Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 152: The Blood Man Barrow

"Take these canary cookies, little Green, we should at least give you some compensation."

Now Pister and I are going to the school hospital to see that idiot... Bruce. Hopefully he's dead.

Senior Leon and Senior Pistol left the greenhouse.

The five of them also put on thick robes and walked toward the castle.

"Merlin, I must say, Sheen, your Transfiguration is amazing!"

Ron mimicked the shape of a snowman, imagining himself learning such magic, and then punched Malfoy in the face.

Then he gave a silly smile.

"Ron, keep it up. You're not even an apprentice yet when it comes to Transfiguration."

Harry shattered his dream, while Ron was now blinded with excitement:

“I will, Harry.”

Beside him,

Justin looked curiously at the canary biscuit in his hand, somewhat incredulous that it could transform a person into a canary.

Sheen also examined the biscuits, sensing the magical circuits operating within them, which reminded him of his current mission:
The art of transforming "living things" into "living things" has been elevated to a high level of proficiency.

Inside the Hope Hut.

Sheen waved his wand, and in the blink of an eye, a beetle transformed into an owl. It flapped its wings and circled a few times before turning back into a beetle.

Several thick robes were drying by the fireplace, and the aroma of steaming, sweet pumpkin filled the space between the chairs.

Sheehan overheard Justin telling Hermione the story of the greenhouse, with Hermione occasionally letting out a soft gasp, while Ron and Harry excitedly added to the conversation.

It was noisy, but not annoying.

With this experience, Sheen could roughly estimate his limits: at his peak, he could make a snowman several meters tall move for five minutes. If precise control wasn't considered, and only a simple command was given, the snowman's size and duration would increase significantly.

The strength of a snowman is also a broad concept. The snow on its body can be loose and scattered, or it can be snow that has accumulated over many years and is as hard as some sand and gravel.

Perhaps this is the idealism of magic: it follows the will of the wizard.

However, Transfiguration is a delicate art that requires accumulation. Currently, Sheen only knows how to perform snowmen and fire lizards in this advanced form.

Perhaps it's time to learn something else, like deploying armor or stone golems...

The fire always brought hot air, which stirred the vines and notes on Sheen's desk. The notes from Professor McGonagall were slowly turned, and Sheen saw a familiar spell: Piertotum Locomotor (Stone Piles Move).

The deployment of stone blocks falls under the category of advanced transformation magic. Its core function is to transform inorganic material structures (such as stone statues and metal armor) into combat units with mobility.

The activated object can perform physical attacks such as slashing and charging during the spell's duration, and returns to a static state after the protective shield breaks. This spell requires a high degree of precision in the caster's magical control and necessitates continuous channeling to maintain the activation effect.

Through the professor's lengthy description, Sheen grasped the difficulty of this transfiguration.

The logic behind transmutation, which transforms "objects" into "magic," is always as follows:

The larger the object that needs to be transformed, the more difficult it is;
The more complex the object that needs to be transformed, the higher the difficulty.

The more complex the instructions to be completed, the higher the difficulty.

Therefore, Sheen still has a very long way to go to achieve the same level of Transfiguration as he did in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Now, he has to go to the Transfiguration office.

In the corridor, snow fell from the edges of the stained-glass windows, making a crisp sound.

"Oh—Little Green!"

At these times, the fat lady would always pull Sheehan aside to chat about Professor McGonagall, and sometimes Mrs. Violet would add some interesting details.

For example, in Professor McGonagall's first Transformation lesson, she was able to transform a match into a silver needle, and in her second Transformation lesson, she was able to transform a mouse into a snuffbox...

As Sheehan listened, he sensed something was amiss, then noticed the two ladies staring intently at him. "You know what? Little Green, if I told you you and Little McGonagall had some kind of relationship, I would believe it too. Merlin, thank goodness, it's..."

The plump lady sighed.

"Oh—stop talking—you're going to ruin things—"

Lady Violet whispered a reminder, and the plump lady quickly covered her mouth.

"Ah, ah, it's nothing..."

She said it in a dry, stilted voice.

Sheen glanced at the fat lady with a puzzled look, and then she began to stammer:

"Ah, ah, the weather, yes, the weather is so nice today, the sun is so bright..."

There is no sun today.

Mrs. Violet quickly reminded her.

"Oh! I mean, at least it's not raining..."

"Yes, it's sleet!"

Sir Cadogan, who was passing by, made a fuss.

"Damn knight!"

As if finding some excuse, the fat lady and the three of them left the portrait on Sheen's head.

Sheehan sensed something was amiss; Professor McGonagall had indeed been acting strangely lately…

The professor was always writing letters—writing, receiving, and sending letters had become part of her daily routine.

Very occasionally, Sheen would see the signature: Roland.

He felt like he'd seen the name somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it; it was as if she were someone who left a very faint mark on his past.

This made Sheen even more confused.

The corridor was slightly noisy in the afternoon. Sheen was walking on the carpet, and the Transfiguration office was not far away.

At that moment, a broad face, a big mouth, and bright round eyes emerged from the wall. He was wearing brightly colored clothes, a tie, and a hat, and was quietly pulling the carpet.

Just as Sheen was about to speak, a Slytherin ghost appeared.

He was emaciated, with vacant eyes, and covered in silver bloodstains—this was the Blood Man, Barrow.

He glanced at Sheen and then let out a strange laugh.

Pee-Pee was startled and nearly fell from the air. He managed to regain his balance and hovered about a foot above the stairs.

“I’m sorry, Blood Man, Mr. Barrow, Sir,”

He said sweet words,

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault—I didn't see you just now—of course I couldn't see you, you were invisible—please forgive this little prankster, sir."

But he still couldn't escape his fate; the blood-man Barrow chased after him.

"It's over—"

Pippi howled and cried, making all the little wizards who saw it laugh.

Having studied at Hogwarts for so long, it's rare to see Peeves so unlucky. Usually, it's the one playing pranks on the young wizards, but seeing its miserable state, many of them chased after it to see what had happened.

Sheen watched this scene silently. He was about to call out the name of the Blood Man Barrow when it suddenly appeared on its own.
It was probably just luck.
Sheen thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)