Regulus of Hogwarts: Lord of the Stars

"Very good." Professor McGonagall leaned forward, resting against the edge of the table. "It seems you've really been practicing and have your own thoughts. Any questions today?"

Regulus retrieved his wand, and the diamonds and graphite stopped transforming and returned to their original state.

He thought for a few seconds, organizing his thoughts.

"Professor, can Transfiguration only transform concrete objects?"

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"

"For example, natural phenomena," Regulus said. "Could a lightning bolt, a ball of fire, a gust of wind be objects of transformation?"

Or, could magic itself—a spell cast—be transformed during its flight?

Professor McGonagall paused for a moment, then tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table.

"Yes," she said confidently, "but that's not easy."

Regulus realized that ordinary wizards couldn't do it, but Professor McGonagall clearly could.

That's for sure. Professor McGonagall is a master of Transfiguration. He asked that question simply to bring up the topic and seek her advice.

"The core of Transfiguration is change," Professor McGonagall continued, her voice calm and clear.

Her tone was unwavering, as if the answer had been prepared long ago and was just waiting for Regulus to ask.

"Theoretically, anything that exists, including magical forms, can be altered, whether it changes its form, properties, or function, but the difficulty varies."

She took a piece of parchment from the drawer, dipped her quill in ink, and began to write.

"To transform a specific object, such as turning a table into a pig, one needs to understand the material structure of the table and the biological structure of the pig."

Transforming natural phenomena, such as turning flames into flowing water, requires understanding the energy structure of flames and the material structure of water, as well as dealing with the conversion between energy and matter.

Transfiguration spells themselves, such as turning a stun spell into a levitation spell—

She drew a complex symbol on the paper with the tip of her pen.

"That requires understanding the magical structure of the spell, understanding the essential differences between the two spells, and completing the analysis and reconstruction in a very short time."

There are very few people in the entire British magical community who can do that.

Even though Professor McGonagall said that, Regulus could still tell that she could do it.

Regulus stared at the symbol, the ancient runic word for change, its strokes twisted and dynamic.

"You want to ask these questions because you're thinking about the combat applications of Transfiguration?" Professor McGonagall put down her pen, looked up at him, and cut to the chase.

"A part," Regulus admitted respectfully. "I was wondering if I could directly transform a spell if my opponent casts one during combat."

For example, turning an attack spell into harmless light, or into a shield.

"Theoretically, it's possible," Professor McGonagall said. "But in practice, it's almost impossible. The spell travels too fast, leaving you too little time to react."

Unless you can predict it, or...

She didn't finish her sentence, but Regulus understood: unless one's strength was overwhelming or one possessed special talent.

He can use spells to collide with spells, and after gaining spatial awareness, he can detect the trajectory of spells earlier when facing attacks, which is a kind of prediction.

He can even calculate the flight path of spells directly in his mind.

But these methods obviously don't apply to skilled wizards, even if they could.

The cost-effectiveness is too low. If a mistake is made, the situation will become passive. It would be better to use that time to dodge or defend.

"However, Transfiguration has other applications in combat," Professor McGonagall said, changing the subject. "For example, altering the environment, turning the ground into a swamp, the walls into spikes, and the air into a solid."

Or alter your opponent's equipment, turning their wand into a branch, their robe into a rope, their glasses into barbs.

As she spoke, she waved her wand gently, and a quill pen on the desk began to change. The pen shaft lengthened, forked, grew branches and leaves, and became a small twig.

The branch then shrank and became thinner, turning into a thin rope.

The thin string then transforms into a small pair of round-framed glasses.

"These applications don't need to be completed instantly; they can be prepared in advance or used to create opportunities during combat," Professor McGonagall continued.

"But the prerequisite is that you have a deep enough grasp of Transfiguration and can maintain precision under pressure."

Regulus nodded. These ideas were consistent with his own deductions: using polymorph to change the environment, create favorable conditions, and force the opponent into a predetermined rhythm.

But he knew in his heart that this was just a basic application of Transfiguration, and it was not really that profound.

As long as you master the basic Transfiguration techniques, you don't need to be particularly skilled; with a bit of a quick mind, you can come up with these tactics.

