Chương 5: A Class of Innate Talents

The trio barely made it to the classroom before the bell, the last to slip in before the lesson began.

"I bet those stairs are enchanted just to make us late," Ron complained, rubbing his still-reddened nose as he entered the room first. He glanced at the empty teacher's podium and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we're not too late after all. The professor hasn't even arrived yet," Harry said with a grateful look at Evan, thankful for the early start that had spared them from tardiness.

"No, I think the professor is already here..." Evan didn't join in their conversation but instead cast a knowing glance at the tabby cat on the podium before quickly taking his seat.

Harry and Ron, puzzled at first, soon witnessed the cat leap gracefully from the podium, twist in mid-air, and land as none other than Professor McGonagall!

The two boys were astounded, now understanding what Evan had meant. They wondered how Evan had known the cat was Professor McGonagall.

Surprised herself, Professor McGonagall, in her Animagus form, had intended to observe the new students and use her transformation as a dramatic start to the Transfiguration class. She hadn't expected to be recognized so swiftly.

With an approving nod at Evan, Professor McGonagall began the day's lesson.

"Before we begin, let me remind you... Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone looking to cause mischief under my watch had better leave now and never come back!"

With a flick of her wand, the professor turned her podium into a pig, then back again, to the amazement of her students.

Sitting at the front, Evan watched the flawless transformation.

Precise, swift, impeccable...

To transmute a wooden podium into a conscious creature was to alter the very structure of matter, momentarily granting sentience to the inanimate. The depth and might of magic were undeniable.

While wizarding spells may lack in raw destructive power, they possess unique strengths elsewhere, comprehensive and complete!

The students were immediately engrossed by Professor McGonagall's demonstration. After explaining the spell's mechanics, she distributed matches with the goal of turning them into silver needles.

As Professor McGonagall elucidated the transmutation spell, a notification chimed in Evan's mind.

[Ding! You have listened attentively to the professor's explanation, though it was somewhat abstruse. Your proficiency in the Transfiguration spell has increased slightly...]

Evan checked his status and indeed, a new entry had appeared.

[Transfiguration Spell Level 0 (6/100)]

Pleased that it matched his expectations, Evan realized that mastering any magic was a matter of practice and proficiency.

However, after half a class of practice, Evan found it wasn't as simple as he had hoped.

...

"Evan Halse!"

"Mr. Halse!"

The stern, elevated voice echoed in the classroom, drawing the attention of the surrounding students.

It wasn't until Professor McGonagall sharply turned her head that the students reluctantly refocused on their matches, repeatedly waving their wands in hopes of even the slightest change.

After a round of glares at those still slacking, Professor McGonagall turned to Evan, who seemed slightly dazed, and spoke firmly.

"Mr. Halse, I believe I've warned you before—the casting of spells is extremely dangerous and requires focus before and during their execution!"

"Moreover, mechanical repetition will not be of much help. You need to engage more deeply, focus and truly envision the needle..."

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I'll be more attentive..." Evan nodded politely, gathering his concentration under the witch's watchful eye. His nearly twelve-inch wand moved through the air in a curious rhythm.

On the dark wooden desk, a match began to contort as if driven by an invisible force, gradually altering its shape under the spell...

Just as the match seemed to be taking form, however, it snapped back to its original state as though disrupted.

This did not seem to surprise Professor McGonagall, who merely nodded and advised more practice before moving on. After all, the level of most first-year students was similar.

Left to his own devices, Evan muttered, "Gaining proficiency isn't as easy as I thought..."

After nearly a full period of effort, Evan's initial excitement had faded.

His proficiency's growth rate had slowed after an initial surge, and not every attempt increased his skill level.

Evan surmised that rather than practice enhancing his proficiency, it was more about revealing his existing level through practice.

By the end of the class, he had yet to consistently perform the Transfiguration spell.

As Evan's attention waned during the Transfiguration class, a tap on the shoulder jolted him back. Turning around, he saw an excited Harry pointing to a shiny, needle-like object on the desk.

"Hey, Evan... look, I did it, I did it!"

"Yes, Harry, you did brilliantly, and you're quite talented!" Evan nodded, acknowledging Harry's accomplishment. To have significantly altered the match and maintained its form was above average for a first-year wizard. At the very least, far better than his own attempt.

"Really? I didn't expect it, considering my aunt and uncle are Muggles. I doubted my magical abilities before coming to Hogwarts..."

Bolstered by Evan's affirmation, Harry eagerly shared his previous concerns and doubts.

Before entering the wizarding world, Harry was just an ordinary eleven-year-old boy. Suddenly, he became the savior in everyone's eyes. While he gained unimaginable attention and honor, he also bore unimaginable pressure.

