Chapter 24: Transfiguration theory

Later that day, Elsa and Jack came into McGonagall's office as directed. The witch gestured for them to sit in front of her desk. The fireplace was lit and the room felt too warm, making Elsa sleepy.

"I called you here today for several reasons," the witch said. "First of all, I wanted to ask you about Halloween. How are you coping?"

"What does that message on the wall mean?" Jack asked.

The witch sighed and linked her hands on the table.

"It is uncertain. It troubles me what was done to Mrs. Norris as her petrification was a result of Dark Magic. I want you to promise me that you will not go wandering about the castle alone. As winter draws closer, it gets dark early. Until we find who was responsible for Mrs. Norris and the writing on the wall, it isn't safe. It has never been more necessary for you to remain in your dorms and stay out of trouble. Can you promise me that?"

"We promise," Elsa answered for both of them. It shouldn't be difficult to upkeep their word since she had no desire to wander the castle in the dark.

"Overall," McGonagall continued, "how has the term been going for you? Do you like Hogwarts?"

"I love it," Elsa blurted and smiled awkwardly. It was the truth. "Everything's great, right, Jack?"

Her brother nodded, but Elsa had a feeling that he was holding something back, that something wasn't 'great' with him. He had been uncharacteristically quiet lately. It hit her that yet again, she didn't know what he was thinking. She used to be able to read him like a book. Were they drifting so far apart that they were losing their ability to understand each other? She always assumed that it was a bond for life.

"You likely expect what else I wanted to discuss with you," McGonagall continued.

Oh, no. The dreaded topic was coming up. Elsa's hands became sweaty, and she wasn't sure if the fireplace was the only one to blame.

"I worry about your lack of progress in my class. All children in your year have completed their transfiguration of a match into a needle and have made progress with the next spell—a pebble into a button. I can't hold back the rest of the class just on your account. I have to move on with the material and I'm afraid the two of you are falling behind. Why do you struggle so much with this spell?"

Elsa swallowed. They were the worst in the entire year. The worst of all four houses.

"I don't know why," she said, blinking moisture out of her eyes. "I've been trying so hard. I'm doing everything the way you say, I know the theory by heart, but it just isn't happening."

She tried to not fall apart. She couldn't accept a failure. She was sure she could perform the same magic the wizard children could, but they were better than her. All of them.

Jack picked at his cuticles and mumbled, "I have a theory."

"I'd like to hear that," Elsa said, leaning back in her chair. What did her brother figure out that she couldn't?

"I think…" he stopped and shyly met McGonagall's eyes. "I mean, I know, it's your specialty, Professor. I don't want to offend you."

"I won't get offended. Say it."

He took a long breath and said quickly, "Our magic is elemental. It's the magic of nature. Transfiguration breaks the rules of nature and that's why we can't do it."

Elsa stared at her brother with disbelief. Was he onto something? "I never thought of it that way. But I want to be able to learn this type of magic too. There must be a way to get around that."

McGonagall pursed her lips. "But you already use transfiguration magic." She paused to ensure she had their attention. "When you create ice or frost, you conjure it—that's a transfiguration method."

"That's different," Jack argued. "Turning one object into another doesn't happen in nature."

"Magic, in general," the witch said, shifting her position in the chair, "can alter the fabric of reality but rules still apply. I believe that the rules of nature govern what is and isn't possible because magic comes from nature, it is a part of it. Just think about this: when you use magic to vanish an object, it doesn't cease to exist, it becomes part of the magic collective which is all around us. When you conjure something, it will exist for a brief time only, you are borrowing magic, and eventually, it has to be returned to the collective. These are very advanced theoretical topics, and I don't expect you to be able to understand them at such a young age, but I hope you can grasp that there is nothing unnatural in transfiguration magic."

Elsa tapped a finger on her chin. "I think I understand. However, I don't fully agree. You say that when I create ice, I conjure it, but even if it melts, it acts like water, it doesn't get returned to the collective magic. It's not temporary."

