https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-682-It-Seems-Professor-Moody-Has-Finally-Gone-Mad-/13453079/
Chapter 683: Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 683: Calm Before the Storm
After lunch, Harry and Ron were still speculating about Professor Moody’s activities the previous night. To avoid their constant questioning, Ivan and Hermione retreated to the Library.
"Are we going to practice Magic today?" Hermione asked, sitting down next to Ivan with a thick book in her arms.
"Not today. Let’s read for a while. I need to look up some information." Ivan got up and grabbed a few books on Biological Transfiguration from a nearby shelf, flipping through them.
He had been so busy investigating Barty Jr. and Mad-Eye Moody that he almost forgot about the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Fortunately, the poor creature hadn’t starved to death; he had placed some grass, leaves, and water in the jar, enough to last it a week.
After observing the Snorkack for a few days, Ivan confirmed that it would never return to its original form—it had undergone a true Biological Transfiguration.
He had even tried to transfigure the Crumple-Horned Snorkack into a button. The casting process went smoothly, with no obstacles, just like any other transfiguration. After a while, when the magic wore off, the button reverted back to the Snorkack.
However, after several experiments, the poor little creature became quite nervous. Ivan was worried that he might accidentally kill it, so he decided to leave it alone and stop tormenting it.
For the entire afternoon, Ivan searched through books on advanced Transfiguration Magic. Since his Transfiguration skill had reached level seven, his proficiency growth had slowed to a crawl. Regular magic practice was no longer yielding significant results.
He needed to find the key to Biological Transfiguration, understand its principles. If he could crack the code, his Transfiguration skill could reach an unprecedented height, bringing with it countless benefits. For starters, he could create infinite wealth. After all, if he could create living beings out of thin air, turning stones into gold would be a piece of cake.
Wait, turning stones into gold...
Ivan stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then quickly set aside the book he was reading and grabbed an old one from another shelf, flipping through it.
"Ivan? What are you looking for?" Hermione noticed Ivan’s unusual behavior and asked curiously.
"Do you think Wizards could transfigure a piece of wood into a completely new, non-existent species, creating a new creature?" Ivan asked, flipping through the pages.
"How could that be possible? Professor Mcgonagall told us at the beginning of the year that magic can’t change the essence of things!" Hermione countered, believing that even Professor Dumbledore couldn’t achieve such a feat—it was too incredible.
However, Ivan shook his head and pointed to a line in the book, speaking with certainty. "No, it is possible! Alchemy can achieve something similar."
Hermione leaned in to read the line:
"Ancient Alchemy involved the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a substance with astonishing properties, including the ability to transmute elements and brew the Elixir of Life..."
"This description suggests that completely transforming one thing into another is possible—at least with the Philosopher's Stone." Ivan raised an eyebrow, speaking excitedly.
It was clear from the records that the Philosopher's Stone could perform Material Conversion, and it did so completely. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so extensively documented.
After all, simply transfiguring a piece of gold wasn't a big deal; many Wizards could achieve this with Transfiguration, but that was only a temporary change. It might fool Muggles, but if used in the Wizarding World, one would surely be caught red-handed.
While this was somewhat different from the Biological Transfiguration he had performed earlier, both involved a complete alteration of the essence of matter. Perhaps there was some connection between them...
After reviewing all this information, Ivan increasingly understood how difficult it would be to achieve such a feat. Material Conversion and creating life were domains that belonged to the divine, no wonder Nicolas Flamel had said the Philosopher's Stone was the Ultimate Creation of Alchemy...
"That's right, but, Ivan... why are you looking up all this information?" Hermione, upon seeing the description of the Philosopher's Stone, stopped arguing with Ivan and teased him. "Do you plan to create a Philosopher's Stone yourself?"
"Who knows!" Ivan laughed.
His Alchemy had recently reached the maximum level of six, and he planned to ask Nicolas Flamel for advice on breaking through this limit when he returned home for the summer. If he managed to do so, he might have his own Philosopher's Stone by next year.
Hermione thought Ivan was joking and playfully begged him to transfigure a piece of gold for her when the time came.
As they chatted and flipped through books, the afternoon passed leisurely. They eventually packed up and headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
Despite not finding many crucial clues throughout the afternoon, Ivan was in a good mood. There were no Dark Wizards lurking in the shadows, no convoluted plots to worry about. Each day was spent reading and bantering, which was exactly the kind of campus life he had been looking forward to.
After dinner, Ivan returned to the dormitory and took out a quill to write a letter to Luna.
"I've found some information about the Zongxian Tree and the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. If you're free, we can meet under the Whomping Willow the day after tomorrow at dusk—your faithful friend, Ivan Hals!"
After checking the letter for any errors, Ivan summoned Maca and instructed it to deliver the letter to Luna.
He owed a favor to the young witches for helping him clear things up with Hermione, and he remembered it well.
Now that he had a live Crumple-Horned Snorkack, he needed to spend time taking care of it, but he couldn't figure out much from it. It would be better to give it to Luna as a gift and have her take care of it, so he could borrow it when needed.
...
After sending the letter, Ivan spent the next two days attending classes, researching in the library, and searching the Forbidden Forest for a suitable location to transform.
How could he have a Crumple-Horned Snorkack without a Zongxian Tree?
While creating a Zongxian Tree, a tree that existed only in imagination and bloomed with beautiful flowers, was a daunting task, his seventh-level Transfiguration skills were enough to overcome the challenges.
Of course, this Zongxian Tree would be different from the Crumple-Horned Snorkack; it couldn't exist forever. Everything would just be a magical manifestation...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