Harry had even feared the embarrassment of being unable to perform magic, but fortunately, things hadn't turned out so badly.

Evan wasn't surprised by Harry's quick grasp of magic; after all, the Sorting Hat had made it clear he was brave, kind, and exceptionally talented.

The Hat had even suggested Slytherin House for Harry, who, by his third year, had managed to summon a Patronus and ward off hundreds of Dementors after learning the spell recently.

Were it not for Hogwarts' laissez-faire approach to education, this prodigiously talented savior might have graduated with professor-level skills.

For Evan, envy was not in his vocabulary... not at all...

After all, wizards with innate talent were the minority.

Glancing around, Evan was relieved to see most students were at his level. Just as he relaxed, Professor McGonagall's voice rang out again.

"Well done, Miss Granger! Everyone, take note: Miss Granger has successfully transfigured her match into a silver needle. Five points to Gryffindor!"

Near Evan's seat in the aisle, Professor McGonagall held up the needle for all to see.

Miss Granger, with her bushy brown hair, sat proudly, receiving the surprised and impressed looks of her classmates.

Evan, adjusting to the sight of the silver needle, felt his composure shatter once more...

Was there no room left for ordinary wizards like themselves?

"Damn it, I was so close! If I'd practiced a bit more, Professor McGonagall would be praising me right now..." Ron jabbed his wand at the desk, glaring at Hermione as if resentful of the stolen glory.

Evan glanced at the object on Ron's desk, which had reverted to a match for lack of magic. He doubted Ron could reach Hermione's level even with a few more classes.

Though he wasn't doing much better—actually, even worse...

Evan sighed helplessly. Where were the promised talents and the significant increase in mental strength due to soul fusion?

The common tropes of countless novels had not manifested in Evan at all. He now understood the Sorting Hat's accurate assessment of his talents.

Of course, his inability to stabilize Transfiguration was likely due not only to his innate abilities but also to the decreased compatibility with his wand due to the soul swap.

If magic was electricity and the wand a plug, then spells were various appliances.

With the wire occasionally short-circuiting, the light flickered on and off.

Evan couldn't solve the wand issue in the short term; he'd likely be stuck with it for the term.

After another bout with the stubborn match, the Transfiguration class finally came to an end. Evan had not managed to stabilize the transformed match.

Instead, he discovered a small, rather useless trick: releasing magic haphazardly through the wand produced a thin beam of light, effectively reverting any unstable transfigurations.

Discovered by accident when Evan nearly blew up his match, it seemed useful only for teasing Ron during Transfiguration class.

As Professor McGonagall announced the end of the lesson, another notification sounded in Evan's mind.

[Ding! Through your tireless effort, Transfiguration class has concluded. Please keep up the good work.

Session evaluation: Average

Evaluator: Minerva McGonagall

Reward: Academic Points *5

....]

Evan hadn't expected to receive a reward for attending class.

Could one earn rewards for performing well or badly in end-of-term exams?

Despite his complaints, discovering another function of the system was a pleasant surprise. Evan just wondered what he could do with these Academic Points.

After triggering the system panel, Evan had noticed the Academic Points. Perhaps because he hadn't earned any before, the relevant features had remained locked. Now, he found a new exchange option in the panel.

To his slight disappointment, the lone item in the exchange menu was a Study Prodigy Experience Card, costing 100 Academic Points for an hour-long boost in study efficiency.

Evan's earlier hopes for exchanging powerful spells or curses were dashed.

It seemed he was destined to study hard.

With only five points earned per class and three to five classes a day, it would take five full days of accumulation to exchange for a single hour of the Study Prodigy Experience.

That seemed quite unfair. What could one learn in an hour?

But with no other way to improve his dismal study efficiency, Evan resigned himself to study diligently.

Following Transfiguration was the dull History of Magic class taught by the ghostly Professor Binns, who droned on without regard for his students' engagement.

Evan struggled, knowing his rewards were tied to the professor's evaluation, and without a way to improve his standing in History of Magic, he felt stuck.

After another average evaluation and five more Academic Points, Evan began to appreciate the class's benefits.

In the following Charms class, which covered the basics of levitation spells, Evan struggled with his wand's interference, barely succeeding after the entire period and three explosive mishaps.

His performance was only slightly better than Neville's, while Hermione succeeded after just three attempts.

Evan inevitably received a poor evaluation and a meager two Academic Points.

The silver lining was that after several days of exploring Hogwarts, his progress in the [Explore Hogwarts] task reached 30%, with each percentage point rewarding two Academic Points, totaling 60 points—much faster than daily classes.

This gave Evan hope that he might soon accumulate the 100 Academic Points needed for the Study Prodigy Experience Card.