The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Many students approach learning magic merely to achieve a state of being able to do it. They believe that successfully casting a spell means they've already learned it.

But Scott wouldn't think that way.

He not only demands that he can do it, but that he must do it well, and he is constantly striving to do even better.

In Scott's view, this was part of building a solid foundation, and he needed to make sure that foundation was strong and reliable. However, this basic knowledge was not enough to support him in writing papers that could be published or even win awards.

If Scott wanted to publish an award-winning paper, he would have to research novel and eye-opening topics; he was unwilling to disrupt his academic plans for a magazine's new author award.

In his view, he is on a path of accumulating knowledge and experience before making a breakthrough, and he is currently in the "accumulation" stage.

The Transfiguration Club classroom was quiet, with only the sound of pages turning and quills scratching across parchment.

Scott, however, could no longer hear anything; his gaze was completely absorbed by the paper before him. With each careful reading, his eyes grew brighter, and his heart pounded with increasing excitement.

This paper greatly inspired him, and some of its viewpoints coincided with some of his previous, unverified assumptions.

After reading the paper, Scott gradually calmed down and looked at the title of the paper again—"A conjecture that we may be able to make deformation more complex."

After reading the paper, Scott understood that the author, Bill Weasley, had indeed only presented a conjecture in the paper.

Although the author provides some evidence to support this conjecture based on his experiences in Egypt, this evidence is not entirely convincing.

So this is really just speculation.

Even the editor-in-chief of *Today's Metamorphosis* magazine only commented at the end of the paper, "This conjecture is interesting enough." It's clear from his words that he didn't actually believe the conjecture could come true.

But Scott felt for no apparent reason that this conjecture had great potential for realization and was not entirely impossible.

He wanted to continue his research based on this hypothesis.

Chapter 020 Discussion: Impossible Magic

Time passed quickly, and after all the students had finished reading the paper, Professor McGonagall waved her wand.

The wand made a series of soft crackling sounds, attracting everyone's attention.

“I see that all the students have already read this paper.”

Professor McGonagall lowered her right hand, which was holding the wand.

"Now let's have a free discussion. Everyone can share their thoughts on the content of this paper."

“That’s a brilliant idea, Professor.”

Angelina spoke first, glancing at her notebook as she spoke.

Scott saw that the page in her notebook was filled with messy handwriting.

“A very bold idea, and very interesting.” Angelina said, then shook her head. “But I must say, Mr. Weasley’s idea may be too far-fetched.”

She drew several circles in the notebook with the quill pen in her hand.

"Although I only verified it theoretically, I don't seem to see any possibility of realizing this idea."

Professor McGonagall listened to her speech, but simply nodded without offering any comment.

"And what about the others? Do they have different ideas from Miss Johnson?"

"I'd like to share my thoughts, Professor."

Scott looked over at the sound and saw that it was Percy Weasley who had stood up.

“Please speak, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall gestured.

"I'm not saying this because Bill is my brother, but I think the ideas presented in this paper are not entirely impossible to realize."

Percy then listed several supporting evidence presented in the paper.

"The mysterious world of Egyptian magic hides a lot of ancient magical knowledge that is unfamiliar to us. I think that although we cannot verify the conjectures in the paper with our current knowledge of magic, it is very likely that the Egyptians achieved it in ancient times."

Scott was surprised again by Percy's performance.

He could tell that Percy also greatly admired his eldest brother. Considering Percy's character, it was clear that Bill Weasley was truly remarkable.

"Ah."

Professor McGonagall nodded again, gesturing for Percy to sit down.

"Where are the others?" Her gaze swept over the other students in the classroom.

Then, the other members of the Transfiguration Club also stood up and expressed their opinions.

However, the vast majority of students' statements were very similar to Angelina's.

They found the conjecture in the paper quite interesting and inspiring, but they believed that this conjecture would ultimately remain just that – a conjecture.

Even the few students who expressed differing opinions merely echoed Percy's words. They believed that such hypothetical magic might indeed have existed in ancient times, but they also believed that it was impossible for it to reappear in modern times, given the significant loss of its transmission.

"I think the conjecture presented in this paper is actually about replacing the role of alchemy with transmutation."

Cedric was speaking eloquently.

