Harry felt quite guilty toward Hagrid.
It was obvious that the Philosopher's Stone was a secret, yet he had pried information out of Hagrid multiple times...
"Don't blame yourself, Harry. We're doing this to help Professor Wick, aren't we?" Neville sensed Harry's thoughts. "Even if we're powerless to stop Snape, we can still act as eyes and ears... keeping watch on Snape for Professor Wick."
He felt a bit guilty too, but he would still stand on the same side as Harry.
After all, Professor Wick had also done a great kindness for his family.
"Keeping an eye on Snape won't be an easy task. He's currently pretending that his injuries haven't healed and hasn't shown his face all day. No one knows when he might come out," Hermione mused, her head lowered.
"Then what do you think we should do? How about... we go to the library now? Let's find out what the Philosopher's Stone is first, and then decide on the next step."
The fact that Ron would actually suggest going to the library made the other three steal a glance at him.
"No need to look it up. I know what the Philosopher's Stone is," Hermione said softly.
"You know?" Ron's eyes widened.
"The Philosopher's Stone is a magical stone created by the legendary alchemist, Nicolas Flamel. It can grant immortality and even turn any metal into gold!" Hermione briefly recounted the stone's origin and properties.
In fact, if Hagrid had only mentioned Nicolas Flamel, she might not have recalled it immediately. But since Hagrid had explicitly named the Philosopher's Stone, it all came back to her instantly.
"How do you know that in such detail?" Ron looked at Hermione with a gaze full of admiration.
It was the way a slacker looks at a top student—just how many books did one have to read to know everything?
"The Chocolate Frog cards... have you forgotten? You've pulled his card before."
Harry suddenly realized. He remembered that Ron had once obtained a Chocolate Frog card regarding Nicolas Flamel.
No wonder he felt like he had seen the name somewhere before when he heard the term Philosopher's Stone.
"The Philosopher's Stone... it really is a treasure." Harry glanced at Ron, who looked like he was about to drool, and sighed softly.
With such a precious treasure at stake, it was no wonder Snape wanted it...
Thinking about it this way, Snape's motivation, which had previously been unclear, became crystal clear.
Who wouldn't want a treasure that granted immortality and infinite wealth?
"In truth, magic is a marvelous power. This power originates from your soul and follows certain specific patterns..."
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Victor Wick spoke eloquently.
"Theoretically, at your age, you shouldn't be able to learn advanced magic. However... nothing in this world is absolute. If you can truly understand the operational principles of each spell and master these specific patterns, you can bypass the shackles of magic power and reconstruct magic based on theoretical foundations. I have already proven this through an experiment..." After saying this, Victor gave Harry a meaningful look.
Harry's eyes lit up. He knew which spell Victor was referring to! The Felix Felicis Charm!
'It turns out that when Professor Wick gave us those pieces of parchment with the Felix Felicis Charm, it was also an experiment!'
'I knew it! How could a spell with such incredible effects be a low-level one?'
"Based on the experimental results, I have refined this new method... I believe that you first-years should also be able to try some practical application while learning the theory..."
As soon as he said this, the students grew excited once more.
They had already heard about the contents of the upper-year DADA classes from the older students.
It sounded thrilling and fun...
This left the first-years, who mostly just watched short films, incredibly envious.
And now, it was finally their turn for practical combat!
"I'll start by teaching you a minor spell... one that you theoretically shouldn't be able to master yet." Seeing the anticipation in everyone's eyes, Victor continued with a smile, "I believe you've all started trying Transfiguration, haven't you?"
Everyone nodded.
"What do you think of Transfiguration, Miss Granger?"
Hermione stood up and answered, "Although I've met Professor McGonagall's requirements... it really is quite difficult."
"Indeed. Transfiguration is fundamentally the most difficult discipline. But once you master it thoroughly, you will become far more powerful... In fact, the powerful wizards in history whose names are known to everyone are all Transfiguration masters. For example, Professor Dumbledore, and even... the evil You-Know-Who from ten years ago."
Hearing the name of the Dark Lord, the students' expressions shifted slightly.
Even though the war had ended over a decade ago, Voldemort's dread remained...
"Lucky!" Victor suddenly called toward the door.
A sleek, golden retriever-like dog trotted into the room.
"Apologies, Mr. Shafiq is busy today, so I've had to ask Lucky to serve as my teaching assistant." Victor smiled.
The students broke into a chorus of good-natured laughter.
"Go on, Lucky. Stand over there, then charge at me," Victor commanded.
Lucky was very intelligent. He obediently ran to the door, then turned and lunged toward Victor!
Victor raised his wand and gave a light flick.
"Stop!"
