In the afternoon, the Gryffindor freshmen still attended Transfiguration class together with the Ravenclaws.
Before the first class, Professor McGonagall, with a stern face, gave everyone a rude awakening:
Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous spell in your Hogwarts curriculum. Anyone who dares to misbehave in my class will be asked to leave and never be allowed to return.
This intimidating speech, coupled with Professor McGonagall's stern face, immediately stunned the group of eleven-year-old students, and the classroom instantly fell into a deathly silence.
In fact, Professor McGonagall's teaching methods were quite similar to Professor Flitwick's; she turned the lectern into a pig and then back into a pig.
This scene quickly captured everyone's attention, and they all wished they could start learning Transfiguration immediately.
Gryffindor students who have just taken Charms class know that it will take a long time to turn furniture into animals.
Sure enough, after class started, Professor McGonagall began to explain the theory of transformation, and they quickly took down a large number of complex notes.
Albert opened his skill list, and sure enough, the Transformation Theory appeared again. He spent 98 experience points to upgrade Transformation Theory to level 1.
From the very beginning, he kept staring at the contents of "Beginner's Guide to Transformation," pretending to be reading the book carefully, but actually looking up the extra knowledge of transformation theory in his head.
After explaining the theory, Professor McGonagall distributed a match to each of them and asked them to try turning the match into a needle.
"Mr. Anderson?" Professor McGonagall stared at the boy who was lost in thought, her brows furrowing slightly. She still remembered the boy; after all, anyone who saw someone tear down their office door would remember it vividly, especially since it hadn't been that long.
"Um. Professor, is there something you need?" Albert immediately snapped out of his daze and looked at Professor McGonagall with a puzzled expression.
"Everyone is practicing Transfiguration, why don't you give it a try?" Professor McGonagall's gaze passed over Albert and looked at Fred next door. "Mr. Weasley, if I were you, I would concentrate before casting the spell."
Fred looked completely innocent, and Professor McGonagall standing right next to him put a lot of pressure on him.
Albert glanced at Fred and began to lie through his teeth, "I just think it's important to remember some things before waving a wand."
However, Professor McGonagall did not intend to leave immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze back to Albert, preparing to watch him cast the spell.
"Ahem!" Albert coughed lightly, raised his wand and lit a match on the table, while chanting the spell, "VeraVerto".
The match quickly transformed into a slender silver needle.
"Very good, everyone look, Mr. Anderson succeeded," Professor McGonagall showed the class the silver needle that the match had turned into, and gave Albert a rare smile. Before leaving, she did not forget to give Gryffindor five points.
"I knew this wouldn't be difficult for you." Fred took the silver needle, examined it, and asked, "How did you do that? Is there a trick?"
Several students nearby pricked up their ears to eavesdrop, seemingly eager to know the secret to Albert's immediate success.
Albert whispered, "Professor McGonagall did tell us to take notes; the trick is in there."
A group of people immediately began flipping through the book, searching for the notes they had just taken.
"You think I'd believe that?" Fred glared at Albert with disdain, clearly not believing such nonsense.
However, he stopped asking questions, because Professor McGonagall looked over there again.
A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall announced again, "Look, Miss McDougal's matches have changed too."
"Transfiguration is so difficult, how did you manage to do it on your first try?" Katrina couldn't help but ask. For some reason, she ended up sitting next to Albert again.
"Success on the first try? Cough cough, actually I practiced beforehand, which is why I succeeded." Albert coughed lightly. He didn't have any secret to his success, and it was best not to be seen as a genius.
"Failure is normal. I don't even remember how many times I failed before I finally managed to turn a match into a needle."
"However, the tips that Professor McGonagall made us remember are also the secrets to success." This last sentence was addressed to the people eavesdropping nearby.
Katrina could naturally guess that, since no one can succeed on the first try. The fact that her matchsticks could change shape meant that she had practiced Transfiguration beforehand.
During the remainder of the Transfiguration class, everyone practiced how to turn matches into needles. Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom, instructing the other students.
However, Albert, who had successfully turned the match into a needle, was bored with the remaining time, so he found something to do to avoid being caught slacking off by Professor McGonagall.
"Restore to its original form!"
The silver needle transforms back into a match; Professor McGonagall has already explained this spell, and it's also recorded in the book. Incomplete transformations are difficult to correct; reciting "Restore to its original form!" will restore the object or creature to its original state.
Albert rested his chin on one hand and held a wand in the other, beginning to transform the matches on the table into various strange things. The spells were all VeraVerto, but the closer the transformed object was to the original shape, the easier the transformation became.
After transforming, it is restored to its original state, thereby increasing the experience of returning to the original form.
"How did you do that?" Fred, who was standing next to him, was stunned.
This guy's shapeshifting skills are way better than theirs.
"How did you do that? Just like that!" Albert raised his wand and pointed, and the button turned into a toy mouse.
"As Professor McGonagall said, swing your wand cleanly and neatly, think clearly about what you want to become before transforming, and chant the spell clearly and accurately."
The twins looked at each other, puzzled. Although Albert had said so, they had tried to do so, but they still hadn't succeeded in making the match change before the end of get out of class.
In fact, apart from Albert and Katrina succeeding, the other people's matches remained unchanged.
This was perfectly natural in Albert's eyes.
After all, he knew all too well how difficult Transfiguration was. If you didn't practice hard for a few days, you'd think you had a talent for Transfiguration that was off the charts.
Making an object change for the first time is the most difficult, but once you succeed the first time, subsequent practice becomes much easier.
The homework for Transfiguration class is similar to that for Charms class; it involves practicing turning matches into needles.
But how many students will actually have the patience to practice remains to be seen.
However, judging from the contents of "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration", the only transformation magic that first-year students learn is Transfiguration, the only difference being the size and type of the object to be transformed.