Harry Potter: The Mage's Path Chapter 26, a harry potter fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.

Hi all,

Here is the next chapter. There is not much happening in this chapter, but Harry and Hermione have an in-depth lesson with McGonagall on Transfiguration. It serves a larger purpose, as you will discover at the end of the chapter.

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Chapter 26

July 23rd

It was a sunny morning with mild temperatures at Hogwarts. The sun rose into the sky and cast its tepid warmth across the valley and over the surface of the Black Lake, causing the water to glitter with scattered beams of sunlight.

Harry was relaxing by the Black Lake after yesterday's tumultuous events. Hermione lay beside him, reading a book that held her full attention. His lap was occupied by the book on Wandlore that he had received from Isabelle, and he tried his best to read it. His attention was constantly diverted, however, by the Giant Squid that kept poking its tentacle out of the water and waving at him. When he tried to read its parameters, he only got a few question marks in response. He wondered how old it was, and whether it was magical. Judging by its size, he assumed it had no natural predators in the lake.

The two had arranged a blanket on the ground so they would be comfortable. There was a picnic basket off to the side to keep them fed as they planned to spend the majority of the day here. There was a look of contentment on Hermione's face. This was probably a result of combining her two favourite things, spending time with her friend and reading.

On his return to the dungeon yesterday, he encountered Dumbledore and the group of wizards and witches who had just finished off the boss. By the time they reached it, the Nuckelavee Stallion was almost dead, and its herd was pretty much decimated. The Thunderbird was dead as well, but he had not gone down without a fight. At the end of the day, Victor's intervention resulted in them being able to close the dungeon gate a lot easier. However, they had to pay a high price for this success.

Amelia was overjoyed to have survivors, although it was tempered by losing three experienced hit wizards. If the entire ordeal taught them anything, it was that dungeons are unpredictable. If it wasn't for Dumbledore, Moody and Amelia being there, they may have lost more lives. The Head of the DMLE seemed even more stressed after the day's events, and he couldn't blame her. Obviously, Victor had been responsible for making the dungeon even more chaotic, but he was unwilling to tell the others that he had met the man.

Dumbledore had grilled him about what happened and how he disappeared, so Harry had to plead ignorance about how he was teleported away. In his retelling, he said that he had appeared in another part of the dungeon and found his way out, without mentioning Victor at all. The old man would try to restrict his movements if he learned he had another person with some sinister intentions toward him. For now, he had some time before he had to deal with Victor, so he put it in the back of his mind.

However, Victor revealed something when he spoke to Harry. It seemed he could spy on others from anywhere in the dungeon. This was troublesome, given the fact that he might find himself exploring a dungeon in the future and be spied upon by Victor without even knowing it. He would have to be extra careful not to reveal his ability or find a method to hide his presence from the man.

It was then that he came to a realisation. Would the Peverell Dungeon be the same? As far as he could tell, it was Gaia's creation and different from the Instant Dungeons. That meant he had at least one dungeon to explore and increase his strength without fear of being seen. Furthermore, enemy levels weren't static but increased the further he progressed into the dungeon. Besides, he needed to explore the next floor at some point since he already reached the level threshold.

But for now, he was not going to focus on levelling, as he wanted to concentrate on his fire affinity. He wanted to confirm his suspicions about his fire magic being restrained by his low fire affinity. It was something he needed to work on at some point either way, as it was part of the quest he received a while ago.

He was beginning to understand that his spells were too weak at the moment. It seemed that monsters had the advantage in defence, so he needed a way to even the playing field. In addition, he needed to diversify his attack spells more to exploit enemy weaknesses to the fullest extent possible.

If he kept increasing his Magic attribute, it would have some effect on his spell damage, but it would mess havoc with his Control. To counter that, he needed to level up his meditation skill further. The easiest method would be to spend some of the skill points he had accumulated. At its current level, it took too long to level up and he didn't feel like spending hundreds of hours grinding it out.

