**Chapter 05: Is There Any Room For Ordinary Wizards to Live? (Two Chapters Combined)**
The trio finally stumbled into the classroom just before class was about to start.
"I'll bet anything those stairs were deliberately targeting us, trying to make us late," Ron grumbled, rubbing his still-red nose as he was the first to step inside. Seeing the empty teacher's podium, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Looks like we're not *that* late after all. The professor isn't even here yet," Harry said, shooting Ivan a grateful glance. Good thing they'd gotten up early today, otherwise they'd definitely have been late.
"No, I think the professor is already here..." Ivan ignored their remarks, his eyes fixed on the tabby cat sitting on the podium. He then quickly made his way to his seat.
Harry and Ron were left puzzled, but after they sat down, they watched as the tabby cat on the podium suddenly leaped down. Its form twisted and shifted, and by the time it landed, it had transformed into a stern-looking witch—Professor McGonagall!
Harry and Ron were stunned, finally understanding what Ivan had meant. They just couldn't figure out how Ivan had known the cat was Professor McGonagall.
Professor McGonagall was also surprised. She had used her Animagus form to observe the new students and to introduce the topic of Transfiguration. She hadn't expected a student to recognize her.
She gave Ivan a slight nod of approval before launching into the first Transfiguration lesson.
"Before we begin, I must warn you..." Professor McGonagall started, her voice crisp. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
With a wave of her wand, she transformed the teacher's desk into a pig. Amidst the gasps of the students, she turned it back just as easily.
Ivan, sitting near the front, watched the entire process clearly.
Precise, swift, flawless...
Transforming a wooden desk into a living, conscious creature was akin to altering the very structure of matter, even briefly bestowing intelligence upon an inanimate object. The mystery and power of magic were on full display.
While wizarding magic might lag slightly in pure destructive force, it excelled in other areas and was remarkably comprehensive and complete!
Professor McGonagall's demonstration immediately captured the students' interest. After explaining the methods and techniques for casting the Transfiguration Spell, she handed out matchsticks to everyone. The goal was to turn the matchstick into a needle.
Just as Professor McGonagall began her explanation, a notification chimed in Ivan's mind.
*Ding! You have listened attentively to the professor's lecture. The content is somewhat abstruse. Proficiency in the Transfiguration Spell has increased slightly...*
Ivan pulled up his information panel. Sure enough, a new line appeared under the Magic section.
*Transfiguration Spell - Level 0 (6/100)*
Seeing this unfold as he had hoped filled Ivan with delight. This meant that for any magic, he could potentially master it quickly by repeatedly practicing to increase proficiency.
However, after half a class of repeated practice, Ivan realized it wasn't as simple as he'd imagined.
...
"Ivan Harus!"
"Mr. Harus!"
A stern, loud voice echoed in the enclosed classroom, making students in the front and back rows turn to look.
It wasn't until the speaker, Professor McGonagall, turned her head sharply that the students reluctantly looked away, returning to their matchsticks with looks of frustration or deep concentration, waving their wands over and over, hoping for even the slightest change...
Professor McGonagall glanced around the room. Her lips, pressed into a thin line, relaxed slightly into a hint of satisfaction when she saw the matchstick on the desk of a bushy-haired young witch had undergone a noticeable change, beginning to resemble a needle.
After shooting a warning glance at the students who were still slacking off, Professor McGonagall finally turned her full attention to the somewhat dazed boy before her, speaking sternly.
"Mr. Harus, I believe I mentioned earlier that spellcasting is very dangerous. One must maintain focus before casting magic!"
"Furthermore, repetitive, mechanical practice isn't particularly helpful. I think you need to be more attentive. Focus, and visualize the needle..."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I'll be more careful," Ivan Harus replied politely. Under the witch's gaze, he concentrated his mind. The nearly twelve-inch wand in his hand moved through the air with a peculiar rhythm.
On the dark grey wooden desk, a matchstick seemed to be driven by an unseen force, twisting and contorting, its form slowly changing under the influence of magic...