"The idea of ​​using ancient runes and spells to enhance the power of Transfiguration, while not entirely impossible in rigorous theory, is probably too difficult for any wizard to achieve."

"We all know that when we use magic, just the combination of two simple spells can stump most wizards."

"Not to mention combining different systems of magic such as polymorph, spells, and ancient runes, I think the difficulty of that would be despairing."

He held up his notebook, showing off the densely written text on it.

"I'm just listing out the magical knowledge needed to achieve this conjecture in theory. Of course, this is only what I can think of," he said helplessly. "I don't know how to achieve the rest."

He put down his notebook.

“To be honest, just that alone is enough to frighten me.” He looked up at Professor McGonagall again. “Suppose that even if all the problems are solved in theory, I don’t think anyone would be able to use it smoothly in practice.”

"Perhaps it would work if it were Merlin?" he joked at the end, then laughed to himself.

Professor McGonagall smiled upon hearing this, nodded to Cedric, and then looked at Scott.

"This is the last one. What are your thoughts, Mr. Trollope?"

“I am very interested in this paper and its authors, Professor.”

Scott stood up and said with a smile.

“I will write to Mr. Weasley, the author of the paper.” He glanced back at Percy. “There are five Weasleys in Gryffindor now, any one of them will do. I hope you can introduce me to one of them.”

Many people in the classroom laughed, even Percy laughed, and he gave Scott a no-go sign.

“I think what you need to do is express your own opinion on the paper, Mr. Trollope,” Professor McGonagall said, “rather than state your plans to pursue the authors.”

"Hahahahahaha..."

This immediately made everyone else burst out laughing.

"Uh……"

Scott looked at Professor McGonagall's amused gaze with resentment, and he was thoroughly taken aback.

I never knew Professor McGonagall was like this!

Hmph! As expected of you, Ying Gelan!

"Ok."

After the laughter subsided, Scott continued, "To be honest, I've had the same idea as this paper before."

Several hisses immediately rang out in the classroom.

Scott ignored him, saying, "Of course, that's just my imagination; there's no real basis for it."

"So when I saw this paper, I was very excited. After all, Mr. Weasley's paper was much better than my daydream; at least he presented some supporting evidence."

Scott paused here.

"The magical artifacts left in the ancient Egyptian pyramids could not be perfectly replicated by alchemy in theory, but a perfect transformation technique could."

As he spoke, a strong emotion flashed in his eyes—a greed and thirst for knowledge.

“I understand your excitement, Mr. Trollope,” Professor McGonagall’s smile had vanished. “However, I suggest that you only broaden your horizons and gain some inspiration from other people’s papers, but I don’t think it’s a good thing for you to become obsessed with it.”

She didn't want to hear Scott continue, so she reached out and pressed her palm down, gesturing for Scott to sit down.

"Yes, Professor."

Scott obediently shut his mouth and sat down.

This concludes the discussion of this paper.

Next, Professor McGonagall began to teach the members of the Transfiguration Club some useful tips for using Transfiguration.

Scott immediately put the paper aside and listened attentively.

After the day's club activities ended, Professor McGonagall asked Scott to stay behind.

Chapter 021 Professor McGonagall's Birthday Gift

Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and everything in the Transfiguration Club classroom immediately returned to its original order and neatness.

“Do you know why I left you alone, Mr. Trollope?” She looked at Scott, who was standing to the side.

“Please rest assured, Professor,” Scott assured him, “I have never delved into anything outside the textbook.”

Professor McGonagall looked him in the eyes. "But you are very interested in Mr. Weasley's theories."

“I am indeed very interested in the conjectures that Mr. Weasley presented in his paper,” Scott said, meeting Professor McGonagall’s gaze without flinching. “But I will not delve into this area until I have thoroughly mastered the knowledge within the scope of the school curriculum.”

"That's good. I believe you, Mr. Trollope."

Professor McGonagall looked away first.

Having taught Scott for three years, she was quite familiar with his learning goals. She knew he placed great importance on the fundamentals.

That's all for today.

Professor McGonagall turned and walked out of the club classroom first.

Scott also left the classroom and exchanged goodnights with Professor McGonagall in the hallway.

“Oh, right,” Professor McGonagall stopped as she turned around, “Mr. Trollope.”

“Professor?” Scott also stopped in his tracks.