Harry accessed his menu and looked at his meditation skill. He had forty-nine skill points to work with, but wanted to keep some in reserve. He wondered if the skill would give him any further benefits, besides the ones it already gave him. Initially, he decided to spend five points on the skill, and then proceed from there. After levelling the skill five times, he looked at it again to see what had changed.

There was nothing new, but he still gained a lot of benefits from increasing it. He wondered what would happen if he increased his meditation skill to fifty. Could it go that high? If he did so, he still would be left with nineteen skill points, so he wasn't completely screwing himself over. Furthermore, he could always earn more in the future. Deciding to take the plunge, he spent another twenty-five AP and increased his skill to fifty.

As a result of this action, he was inundated with several notifications.

Description: Through the practice of visualisation, it is possible to find inner tranquillity and remove distracting thoughts and feelings from the mind. When active, the amount of Mana regenerated increases significantly. Able to see the flow of mana inside the body and its pathways when a spell is used.

• Mana Regen + 300% when meditating.

• Visualisation +50%.

• Control +25%.

• + 50% to Occlumency skill levelling

• New Perk unlocked: Magic: Inner Sight

The player has unlocked a new perk!

Magic: Inner Sight

Description: Allows the player to observe how magic is channelled within the body when a spell is used. This enables the ability to modify spells easier after mastering them. He also gains more Control over his magic.

• Control + 30%

The player has unlocked a new quest!

The Novice Mage

Description: If the player wants to become powerful in the future, the most effective method is to increase his Mage rank. To reach Novice Mage, the player must max out five applicable skills related to the Mage Path. These skills must have a minimum of twenty-five levels at least.

Current Objective: Max out five Mage-specific skills.

Progress: [1/5] Meditation, ?, ?, ?, ?

Time Limit: -

Reward: Become a Novice Mage; +10 to Magic attribute.

The result of his choice was incredible, easing any sting he felt from using up so many skill points. He received an additional perk and his Control shot through the roof. It meant that he had a lot of leeway in increasing his Magic attribute. However, increasing it still had a huge impact on his Control, so he couldn't get too crazy.

Furthermore, he received another quest, and it related to another quest he had: Preparing for Hell. There had always been a question in his mind as to what the requirements were for him to reach the next rank of Novice Mage. He had assumed he needed to reach level fifty or something, but that had been way off the mark.

What would be the benefit of reaching the rank of Novice Mage? As far as he can tell, the only benefit he received at the moment from Apprentice Mage was the perk that gave him a boost in his Magic and Willpower attributes at every level.

Harry considered his next move. Now that he had a lot of excess Control, he could potentially increase his Magic attribute to fifty. It would mean an additional perk, more mana, and more damage for his spells. In the scheme of things, it was the most important attribute he possessed. Hesitating no longer, Harry spent eighteen of his AP and increased his Magic to fifty.

The player has gained another perk as a result of raising his Magic to fifty!

Elemental Fury

Description: Doubles the damage modifier the Magic attribute adds to elemental magic.

It was a fantastic perk. His fire magic had just gained a significant boost in power. As a result, his plan to focus on increasing his fire affinity was more relevant than ever. If he continued levelling his fire magic in his grimoire, he would become a force to be reckoned with.

His mana shot up to over a thousand. Even with that huge increase, he still only needed just over three hours to regenerate his mana fully, thanks to maxing out his meditation skill. He wouldn't need to worry about running out of mana for the foreseeable future.

Satisfied with his gains, Harry closed his menu and looked at Hermione.

"How is your Occlumency coming along?" Harry asked.

Hermione frowned as she looked up from her book. "I am still stuck on the first step. I find it difficult to empty my mind, even with meditation."

"You have a very active mind," Harry said. "So, I imagine the first step will be harder for you. Just keep working at it. You will get it eventually."

Hermione huffed, "I am not used to not being good at something. And I am not used to having a friend who excels at almost everything."

Harry patted his pockets exaggeratedly. "Hang on. Let me find you a tissue."

Hermione turned her nose up at him. "I am done talking to you."