A rune sequence suddenly flashed at the tip of his wand. In an instant, several vines erupted from the floor tiles, binding the charging Lucky tightly!
"Oh..." The students gasped in awe. They knew Professor Wick was demonstrating the application of Transfiguration in Dark Arts defense.
If Lucky were a dark creature, using Transfiguration to restrain him would turn the tide of battle.
"But Professor... we've only just started learning how to turn matchsticks into..." Ron said hesitantly.
"So that's why... I said I would teach you a spell you theoretically shouldn't be able to learn yet. This is just a minor spell belonging to Transfiguration; it's not like I'm stealing Professor McGonagall's thunder..." Victor smiled.
"Can we really do it?" Neville asked in surprise.
He hadn't even perfected his needle yet. How could he possibly turn floor tiles into vines and accurately bind an enemy?
"So, next I must introduce you to a casting method that is completely different from that of traditional wizards..." Victor raised his wand and slashed it through the air.
Four runes glowing with white light appeared in sequence:
" Once everyone had seen the four runes clearly, Victor guided the runes and cast them onto the floor.
"Crack!"
The floor changed instantly as several thick vines burst forth! They lunged upward like living things!
However, because there was nothing above them, the vines eventually just tangled into a knot...
"This... what is this?" Malfoy, who had been silent for a long time, finally couldn't help but ask.
"This is the rune sequence for this spell. In fact, every spell you cast has its own unique rune sequence. This is the fundamental law of magic. Therefore, as long as you master these runes, you can bypass things like gestures, visualization, and emotions, and release the magic directly—just like... printing out a document." Victor explained calmly.
In fact, this was the first time Victor had shared this concept with the students.
He didn't know how much these students would be able to grasp.
Victor was a bit apprehensive, but the students below were thrilled.
Bypassing all those messy requirements and just copying the magic? Did that mean that by mastering this new method, they would never have to follow the tedious rules of casting again?
"First, you need to understand the meaning of these four runes... In fact, every letter in Ancient Runes has multiple meanings. Sometimes, when the same letter is combined with different ones, its original meaning undergoes subtle changes..."
Victor wrote those four Ancient Runes on the blackboard.
Then he pointed to them one by one with his wand.
"'<'—Placed in this rune sequence, its meaning is to create or generate energy... it is the beginning of the entire spell."
"'B'—This letter signifies plant growth; it is the middle part of the spell."
"'+'—This letter represents binding and constraint. Once this letter appears, it acts as a command to the plants that grew earlier..."
"'F'—This letter indicates direction. Generally, you don't need much extra manipulation; with this character present, the target of the binding will be whoever you most want to bind when you cast the spell..."
"Now, as long as we know the meaning of these characters, we just need to combine them... While casting, visualize this sequence in your mind... and the magic is complete."
After Victor finished his introduction, the entire classroom was pin-drop silent.
Among these students, aside from those from Muggle backgrounds, many were from wizarding families.
They had never heard of such an unusual casting method...
"Of course, if you're worried about your aim, you can also add another letter..."
Victor picked up the chalk and wrote a new rune sequence below the original one on the blackboard:
" "This character represents flow and circulation—you already know what the ones in parentheses mean. Placing this character here allows the vines you create to keep tracking the target until they hit!"
"Alright, now, does anyone want to give it a try?" Victor asked softly.
At this point, the students were still a bit dazed. Although they generally understood what Victor had said... it still felt quite surreal.
Could you really cast that Transfiguration spell just by silently thinking of those symbols and waving your wand?
This wasn't just turning a matchstick into a needle; it was turning the floor into vines capable of binding someone!
"I... I'll give it a try..." Hermione said, eager to test it.
She had already roughly memorized the rune sequence from the blackboard in her mind...
"Very well, Miss Granger. Come up."
Victor released Lucky.
Lucky retreated to the door again and looked at Hermione, panting with his tongue out.
"Careful now, Miss Granger. Lucky won't hurt you, but... you wouldn't want to get a face full of slobber, would you?"
Hermione's heart tightened immediately at the thought.
"Woof!" Lucky charged.
Hermione felt a bit of panic, but seeing Lucky rushing toward her, there was no time for second-guessing.
She immediately recalled the rune sequence she had just memorized, and then the wand in her hand lunged forward...
A faint rune sequence flashed quickly across the tip of her wand.
"Crack!"
The floor broke open, and a somewhat frail vine shot up, wrapping around Lucky's leg!
But that vine was too weak; Lucky simply lowered his head and bit through it...
However, just as he bit through the first one, a second one swept in!
Hermione had succeeded. Everyone looked at the first-year witch in shock as she cast a Transfiguration spell that usually required fifth-year proficiency...
Victor stood silently to the side, a meaningful smile crossing his face.
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