However, just as the matchstick was slowly transforming, as if disturbed by something, it instantly reverted to its original state.
This outcome didn't seem to surprise Professor McGonagall. Seeing this, she merely nodded, left a comment about needing more practice, and walked away. After all, this was the level of most first-year students.
Left alone, Ivan Harus muttered under his breath with a sigh, "It seems gaining proficiency isn't that easy..."
After most of the class spent trying, Ivan had long lost his initial excitement.
Because after an initial surge, the rate of proficiency growth had slowed significantly. Moreover, proficiency didn't increase with every attempt.
After some experimentation, Ivan felt this was less about practice increasing skill proficiency and more about the system quantifying his existing ability level.
By the end of most of the class, Ivan still couldn't even maintain a stable Transfiguration spell for an extended period.
Just as Ivan Harus was letting his mind wander in Transfiguration class, someone poked him with a finger.
Ivan turned to see an excited Harry pointing at an object on his desk that was pointed at both ends and had a faint metallic sheen, exclaiming loudly, "Hey, Ivan... look, I did it! I did it!"
"Hmm, yes... Harry, you're very impressive, and talented!" Ivan glanced at the peculiar object on the desk and nodded. For the first Transfiguration class, causing a clear change in the matchstick and maintaining that form was already above average among the first-years. At the very least, it was much better than what he could do.
"Right? I didn't expect it either. You know, my aunt and uncle are Muggles. Before coming here, I kept doubting if I could even do magic..."
With Ivan's affirmation, Harry eagerly poured out all his previous worries and anxieties.
Before entering the wizarding world, Harry was just an ordinary eleven-year-old boy. Suddenly becoming the "Boy Who Lived" in everyone's eyes brought unimaginable attention and glory, but also immense pressure.
Harry had even imagined the awkward scenario of being unable to learn magic. Fortunately, things hadn't turned out that badly.
Ivan wasn't surprised by Harry's quick grasp of magic. During the Sorting, the Hat had made it clear: brave, kind-hearted, and highly talented!
The Sorting Hat had even seriously considered placing Harry in Slytherin. In his third year, Harry used the Patronus Charm, which he had just learned, to repel or destroy hundreds of Dementors.
If not for Hogwarts' rather... liberal educational approach, this exceptionally gifted "Chosen One" would likely have reached at least professor-level prowess by graduation.
Regarding this, Ivan told himself he wasn't envious... not one bit...
After all, highly talented young wizards were the minority.
Ivan sneakily glanced around and saw most students were at his level. He felt a slight sense of relief. But then, Professor McGonagall's loud voice rang in his ears again.
"Excellent, Miss Granger! Everyone, take a look. Miss Granger has successfully transformed her matchstick into a needle. Five points to Gryffindor!"
In the aisle, just a few steps from Ivan's seat, Professor McGonagall was holding up a silver needle, showing it to the surrounding students.
Sitting primly was Miss Granger, her bushy brown hair cascading over her shoulders. She held her head high, accepting the surprised and impressed gazes from the other students.
Ivan stared dumbly at that silver needle. His recently adjusted mindset shattered instantly...
Was there even any room for ordinary wizards like them to live?
"Blimey, I was so close! If I'd practiced a bit more, Professor McGonagall would be praising me now..." Ron muttered, poking his desk with his wand, glaring resentfully at Hermione as if she had stolen his glory.
Ivan glanced at the ambiguous object on Ron's desk, which had lost its magical hold and reverted to a matchstick. He thought it would take Ron several more classes to reach Hermione's current level.
Not that he was much better. In fact, he might be worse off...
Ivan sighed with some frustration. What about the legendary "talent explosion" after transmigration? What about the massive boost in mental power from soul fusion?
None of the common tropes from stories seemed to apply to him. Ivan finally understood how accurate the Sorting Hat's assessment of his talent had been.
Of course, Ivan suspected that besides talent, another reason for his unstable Transfiguration was the drastic drop in wand compatibility due to the soul replacement.
