Chapter 20: Transformation Class

Pushing open the greenhouse door, Sheen felt his heart rate definitely quicken.

What if Professor Sprout wasn't there?

What if the Professor had already finished dealing with the venomous snake fangs?

What if...

The thoughts flashed through his mind only to be cast aside by Sheen, because he saw the plump Professor working diligently.

"Professor Sprout."

Sheen jogged over, his voice trembling slightly.

"Welcome, Mr. Green," Professor Sprout greeted Sheen warmly. "Follow me; we have some special materials to process today."

Sheen's jog turned into a stride, as if Professor Sprout might vanish if he lost focus for even a moment.

A certain plump witch let out an "oh" and brushed some vines away from Sheen's head.

Professor Sprout walked briskly ahead, leading Sheen through the familiar Bubble Pod area.

"My dear Bubble Pods are about to ripen. When the pink pods get a little larger, the shimmering beans will jump down. We must harvest them before they jump, otherwise, the greenhouse will be overflowing with pods." The Professor squeezed a pod, speaking with the joy of a coming harvest. "Mr. Green, would you like to help with the picking?"

Sheen gave a heavy "yes," and the large and small wizards arrived at an oak table. Various types of snake fangs were laid out upon it.

"Every year at this time, I help process some materials... Ah, look at these fangs, they are quite sturdy. Mr. Green, do you know the difference between them?"

Professor Sprout waved her wand, and several snake fangs hovered in front of Sheen. They were sharp and pointed, glinting with a cold light, and indeed appeared to have some differences.

"Venomous snake fangs will have small grooves in them," Sheen said after observing them carefully for a moment.

"Exactly right," Professor Sprout said, somewhat surprised. "Sharp insight."

As she finished speaking, a mortar and pestle flew into Sheen's hands. "Come, try grinding it, Mr. Green."

Sheen did not hesitate. Grinding was not a troublesome task, especially since the pestle in his hand seemed to possess some sort of magic. Sheen guessed it was something like a crushing charm, which made his progress very fast.

Professor Sprout watched Sheen grinding seriously, then with a wave of her wand, the ten mortars and pestles on the table all began to move.

"For the Awakening Potion, we need to grind it finer, but for the Scabies Potion, this size is about right."

As Professor Sprout's voice fell, Sheen stopped grinding; he had already finished processing ten portions of material.

*It shouldn't be too slow,* Sheen thought, and then he saw the ten mortars moving in unison.

*Well, wizards are quite versatile.*

Sheen didn't pay it much mind, turning instead to carefully note the state of the ground fangs and observing the difference between the venomous and non-venomous powders. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell them apart.

"Oh, Mr. Green."

Seeing his eyes practically pressed against the powder, Professor Sprout laughed so hard her hat tilted slightly. She waved her wand again, and the powder was placed into glass vials of different colors. The vials for venomous fangs were pale red, while the non-venomous ones were white.

Sheen had an epiphany.

"The angle of the sunflowers tells me it's time for you to go, Mr. Green." Professor Sprout wiggled her five fingers in a farewell gesture.

Sheen realized that an hour and a half had passed. He quickly bid the Professor farewell, only whispering a single question: "Professor, can I come back this afternoon?"

"Of course, the greenhouse welcomes every child who loves nature."

And so, Sheen pushed open the greenhouse door.

***

In the afternoon, Ravenclaw was to attend their first Transfiguration class alongside Gryffindor. He didn't want to be turned into a pocket watch or a map, so he quickened his pace.

Along the way, he opened his panel

【Herbology Cognition: Unlocked (59/90)】 【Apprentice-level Herbology Cognition can unlock the Apprentice title in the Herbology field.】

*Processing snake fangs indeed doesn't count as herbology,* Sheen thought, continuing to read.

【Levitation Charm: Apprentice (4/300)】 【Scouring Charm: Apprentice (70/300)】 【Lumos: Novice (19/900)】

The Lumos charm was already at the Novice level. Sheen lit his wand; it was much brighter than when it was at the Apprentice level, and he could cast it faster and more easily. As for making it as bright as it had been in the classroom, he would need to summon the right mood, though that wasn't always successful. In fact, Sheen had tried it in the classroom, but he could never produce such bright light again.

The Transfiguration classroom was on the second floor of the castle, not far from Professor McGonagall's office. Upon entering, a moderately long brown wooden table came into view, with chairs from the Chauncy era behind it.

*Antiques. Hogwarts really is wealthy,* Sheen thought.

Then he saw Michael looking conflicted. A black-haired girl sat beside him, and he seemed to be debating whether to sit with Sheen. Sheen shook his head and sat down next to Hermione. Beside her was a cage containing a squeaking rat. Even though the desks were meant for two, the seat next to her was always empty.

"Sheen, did you see the tabby cat on the desk? She's so cute."

Sheen looked up. A silver-grey tabby cat was sitting regally on the desk.

"Yeah," Sheen nodded.

As they spoke, a "creak" came from behind. It was Harry and Ron, rushing into the classroom in a panic. By now, they were three minutes late. Hermione looked back and shook her head with a pout.

"We made it. If we had been late, Professor McGonagall's expression would have been terrifying," Ron said relievedly.

Seeing the two of them hesitating to sit down, Sheen knew they couldn't escape.

The tabby cat leaped up and transformed into a tall witch. She wore deep green robes and was tilting her head, staring at the speaking Ron. Ron's eyes widened and his lips tightened, his expression likely saying: *Harry, do you think we'll survive this?*

"That was amazing," Ron tried to play it off.

"Thank you for your comment, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps I should turn you and Mr. Potter into a pocket watch; that way, at least one of you might keep time?"

"We got lost."

"Then I shall turn you into a map. Surely you won't need a map to find your own seats?"

Laughter rippled through the classroom.

"Five points from Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall added.

Sheen saw Hermione give Harry and Ron another speechless glance.

*Gryffindor lives up to its reputation,* Sheen thought.

"Transfiguration is the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said sternly. "Anyone who misbehaves in my class will be asked to leave and never permitted to return. I am warning you."

After speaking, Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and the desk in front of her turned into a pig that wandered around the classroom before turning back. The young wizards watched with wide, glowing eyes, eager to begin learning immediately.