"Ah," McGonagall raised a finger in the air, "that's because water is one of the exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, which you'll learn about later. Water can be conjured out of nothing."

"Can other elements? Like Fire, Earth, and Wind?" Elsa asked, fascinated.

"Fire and Wind, yes. There are spells for both. I don't know if anyone has ever tried to conjure Earth or what use it would be."

"Looking at it from this point of view, would magic be the fifth element?"

McGonagall smiled at her. "Very good, Elsa. Some scholars suggest this conclusion, but there is no consensus among the magical community about that theory. There are a lot more elements out there, after all, and who's to say which are more important or potent?"

Elsa beamed. McGonagall compared her theory to some scholar's work.

Jack looked from his sister to their Professor. "It's not that simple. I think some magic is wrong. Did you read further in our Transfiguration textbook? Did you see what some of those advanced spells call for? You transform an animal, a living creature, into a non-living object. How can the rules of nature allow that? It's unnatural. It's wrong."

"You are so stubborn!" Elsa snapped. She exhaled a puff of air to calm down. "What Professor is trying to explain to you is that magic is governed by the rules of nature. We must conclude that if this magic is possible then nature allows it. Let's move on. How can we improve at this, Professor? What can we do?"

"I'd like to practice with you outside of class," McGonagall answered. "I've been watching you. You're close to achieving the transfiguration. I think you just need some one-on-one instruction."

Elsa was glad that McGonagall wanted to give them extra help. For a short time, she was afraid that they would be kicked out of her class for performing so poorly, but now she gained hope. Having a close relationship with the Transfiguration teacher was definitely an advantage.

She practiced the spell with McGonagall while Jack sat next to her with his arms crossed and pouting. What was wrong with him? Before they came to this school, he said that he wanted to learn magic and now he refused to even try.

Elsa wasn't making any progress and his uncooperative grumpiness was making the task even more frustrating. She wanted to be good at this. There had to be a way.

She glanced at her brother, remembering what he said, "Our magic is elemental." Wizard's magic was different. A wizard using a wand could produce a different type of magic than an elemental being like them. Maybe Jack really was onto something. Maybe she needed to channel a different source of magic than her own in order to cast a non-elemental spell, something stronger.

McGonagall was wrong in thinking that there was no use for the element of Earth. Their mother had taught them how to draw on the power of Earth to boost their power.

"Professor, I would like to test a theory. Could we move this lesson outside?"

McGonagall was taken by surprise and Elsa knew why. This type of request sounded more like something Jack would ask for. He always preferred to do everything outdoors and for a good reason. They were stronger when out in the open air.

McGonagall agreed, and they went into the courtyard, where she put a match on a stone bench and stood nearby to observe.

Elsa breathed in the cool air and felt her body relax. She focused on the ground under her feet and reached deep into it with her mind until she felt its power. She felt warmth in her wand and knew that she was on the right track. Once she had a solid hold over the power, she cast her spell. The match took on a silverish color and Elsa jumped from excitement. She made more progress than she had in the two months she'd been trying to do this spell.

"Good job, Elsa. Keep trying."

Elsa continued the exercise and went through several matches before she transfigured the match into a beautiful, shiny needle. By then, she felt that she was an expert at transferring Earth's magic into her wand.

She wondered what other use it would have. Would all other spells be more effective when boosted by Earth? She couldn't wait to try.

Her brother was sitting on the ground cross-legged, not looking at them. He occupied himself with a silly task of slowly tracing a line of frost on the ground with his finger, careful to not touch any grass. Elsa wanted to help him. She didn't want him to be left behind.

"Jack." She crouched next to him and whispered, "tap into the Earth's power, channel it through your wand. That will help you cast the spell."

He stopped tracing frost on the ground and froze in place.

"You can do it. If I can, so can you."

"Thanks." He did not look as excited about this discovery as she thought he ought to be. Most of all, he looked sad and it worried her.

Elsa glanced at the professor looming over their heads and whispered to him, "We'll talk later."

