Hogwarts: Through the Veil of Time

If someone knew that it was my manipulations that caused this, but at the same time I cannot transfigure a match, they would be very surprised. But the thing is that the local school of magic is very different from the one I am used to. In a way that is completely incomprehensible to me, a combination of words, gestures, thought-forms and formulas forces the neutral magic of the wizard to perform a certain function embedded in this combination, but at the same time, the magical energy itself does not undergo any structural changes, so to speak. On the one hand, this is not surprising, because one of the facets of witchcraft through internal energy is precisely this - causing a certain effect, changing reality or its individual aspects, through only magical energy, without powering various structures with it and so on. But there is one huge and completely incomprehensible paradox here - why do all wizards have the same result?

Simply put, it is quite easy to embody an image, a fantasy, by means of neutral magic. In essence, it is enough to pass the magic through the prism of consciousness, which contains the necessary image, and direct it to the goal by an effort of will. But the whole point is that just as there are no two identical people with the same consciousness, there cannot be absolutely identical magic on such a principle of action. Here you can see an obvious contradiction - a bunch of wizards with internal neutral energy create absolutely identical charms and spells from completely unstructured magic. Well, not taking into account the "designer" aspects, so to speak. In general, there is a lot that is unclear.

While I was thinking about magic, simultaneously looking for the key to successful transfiguration, Malfoy began to panic and try to cancel my magic with Finite - unsuccessfully.

"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall did not ignore such a flagrant breach of discipline. "Minus point to Slytherin for trying to be like Mr. Weasley."

The almost invisible grin on the professor's face said, "The prank was a success." The manner of deducting points reminded me of Snape, and made me think that the rivalry was not only between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses, but also between their deans.

Ignoring the quiet laughter of the students, I waved the wand again, but this time I added not just an image in which the match suddenly becomes a needle, but gradually transforms into one. I even added a mental illusion of the sensations of the needle in my hands, but I did not go further, to the image of molecular changes. The match turned into a needle in a split second.

"I get the point," I nodded to myself with a smile.

"What?" Ernie looked up from his futile and almost imperceptible attempts by Malfoy and his comrades to fix the hair situation.

- I'm telling you, I understood the essence of transfiguration. It seems so.

"Well, well," Ernie expressed the greatest doubt, returning to copying more diagrams from the board.

Having glanced at the remaining textbooks, he quickly pulled the necessary formulas from his memory, compared them with the necessary images, making them as complete as possible and conveying the essence of the objects, and began to conjure, transforming objects one after another and getting the desired result. Ernie looked at this with wide-open eyes - and a button from a beetle turned out, and a snuffbox, a glass and other small things, as required by the curriculum for past years.

"Really…" he exhaled. "I mean, really."

- Really? - I grinned, looking at the boy.

- It's all Justin and his words. You hear it a couple of times, and then it gets stuck...

My successes did not go unnoticed by McGonagall. The professor came up to us and carefully examined the products of my magical manipulations.

- Excellent transfiguration, Mr. Granger. Perhaps you have already understood the topic of today's lesson?

- Gamp's Law with its exceptions, Professor?

- Exactly.

Standing up from my seat and looking at the students, who were attentively watching my slightest movement, I declared:

— Transfiguration or creation from thin air is subject to all material, non-magical, quantifiable, single and separate objects, the change or creation of which does not contradict the laws established by the Ministry of Magic. As for exceptions, there are five of them.

— List them?

"You can't create food out of nothing," I began counting on my fingers, "or turn something into a person, or turn an ordinary object into a magical one, or create something magical. You can't transfigure money, precious metals, or stones. You can't transfigure time.

"Very well," McGonagall nodded. "But here's an important question for you and everyone else. How do you understand this law and its exceptions?"

McGonagall looked around the class; everyone looked thoughtful.

— It seems to me that you are old enough to move beyond memorization to meaningful understanding. At least regarding the basic material. Anyone care to answer? Mr. Granger?

I haven't sat down in my seat yet, and so I decided to express several conclusions and assumptions based both on the material I've read and on some abstract and far from complete, but still understanding of the essence of such transformations from fragments of memory.

— I can't say for sure or confirm anything, but I have some thoughts on this topic.

McGonagall nodded approvingly, as if giving permission to continue.

— The law itself has a certain duality. It states that some types of transfiguration are simply impossible to perform, and also that some of those that are possible are already punishable by Ministry law.

"Go on, Mr. Granger," the professor nodded.

— The object of transfiguration must satisfy several conditions. It must be singular, must be an independent numerical unit, must not be in a rigid, immobile connection with other objects that excludes their mutual mobility, and most importantly, must not have magical properties.

"A very literate explanation, Mr. Granger," the professor nodded again. "I recommend that those who are unable to decipher the essence of the law for themselves should definitely write down these words. Mr. Granger, I would like to hear examples of objects that satisfy one or more of the requirements."

Quite a large number of students from our stream immediately began rustling their pens on the parchment.

— I think, professor, with a non-magical object everything is simple — everything that does not have magic, a magical property, is not enchanted, does not have an activated runic engraving, and all that kind of stuff. Countables — something that can be mentally and actually separated from the community of similar objects. For example…

I took my usual notebook from the table.

— A notebook. One piece. Separable from the community of other notebooks. It can be transfigured. However, it is impossible to transfigure a part of a notebook by positioning the transfiguration effect specifically on a part of the notebook. But it is possible to transfigure a separately selected sheet or several sheets.

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