Harry chuckled, but then noticed an owl gliding towards the ground, heading in their direction. The owl landed in front of them and hooted. It had a fierce expression on its face, and Harry was cautious as he untied the string around its leg and retrieved the letter.

As soon as it was removed, the owl launched into the air in front of him. It swiped his face with its talons and Harry ducked, cursing as the owl flew off, hooting continuously as if it were laughing.

'Come back here, Cretin! How dare you attack Harry?'

Hedwig appeared from the castle like a bullet and chased the owl. It didn't seem to take Hedwig seriously at first, but it soon lost its attitude when Hedwig easily caught up with it. Harry and Hermione watched astonished as Hedwig dive-bombed the owl and clawed at it with its talons. The owl screeched as it lost some of its feathers and attempted to escape. However, Hedwig didn't let up until the owl flew to the ground and covered its head with its wings in submission. Hedwig landed in front of it and proceeded to lecture it on its unacceptable behaviour. In a fit of laughter, Harry rolled on the ground like a loon.

"It's not funny," Hermione said sternly, but betrayed herself and let a giggle escape.

After composing himself, Harry sat up and looked at the gold envelope with a red 'G' embossed on the front. It was a letter from Gringotts letter. Was this from his account manager? It would explain the owl's temperament. It is likely that Grim had a negative influence on everything he touched.

"Is that a Gringott's letter?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Harry said, taking out the letter and beginning to read it. Hermione scooted over so she could read over his shoulder. While he felt like pointing out her nosiness, he decided to let it go.

"It's from my account manager," Harry murmured. "He has got a response from the dwarfs. They have set up a meeting for next week."

"That's so cool," Hermione said. "Maybe we can go and visit their home?"

"That would be awesome," Harry agreed.

If he had access to blacksmiths, he could have them forge a weapon for Celeste. The fairy had levelled up again after consuming another shadow essence. However, she would need a weapon if she was going to complete her own personal quest. It reminded him that he needed to give some of the Sacred Nascent Elixir to his familiars at some point.

The blacksmiths could also craft him an armour set, something more comfortable and less heavy than his Shadow Aspen armour. Also, he still needed to find the ingredients for the Earth Golem, so hopefully, the dwarfs would have them.

Harry returned to the book and continued reading. Half of the book was dedicated to Wandlore's history. It documented the numerous advancements that have occurred since recorded history began over two thousand years ago. It also briefly touched on the different methods used by other magical cultures and was a fascinating read. Depending on the materials available, and their beliefs and practices, it could lead to far different foci. For example, some smaller island nations fashioned rings instead of wands, as there was a scarcity of materials. Rings were less powerful foci than wands. However, wizards and witches who used them were less dependent on the wand to cast magic, which meant they were more proficient at magic overall.

He was almost onto the second half of the book, where the steps to craft a wand were explained. Honestly, he wasn't too excited about crafting anymore, as he gravitated towards more combative pursuits. Considering his circumstances, it was not a surprise. He was a Mage, not a crafter, and he should not split his focus too much.

"Can I read that after you?" Hermione asked. "Wand Crafting has some rune applications, so I am interested in the subject."

"Really?" Harry drummed his fingers on his leg as an idea occurred to him. Why not have Hermione learn wand crafting, and then give her the blueprint to create the practice wands? No, that wouldn't work. She needed the skill to even be able to read the blueprint. Or maybe it becomes readable to everyone, once he gets the skill to level five? That was a problem for the future. Maybe a solution will present itself at the right time.

"I will give you the book after I finish it," Harry said. "But you have to be careful because it is Isabelle's and I have to return it at some point."

"Harry," Hermione looked at him like he was stupid. "I'm the last person you have to worry about damaging a book."

"Right," Harry laughed. He returned to reading the book so he could learn the skill. Thanks to his bookworm skill, it should only take a few more hours.

He was right. In the early afternoon, Harry received a notification that he had learned another skill.

