If anyone told her that there is a more brilliant Transfiguration professor than McGonagall, she would have fumed. Yet there she was drinking in every word uttered by Dumbledore fascinated beyond possible.
He was a form of Transfiguration himself, she thought. It's like he was transcending from one state into another without as much as flicking a wand. She knew that as of now he still struggled to face Grindewald but the day he defeated the man was approaching. By the end of this school year, he will go into history as the wizard who destroyed Grindewald. This Dumbledore looked younger but was as tired as when Voldemort was trying to conquer the world.
She still hated him for what he's done and for threatening to erase her memories but couldn't help but wonder just how awful was his life.
Meanwhile, he transfigured a table into a little lion and everyone laughed. So Gryffindorish. Hermione turned her book into its tiny copy almost absentmindedly and Dumbledore clapped his hands.
"Well done, miss Wells, take 20 points, as you can see, the task is not impossible, and transfiguring small objects requires the same skill as with the big ones", he smiled and went to assist other students.
Hermione saw that all of them were struggling with the task. She looked at the girl who sat closest to her and saw that she's managed to transfigure only the tail.
"You see it as a book", she said suddenly, surprising both herself and the girl.
"Excuse me?", the girl asked.
"Your wand movement is correct, but the trick is to see not the book but the lion. You have to believe it's a lion", she explained.
The girl turned to the book concentrating and repeated the actions. In an instant, there was a little lion standing on her desk, though the color was still that of the book.
The girl smiled contentedly and nodded to Hermione.
"Still not the right color", she said.
"Not until you use a bit of magic", Hermione smiled and waved the wand. A little lion looked like a fine addition to the Ravenclaw house. The girl laughed merrily
"Oh yes, house unity manifested", Dumbledore smiled and did the same with the bigger version of the lion. Ravenclaw students beamed happily and clapped."As miss Wells here said, it's all about believing and a bit of magic", he said and slowly turned the lion back into the table.