonders of physics and chemistry anyway.
"Turning something into a match already involves shifting properties—that's not first-year level."
Terry was just grinning and listening along, but Daphne's mind was racing.
Property-changing Transfiguration isn't for newbies? What about complex mechanical shifts?
She'd seen it with her own eyes earlier: Lucien turning a match into a needle, then a telescope. That mechanical transformation? Still blowing her mind.
That's why, while everyone else crowded around the telescope, she'd mustered the guts to chat him up.
"Alright, theory time's over—let's get hands-on."
At Lucien's words, Terry dove right in.
Daphne, though, was still staring off at Lucien, lost in thought.
Noticing the girl spacing out while eyeing him, Lucien suddenly got it and had to stifle a laugh.
"Hey, classmate—why the stare-down? Got a spell written on my face or something?"
"Grab your wand and practice already."
Snapping to, Daphne ducked her head and snatched up her wand.
Good thing her blonde hair's long enough to hide those flaming ears.
Seeing Daphne bury herself in Transfiguration practice, Lucien finally cracked a grin.
Yes! That's the vibe. Back in my old school days, I'd always hear teachers go:
"What're you looking at me for? Got words on my face? Grab a pen and write! Why the pen? Look at the board! Why the board? Listen to me..."
Turns out, dropping lines like a teacher feels pretty great.
Lucien felt it deep—I get it now, you old folks... er, esteemed educators. I see your wisdom from back then!
With Lucien's pointers, Daphne and Terry nailed the Transfiguration step by step.
And making progress nearby? Malfoy, too.
He'd wanted to shove over and check out that telescope, but the crutch at his leg made him think better of it.
Staying put paid off, though—he caught snippets of Lucien's explanation.
Not the whole thing, but enough to spark a breakthrough. His Transfiguration sped right up.
"Lucien's no ordinary bloke. The Malfoy heir needs friends like that!"
Malfoy gripped his crutch, plotting to chat Lucien up after class.
...
The bell rang.
Lucien headed out of the Transfiguration classroom, planning to wait by Professor McGonagall's office door.
But just around the corner, someone called out.
"Lucien, you heading to the Black Lake this weekend? I heard from a prefect it's super fun."
He turned—Daphne, inviting him along.
Uh, "fun"? That word feels so foreign now.
And by the weekend, the little unicorn wakes up. Time to kick off Forbidden Forest adventures, hunting and logging magical creatures.
No way I've got time to splash around on the lake.
"Thanks for the invite—means a lot. But I've got stuff going on this weekend."
Lucien's polite brush-off dimmed Daphne's eyes with clear disappointment. She grumbled:
"We're barely into term—how're you so busy already?"
"You planning to hole up in the library all weekend?"
Lucien ran through his schedule: brewing potions, studying Charms, tinkering with the new Transfiguration pocket watch, planting cabbages, scouting creature spots, tutoring Harry...
Yeah, just a few days in, and my plate's overflowing.
But hey, feels good—like chasing knowledge while it chases me.
Wait—why'd she guess library?
Lucien zeroed in on that.
"Daphne, were you... in the library this morning too?"