Description: Wandcraft is a complex and mysterious discipline that may take someone their entire life to grasp, and still not know everything. This is because there is a lot of ancient mythology and botanical knowledge regarding the powers and natures of wood and other natural elements. The higher the skill level, the more complex and powerful wands the player can make.

• Wand parameters increased by +1%

• Wand crafting speed +1%

• Wandcraft failure rate -1%

• Wandlore Acumen: Instinctual knowledge of how different materials interact.

Harry passed the book to Hermione. "Here, I've finished it."

"Thank you," Hermione said eagerly, and promptly opened the book and began to read.

"I'm heading inside," Harry said, getting up, and she waved him off. He was five metres away when he called back to her. "I thought that I would see if I could find Professor McGonagall for some Transfiguration lessons."

"What?" Hermione yelled, getting up and running after him. "Isn't she too busy to teach us anything?"

"We can ask," Harry shrugged.

Harry and Hermione entered the castle. There were two teachers he was interested in asking for lessons. First off, he wanted to locate Professor McGonagall because he was interested in learning about Transfiguration. Instead of reading it from a book, he figured it would be more beneficial to get first-hand experience from an expert. Then he wanted to find Professor Flitwick, because he wished to learn how to duel, and possibly find out how fighting a human opponent worked with his system. There were already plenty of people out there to get him, so he figured it was important. However, he wanted to get a solid grasp of Transfiguration before approaching Professor Flitwick.

Harry and Hermione climbed the stairs in the Entrance Hall to the next floor, where Professor McGonagall's office and apartment were located. They tried knocking on her office door first, but no one answered. So they tried her apartment next, which was adjacent to her office.

The door swung open, and the stern witch stood there with a raised eyebrow. "Can I help you, Harry; Miss Granger?"

"Hi, Professor McGonagall. I was wondering if you could give us some starting tips on Transfiguration. Are you busy?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded eagerly beside him.

"Nothing that can't wait," Professor McGonagall said, motioning them into her apartment. They stepped inside and sat down on the sofa.

"Why are you in such a rush to learn Transfiguration?" McGonagall asked, settling herself down in a chair.

"We don't mean to take up much of your time," Hermione said. "But I'm really interested in Transfiguration. I have read the first-year books, but it's hard to get a grasp of the practical application without actually doing it."

"Indeed," McGonagall nodded, turning to look at Harry. "Have you had a chance to read anything on the subject Harry?"

"Not yet," Harry said sheepishly.

"Then I will explain the basics," McGonagall said, settling herself in her seat. "By its very nature, Transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous forms of magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Unlike Charms, which changes what a thing does without changing its essential nature, Transfiguration does change the essential nature of something. It should be noted that when it comes to the classification of spell types between the two branches of magic, the boundaries are flexible. Thus, there may be overlaps between the two. For example, the Fire-Making Spell could be considered both a Transfiguration and a Charms spell.

Within the realm of Transfiguration, there are different specialities that are important to pay attention to. Currently, there are four specialities of Transfiguration, listed in order of ease of difficulty: Transformation, Vanishment, Conjuration, and Untransfiguration. While I said Transformation was the easiest, that is not necessarily the case. It is the broadest speciality and can get very complicated when you learn about its three sub-categories, Human Transfiguration, Switching and Vanishment."

McGonagall waved her wand, and a matchstick appeared in her hand. "This is the first practical lesson I teach in class. Transforming a matchstick into a needle."

McGonagall pointed her wand at the matchstick, and it transformed into a silver needle instantaneously. Waving her wand again, it reverted back to a matchstick. She placed the needle on the coffee table in front of her. "Now, the incantation is Akusignus, pronounced Aku-sig-nis. Why don't you try it."

Hermione went first. She pointed her wand at the matchstick and said the incantation. After a few attempts, the matchstick remained unchanged. Harry tried next, but he didn't do any better.

"It's impossible to get it the first time if you don't understand the underlying concepts," Minerva said.

With a wave of her wand, her chair moved back up against the wall. Next, she conjured a chalkboard and a piece of chalk and wrote something down. Hermione dug into her Mokeskin pouch for a pen and paper so she could take notes.