McGonagall dismissed her, and Elsa went to her dorm to practice the spell on her own.

She felt confident and powerful. She could do this. She could wield multiple elements if she tried. Now, her next challenge was finding a way to tap into Earth's power while indoors, but what was a castle if not a collection of rocks?

》《

Minerva shivered slightly and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. It was chilly today, definitely too chilly to hang outdoors. She didn't understand how the twins were not bothered by this weather and figured they were in denial, ignored being cold just for the sake of spending time outside. She had to keep this conversation short so they could all go back in.

Minerva scolded herself for not reaching out to the twins earlier. It wasn't until that untalented boy, Merlin Ealdor, cast the spell perfectly that she realized that the twins were the last ones who couldn't. It was neglectful of her to not coach them earlier. They were under her care, after all.

She sent Elsa inside already after the girl successfully cast the spell. Jack sat on the ground with his head down, not acknowledging Minerva at all. She worried if he still thought of running away. What would it take to get him to open up?

"Your sister was able to cast the spell, Jack," she said, but he didn't react.

His silence was unnerving her and she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She felt strange, towering over him like this, but she was most certainly not going to sit on the ground with him like an undignified hag. His bare feet had to have been freezing by now. Would she ever get him to drop this inappropriate habit?

"Why don't we sit over there?" She pointed to a bench nearby. "I'd like to talk over what's troubling you. And, on Merlin's beard, put your shoes on."

Jack walked over to the bench, grabbing his shoes on the way but not putting them on. Ah, this boy.

"Professor," he was watching his foot swing under the bench and spoke slowly as if he practiced this line beforehand, "is it possible for me to stay at Hogwarts if I fail Transfiguration? Or will I be expelled?"

"Jack, there is still time to learn. There is no reason for you to assume so early on that you will fail. I'm confident that you'll make progress with the right attitude just like your sister did."

"Isn't the final exam turning an animal into an object? I will not do it, Professor. You will have to fail me."

"Why won't you do it?"

"I will not end life."

"Oh, Jack. Is that what you're worried about? A part of the exam is returning the animal to its previous form. I'd never ask you to kill an animal. If you couldn't do it, I'd do it for you."

He snapped his head and exploded, "So it's no big deal? Would it be okay to practice that spell on a witch or a wizard, Professor?"

"No, it would certainly not..."

"How would you like to be turned into a…" he interrupted her, "into… into a bench? If you wouldn't, then how can you do it to another living creature?" His voice rose. "Does a witch have more right to live than a rodent?"

"Jack..." His unexpected outburst was making her head spin. "I beg your pardon? Are you comparing me to a rodent?"

"Witches and wizards are worse than rodents. A rodent wouldn't do that to a fellow living creature."

"How dare you?" She restrained herself from slapping him, but her body language must have shown it because he flinched away from her.

Minerva exhaled a puff of air, which was visible in the cold. She wouldn't hit him, no matter how much she wanted to for his rudeness. In all of her years of teaching, no student dared to challenge her so insolently. Did he honestly think that he understood the ethics of Transfiguration better than she did?

She did not recognize the boy sitting in front of her. Where was the fun-seeking silly troublemaker whose biggest offense was an aversion to shoes? She had never seen this audacious, radical side to him.

Ah, but he ran away from home, didn't he? His rebellious phase had started before he even met her. It wasn't completely her fault then.

"Mind your attitude, Mr. Nix. You will serve detention for your disrespect. You lost two points to Gryffindor." She rose from the bench, afraid of what else she might do if they continued. "This isn't the last of this conversation."

Minerva trembled as she walked away, her nerves shot, her pride mangled, but with every step further away from him, her heart was sinking more. She was supposed to get him to open up, and she achieved the opposite. And what exactly did they argue about? He didn't want to hurt animals, and she yelled at him for that. Did she just give him a reason to run away? Perhaps she was too harsh. He was disrespectful, true, but she didn't handle it right either. She had to be the adult here and smooth it all away.

She turned back, intending to fix her mistake, but it was too late. Jack had already left.