If magical power was electricity, the wand was the plug and wiring, and spells were the various appliances.
Now, with the wiring frequently short-circuiting, the light bulb naturally flickered on and off.
However, the wand issue wasn't something Ivan could solve quickly. He'd probably have to use this wand for the whole semester.
After another period of struggle with the matchstick, the first Transfiguration class finally ended. Ivan never managed to stabilize the transformed state.
Instead, he discovered a rather useless little trick: by chaotically channeling magical power through his wand and releasing it, he could produce a thin beam of magical light. Its sole function was to revert unstable Transfigurations back to their original form.
Ivan stumbled upon this during his Nth failed attempt at the Transfiguration Spell, which nearly caused the matchstick to explode. Apart from using it to mess with Ron during Transfiguration class, it seemed to have no other use.
Just as Professor McGonagall announced the end of class from the podium, another voice chimed in Ivan's mind.
*Ding! Through the host's unremitting efforts, the Transfiguration class has concluded. Please continue to strive hard.
Overall class evaluation for this session: Average
Evaluator: Minerva McGonagall
Reward: Academic Points *5
...*
Looking at the information suddenly appearing in his mind, Ivan was genuinely surprised.
You get rewards for attending class?
Ivan was taken aback, especially by the term "Academic Points." It felt oddly similar to his university days.
It seemed the evaluation was done by the respective professors.
Would there be corresponding rewards or penalties for final exams, based on good or bad grades?
Of course, while he was吐槽吐嘈吐槽吐嘈吐槽ing吐嘈, discovering another system function made Ivan quite happy. He just didn't know what these Academic Points could be used for.
Ever since triggering the system panel, Ivan had noticed the "Academic Points" item.
Perhaps because he hadn't earned any before, the related functions hadn't been unlocked. Shortly after this, Ivan found a new "Exchange" option that had appeared on the panel.
To Ivan's slight disappointment, the entire exchange list contained only one lonely item: "Top Student Experience Card." It cost 100 Academic Points to exchange, and its effect was to significantly increase learning efficiency for one hour.
All the powerful magics, forbidden curses, etc., that Ivan had imagined exchanging were nowhere to be found.
Was this the system's way of pushing him to study relentlessly?
Ivan looked at the 5 Academic Points he had earned from one class and suddenly felt a sense of despair. Hogwarts only had about three to five class periods per day.
Calculating at 5 points per class, he would need a full five days of accumulation just to exchange for a one-hour Top Student Experience Card?
Wasn't that a bit too harsh?
What could one possibly learn in just an hour?
However, with things as they were, Ivan had no other choice. Besides this exchange, he had no other way to improve his inefficient learning rate.
What else could he do?
Study hard, then...
After Transfiguration came the tedious History of Magic class. The teaching professor, Professor Binns, was a rigid and old-fashioned ghost. For the entire class, he droned on about the lesson, completely ignoring the state of the young wizards below.
This made things difficult for Ivan. Earning Academic Points was clearly related to the evaluating professor's assessment of his performance in class. With the teaching method in History of Magic, Ivan didn't even have a chance to improve his evaluation.
After the entire class, Ivan received another "Average" evaluation and 5 Academic Points.
However, Ivan soon realized the advantage of History of Magic class.
Because in the next Charms class, they were learning how to apply magical power steadily to an object and influence it—the foundation for learning the Levitation Charm. Due to his wand's interference, Ivan spent the entire class barely managing to succeed, during which he caused the practice object to explode three times!
His performance was only slightly better than Neville's.
Meanwhile, the fastest, Miss Granger, succeeded on only her third attempt...
Consequently, Ivan unsurprisingly received a "Poor" evaluation for the class, earning only 2 Academic Points...
The only good news was that after a few days of exploration, the progress for the "Explore Hogwarts" task in the mission tree had reached 30%. On average, each percentage point increase rewarded 2 Academic Points, totaling 60 points—much faster than the daily class rewards.
This finally gave Ivan hope of accumulating 100 Academic Points to exchange for a Top Student Experience Card.