Harry looked at the words Professor McGonagall had written down.

Transfiguration is unsafe.

"Before I delve deeper into the subject, I want you to understand that Transfiguration can be exceedingly dangerous. Despite its complexity, a simple mistake can hurt or even kill you if no one is around with the skills to reverse the damage. I do not want you to practice Transfiguration by yourself before I am satisfied with your competency and maturity. Is this understood?"

The two nodded rapidly. Mcgonagall stared at them sternly, looking for any signs of deception. She specifically looked at Harry in a way he felt was unjustified. He was mature and circumspect, right?

McGonagall wrote something else down.

How does Transfiguration work?

"In order to transform anything into something else, you will need the right combination of visualisation, spells, power, and knowledge to do this. When we look deeper into the physical nature of Transfiguration, we discover that what is actually going on is a change of molecular structure that is taking place. When you use the proper form and spell, you are not simply converting one object to another temporarily. Essentially, you are transforming the molecular structure of the original into that of a different molecule. This is why Transfiguration is considered one of the most complex branches of magic."

Professor McGonagall continued to write, and Hermione scribbled with her pen. Harry was more casual about the whole thing. His memory would help him remember the entire thing, or he could borrow notes from Hermione.

There are four things you need to remember when transforming something:

Bodyweight: The caster must weigh more than the object they are transforming.

Object Resistance: The object's natural resistance determines how much magical power is needed to transform the object.

Visualisation: Being able to visualise the change from one form to another.

Wand Incantation: Pronouncing the incantation correctly.

"The first limitation of Transfiguration is that you must weigh more than the object you are trying to transform in order for it to work," McGonagall said.

Hermione raised her hand in the air.

McGonagall's lips twitched into a brief smile. "This is not a traditional classroom, Miss Granger. You don't need to raise your hand to ask a question."

"Right," Hermione said sheepishly, lowering her hand. "Can you increase your own weight to overcome that obstacle?"

"Technically, yes. However, that comes with its own set of problems. Essentially, increasing your own weight without changing your size is the same as increasing the gravitational force on your body. There is a physical limit before it negatively affects your bones and internal organs. It is also not recommended to use this method in a fight, for obvious reasons. Objects that weigh more than yourself must be conjured. This gets around the limitations, but Conjuration takes a lot more magical power."

Harry remembered the scene at Azkaban when Dumbledore transformed the stone into a gigantic fist. This contradicted that statement, which he pointed out to Mcgonagall.

"A very insightful observation," McGonagall nodded. "Dumbledore is an outlier. When you reach his level of mastery, you can blend the two specialities of Conjuration and Transformation together. This means he is very efficient with his magic and can outlast most opponents. It is why he is considered one of the most powerful wizards in the world.

"The next thing to consider is the object's resistance. Due to the fact that physical objects are fundamentally unchangeable by the laws of physics, they will resist change. Every object is different, depending on its mass and the individual elements it is made up of."

McGonagall held up a matchstick. "The heads of safety matches are composed of an oxidising agent such as potassium chlorate, mixed with sulphur, fillers and glass powder. The stick is made of bamboo. Because the matchstick head is made up of so many different elements, you would think it has a lot of resistance. However, because its mass is so small, it is not considered hard to transfigure."

"Professor McGonagall, how do you know so much about Chemistry considering you live in the magical world?" Hermione asked.

"Miss Granger, if you seek true mastery of Transfiguration, a knowledge of Chemistry is essential. Pure-bloods may scoff at this, but the finest Transfiguration practitioners in the world are primarily made up of Half-bloods and Muggle-borns because they have this knowledge of the subject. If you know what an object is made up of, it is easier to visualise and transform, which is the next topic we will discuss. But one last point about resistance. The more resistance an object exhibits, the more magical power you have to spend to change it."

