Chapter 747: Magical Model
Chapter 747: Magical Model
After receiving the letter, Albert decided to pay Hagrid a visit at his hut to offer some encouragement and also to... well, mainly to take some photos of Buckbeak. It wasn't going to be easy to use a Transfiguration spell to turn something into a winged beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a horse.
Albert began by attempting to transform a piece of wood into a life-size model of Buckbeak. The least he could do was to ensure that the likeness was close enough so that no one would easily spot the difference.
Of course, a mere model wasn't enough. He needed to bring life to an inanimate object, which wasn't too difficult in itself. As early as their third-year Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall had taught them the transformation spell that turned a teapot into a turtle.
However, there was still a big problem. The larger the object, the more challenging it was to cast the spell.
Turning a stone into a hunting dog would have been child's play for Albert, but Buckbeak's size was considerable, and being a magical creature, the difficulty of the transfiguration was several times greater than turning a stone into a dog.
As expected, Albert's first attempt failed. The winged beast he produced was smaller in size and looked completely unlike a living creature; its flaws were obvious at a glance.
After a series of consecutive failures, Albert gave up practicing on his own and decided to seek help from others. Professor McGonagall, an expert in Transfiguration, was readily available and far more skilled than him.
"You want to use a Transfiguration spell to turn something into a dragon?" Professor McGonagall couldn't believe her ears after hearing Albert out.
"No, Professor, I just want to make a model, a lifelike and moving model," Albert quickly explained. "You may have heard about the incident that occurred during the first Care of Magical Creatures class of the term. Hagrid's hippogriff is likely to be sentenced to death, and I want to give him a gift to cheer him up."
"I have heard about that," Professor McGonagall said, her gaze softening.
"Do you know how to create such a model?" Albert asked.
"If it's just a model, it shouldn't be a problem, but..." Professor McGonagall paused, then continued, "In theory, it should be possible to transform something into a fire-breathing dragon, but in practice, it's impossible. Even Dumbledore would likely find it challenging to achieve such a level of Transfiguration. As you know, the larger the volume, the more difficult the transformation."
"What's the largest creature you've ever transfigured?" Albert asked curiously.
"I once turned a table into a pig," Professor McGonagall said, smiling at Albert. "I believe with your current abilities, you should be able to achieve something similar."
"The demonstration at the start of the term?"
Albert clearly remembered Professor McGonagall's display of magic, turning a table into a pig during their first Transfiguration class as freshmen.
In fact, Professor McGonagall was quite pleased that Albert had shifted his research focus.
Ever since she learned that Albert's patronus was a griffin, she had hoped that he would not attempt an Animagus transformation.
Usually, a wizard's Animagus form corresponded to their patronus, and while there was no evidence to prove a connection between the two, it was clear that an Animagus could not take the form of a magical creature. What would happen if one did was anyone's guess.
However, what Professor McGonagall didn't know was that Albert hadn't given up on the idea of becoming an Animagus. The ritual was simply too cumbersome, and he was hoping to find a way to solve this problem in one go through a task.
After Professor McGonagall's brief explanation of how to create a magical model, Albert found that making a moving magical model was much simpler than he had anticipated.
"This is a good alternative," Albert thought to himself, feeling a bit foolish for his initial idea of directly transforming Buckbeak. He had been overly confident in his abilities.
After thanking Professor McGonagall, Albert headed to the library to borrow some of the Transfiguration books she had recommended.
Before leaving, Professor McGonagall subtly suggested that he should prioritize his O.W.Ls. and leave his Transfiguration research for the Advanced Transfiguration class in their sixth year.
Albert was so engrossed in his Transfiguration training that he almost missed dinner. As he hurried from the Room of Requirement toward the Great Hall, he spotted Lee Jordan perusing "The Classified Flying Broomstick," seemingly brushing up on his knowledge of the Firebolt. In Lee's own words, he needed to appear knowledgeable about the Firebolt during the match commentary, or else people would think he was a lousy commentator.
"If you put this much effort into your revision, I'm sure you'd get several more Outstanding grades." Albert couldn't help but tease.
"What were you doing looking for Professor McGonagall?" Lee Jordan asked.
"Discussing the Transfiguration spell," Albert replied casually. "I was wondering if it's possible to transfigure a dragon."
"Wow, is that even possible?" Lee Jordan dropped the book he was holding and pursued the topic eagerly. "It would be so cool if we could ride on the back of a dragon!"
The last time, they had missed the chance to ride on Hagrid's Hippogriff, and the trio had been sulking about it ever since.
"Theoretically, it's possible, but practically, it's almost impossible," Albert said, lifting his wand and tapping it lightly. Lee Jordan's copy of 'The Classified Flying Broomstick' transformed into a palm-sized Norwegian Ridgeback dragon model.
Albert had seen the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that Hagrid owned, and the model on the table was an exact replica of it.
"That's so cool!"
Lee Jordan held the model in his palm, examining it closely. It was incredibly lifelike, and the dragon even breathed fire at him.
A moment later, Lee Jordan seemed to remember what the model had been transfigured from, and he turned to Albert, "Can you change it back? I haven't finished reading the book yet, and I need to return it to Wood."
"Of course, it's no problem."
Albert waved his wand, and the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon model transformed back into 'The Classified Flying Broomstick.' "I bet this would sell like hotcakes," Fred and George said, appearing from nowhere, having apparently witnessed the fire-breathing dragon.
"The Transfiguration spell weakens over time," Albert shook his head.
"What's got you two so happy? Share the joy with the rest of us," Lee Jordan asked the beaming Weasley twins.
"The Slytherin team went to spy on our practice this evening, and you didn't even notice how glum they looked," Fred and George said provocatively to Montague of Slytherin. "They looked like they had swallowed a dungbomb. Speaking of which, we're running low on dungbombs. When's the next trip to Hogsmeade?"
"Before Valentine's Day," Albert replied without hesitation. Valentine's Day fell on a Monday, which was certainly not a pleasant thought.
"Before that, there's a match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw," George said.
"I bet Slytherin doesn't want to see Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw and then compete with them for the Quidditch Cup this year," George pointed at Malfoy, who was in a face-off with Harry. "They're jealous that Harry has the Firebolt."
"Those guys will definitely try to sabotage things and get Harry disqualified or make him fall off his broom again," Fred speculated with the worst possible intentions about the Slytherin team.
"Don't worry, that's almost impossible unless they can bring back the Dementors, but Professor Dumbledore will never allow Dementors into Hogwarts again," Albert, of course, knew what Malfoy was up to, but he wasn't going to reveal anything. "Even if they wanted to jinx the Firebolt, they're not skilled enough for that yet, so you really don't have to worry too much about Slytherin's petty schemes."
"What if they disguise themselves as Dementors?" Lee Jordan asked tentatively.
"Why would you have such a bizarre thought?" Albert patted his shoulder, sighing softly, his expression saying, 'You're hopeless.' Fred and George also patted Lee Jordan's shoulders in the same manner, leaving him a little bewildered.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Your Dark Arts defense needs work," Albert said helplessly. "Do you think Harry Potter is afraid of Dementors? No, he's affected by them, but he doesn't faint at the sight of them. If the Slytherin students were to disguise themselves as Dementors, I would truly feel sorry for their families."
"Yeah, that's a sad story," Fred and George both understood the implication.
Indeed, only an idiot would attempt such a stupid stunt! (End of Chapter)
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