These are not the questions he really wanted to ask.

Professor McGonagall's words and actions today have gone beyond the scope of normal teaching.

The combat application of Transfiguration, even if it's just directional guidance, is not something that should be covered in the first-year curriculum.

This professor, known for his rigor, has always focused on building a solid foundation for his students and would not easily impart this kind of practical knowledge to young wizards, especially first-year wizards.

But she said it, and not only that, she demonstrated it and explained the principles.

Regulus thought of Professor Sprout.

The Hufflepuff Dean did the same; when asked about the opposing attributes of magical plants, he directly showed the Sunlit Ebony Shrub and explained those concepts that only S-rank individuals would encounter.

Although he asked the questions himself, the professors did not dismiss or refuse him because he was only a first-year student, because he was a Slytherin, or because he was a Black.

A figure flashed through my mind: Dumbledore, his blue eyes looking through his half-moon spectacles, gentle yet carrying a profound expectation.

Regulus suppressed these thoughts. If the professor dared to teach, wouldn't he dare to learn?

As for the future?

All troubles stem from a lack of strength.

He looked up at Professor McGonagall.

The words lingered in his mouth for a moment, but when he finally asked, he chose a more direct question: "Professor, can space itself be deformed?"

After asking the question, he remained silent, waiting for a response.

Then came a long silence from Professor McGonagall, lasting half a minute.

She sat behind her desk, leaning slightly forward, her hands clasped on the table, her eyes behind her glasses lowered, staring at a certain spot on the desk.

The air in the office seemed to freeze, the sound of the fireplace flames became exceptionally clear, and even the painting of a cat chasing a butterfly on the wall seemed to pause.

Regulus could sense that the professor was thinking, perhaps about how to answer, or whether he should answer at all, and how much he should answer.

Just as he thought he wouldn't get a reply and was preparing to politely take his leave, Professor McGonagall stood up from her chair and walked to the open space in the center of her office.

Then Regulus saw that she simply raised her wand and twisted her wrist slightly.

The next moment, the office space began to change.

The four walls of the office began to move, the space itself stretched, the front and back walls receded into the distance, and the left and right walls moved closer to the center.

The entire room changed from a square shape to a long and narrow shape, the ceiling rose, and the floor sank.

Then space begins to flip.

Regulus felt a brief confusion in his sense of direction, as if the direction of gravity had changed, and his robes and hair were floating upwards, but in reality, they were floating downwards.

He noticed that the books on the bookshelf hadn't fallen, and the flames in the fireplace were still burning upwards, but the picture frames on the wall were tilted at a thirty-degree angle.

Finally, there is the distortion.

The space is like dough being kneaded by an invisible hand, with some parts bulging and some parts sunken.

The area near the door is compressed, while the area near the window is expanded. The path of light changes in the distorted space, casting strange shadows on the walls with constantly shifting shapes.

The whole process lasted about ten seconds, and then Professor McGonagall waved her wand again, and the space returned to its original state.

The walls returned to their original positions, the ceiling and floor regained their height, the sense of direction returned to normal, and the light was straight.

Everything in the office was normal, as if nothing had just happened.

But Regulus knew what had happened.

Professor McGonagall used Transfiguration to directly alter the spatial structure, but unlike the Unseen Stretch Charm which expands the internal space, this was a true transformation of the space itself.

He sat in the chair, his mind racing with analysis.

Transfiguration can change matter, change energy, and now it seems it can even change space.

What does this mean?

This means that the scope of application of Transfiguration is much wider and the upper limit is much higher than he imagined.

He recalled what Professor McGonagall had told him: "Transfiguration is one of the most direct manifestations of magic changing reality; a strong will can reshape matter."

In retrospect, it's not just about reshaping matter, but also about reshaping reality.

"Spatial deformation is one of the advanced applications of Transfiguration." Professor McGonagall walked back to her desk and sat down, her tone as calm as if she had just poured herself a cup of tea.

"The principle is similar to the deformation of matter; it involves understanding the structural characteristics of space and using magic to guide it to change its shape."

But it's much more difficult because space has no fixed material basis; its structure is more abstract and relies more on the wizard's perception and understanding.