McGonagall pointed to the next word on the board. "Visualisation is more important for the end product because you are trying to change an object into something not visible. If you can visualise the final outcome, then it is easier to shape it into what you desire. To the last point, if you can also visualise the individual elements that make up the desired object, it will be easier. I suggest practising meditation, as it will help you visualise things better."

"Way ahead of you, Professor," Harry grinned, and Hermione echoed his sentiments.

"Well, then you may have an easier time of it," McGonagall gave them a proud smile. "Visualisation takes a lot of concentration. If there are distractions around, it is harder to summon the image to mind.

"Finally, there is the wand incantation. Now, every transformation has an incantation, which helps guide the witch or wizard's magic to enact the change. Eventually, you will want to learn how to do it without the incantation. It is more flexible and intuitive than memorising a number of incantations, but that comes after mastering the basics.

"Let's see if you can use the knowledge I just gave you to transform the matchstick into a needle. If it helps, the needle is stainless steel, which is primarily made up of iron, chromium and nickel. I find it easier to start by doing it in small steps. For example, turn the matchstick silver before changing its shape, or vice versa."

She gave them a matchstick each. Harry pointed his wand at the matchstick and summoned its image in his mind. First, he tried to picture it changing colour to silver. When he had a clear image of that in his mind, he spoke the incantation.

"Akusignus."

Harry watched as the matchstick changed colour to silver. It was not instantaneous. The colour bled into the stick over a period of ten seconds. Still, he ended up with a silver matchstick.

"Well done, Harry," McGonagall said. "I suggest you move on to the next step. Don't worry about speed for now. That will come with time."

Hermione glanced at him briefly but then returned to her needle. Shortly after, she changed the matchstick to silver as well.

"I did it," Hermione said excitedly.

"Well done," Harry smirked at her. "I bet you cannot change it into a needle before me."

"Challenge accepted," Hermione replied with a smirk of her own.

Twenty minutes later, Harry managed to change the matchstick into a needle with Hermione following shortly after him. Honestly, the girl was amazing. She didn't have the advantage of Gaia but still managed to keep up with him.

Harry received a notification but ignored it for the moment.

"Well done," McGonagall beamed. "You just accomplished something rarely seen in my first class, and in less time as well. If this was official, I would give you House points each."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione grinned.

"It was barely a challenge," Harry said with a smirk.

"Don't be arrogant, Harry," McGonagall scolded him. "I had enough of that from your father. Now, let's leave it at that for the moment. If you want, we can do this again next week as well. We can discuss Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration."

Harry and Hermione parted ways after that, and Harry sat down in the Great Hall to check out the notification. He expected it to be a confirmation of the new Transfiguration skill, but what he got instead was a huge surprise.

A message to the player!

There will be a System Update commencing in the next hour as Gaia makes some changes to how the system operates. This update is all-encompassing and will not only affect the player but the world as well. Gaia has been observing the player's progress and has decided the current iteration of the system is not good enough.

The system will remain offline for one week while Gaia makes the changes. Access to the menu will be restricted, so if the player needs any items from his inventory, he must remove them now! The players' resources, Energy and Mana, will still be in effect. Any progression towards skills, spells and perks during the update will still count, but they won't be acknowledged until after the System Update is complete.

Don't worry! The player's current progress, such as levels and attributes, will not be lost. However, there will be some sweeping changes across the board, so some things may work differently. They will be covered in the patch notes.

Thank you for your patience in this matter.

Gaia

Harry was dumbfounded as he stared at the message in front of him, and he considered the words in their entirety. How would it change? What effect will it have on his current strength? Would the change be for the better or worse? What was he supposed to do with himself for the next week while awaiting the update?

He supposed he could work on his fire affinity as planned since it would still count. However, the discussion with Professor Flitwick would have to wait, as he didn't know how combat would be affected by the update. Why did Gaia have to throw him this curveball when he had just made some huge gains in strength?

So, what do you think? I don't know how you will feel about me making changes to the system, but I have some ideas to improve it. Instead of rewriting the entire story, I will do the cliché thing and have a system update.

Thanks for reading.