In Friday's Transfiguration class, Professor McGonagall began teaching them how to turn beetles into buttons.
This was a step further than turning matches into needles, involving the transformation of a more complex life form into an inanimate object, which demanded higher precision and clarity of intent in Transfiguration.
Most students were struggling with beetles trying to crawl away, and the classroom was filled with faint buzzing and the "poof" sounds of failure.
Regulus picked up a beetle, then raised his wand and softly incanted a spell.
The beetle stiffened slightly in his palm, the luster of its shell began to change, transitioning from dark brown to a smooth black, and its form began to shrink, gradually flattening.
In just three seconds, an exquisite button with a smooth black surface and fine spiral patterns lay quietly in his hand.
The transformation process was fluid and the finished product was perfect, even retaining a hint of the beetle's original texture, making it look more unique than an ordinary button.
He no longer asked questions outside the curriculum as he had before.
He knew Professor McGonagall was wary of him, so there was no need for further testing; remaining silent would suffice.
Professor McGonagall, who was making her rounds, stopped at his desk, picked up the button to inspect it closely, and a hint of satisfaction appeared on her stern face.
"Mr. Black, a perfect transformation. Five points to Slytherin." She nodded and continued her rounds.
After class, as Regulus was packing his things to leave, Professor McGonagall called out to him.
"Mr. Black, please stay for a moment."
Once the other students had left the classroom, Professor McGonagall walked up to him, her gaze behind her spectacles sharp and serious: "Your talent for Transfiguration is exceptional, far exceeding that of other young wizards your age."
"Thank you, Professor."
"I've noticed that lately in class… you've been asking fewer questions." Professor McGonagall's tone was steady, revealing no emotion.
Regulus felt a slight stir in his heart; he hadn't expected Professor McGonagall to point it out voluntarily, thinking it best to maintain a tacit understanding.
He spoke frankly: "Yes, Professor."
"I have reflected on your previous guidance and believe that at this stage, I should focus more on building a solid foundation and mastering the course material, rather than delving prematurely into complex issues that might be beyond my current level."
Professor McGonagall stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly judging the sincerity of his words.
Finally, she gave a slight nod, and her tone softened a bit: "A solid foundation is vital."
"However, if during your studies you do have valuable questions—questions based on the course content and well-considered—the door to my office remains open."
"Hogwarts encourages thinking, but thinking needs to be built upon a sufficient reserve of knowledge."
"I understand, Professor. Thank you very much." Regulus was somewhat surprised, then bowed politely.
As he left the classroom, Regulus was lost in thought.
Since Professor McGonagall had explicitly stated she welcomed well-considered questions, Regulus naturally saw no reason to be overly formal.
That afternoon, after Herbology class, he went to the Transfiguration professor's office.
He knocked, and after receiving permission, he pushed the door open and entered.
Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk grading homework. Seeing it was him, her stern brow seemed to relax slightly, and she motioned for him to sit.
"Mr. Black, do you have a question?" She set down her quill and clasped her hands on the desk, her posture rigorous.
"Yes, Professor, it's about some thoughts regarding Transfiguration." Regulus took two items wrapped in soft cloth from his bag and spread them out on the desk.
A piece of graphite, soft and smooth in texture, dark gray in color, capable of leaving marks on paper.
A small diamond, perfectly cut and reflecting brilliant fire.
"I would like to ask about these two substances." Regulus's attitude was respectful and focused.
"From certain perspectives, graphite and diamond are considered to have an incredibly close connection at their most fundamental level, even originating from the same basic element."
"Their appearance, hardness, luster, and value are worlds apart, but in the eyes of a Transfiguration master, is there some… inherent similarity or the possibility of mutual conversion?"
He continued: "I have tried to use Transfiguration to explore the connection between them."
"For instance, attempting to transform graphite into diamond, or diamond into graphite, but the process is difficult, consumes a great deal of energy, and is hard to maintain stably."
"It seems to be more than just changing shape and texture; it involves something deeper, even concerning the stability of the internal structure of the matter."
In fact, Regulus knew that the root of the difference lay in the spatial orientation of chemical bonds and the arrangement of atoms, but he obviously couldn't say that to Professor McGonagall.
He only wanted to know how these two objects, so vastly different in properties yet both pure carbon allotropes, appeared in the eyes of a Transfiguration master like Professor McGonagall.
And how they might be transformed into one another.
This question was clearly beyond the scope of the textbook, even touching upon the edges of advanced Transfiguration and Alchemy.
Professor McGonagall's eyes lit up behind her spectacles. She first looked at Regulus with some surprise, seemingly not expecting a first-year student to think at this level.
"A very… profound and unique question, Mr. Black." Professor McGonagall's tone carried clear admiration.
"Graphite and diamond? Few people, especially at your age, would think about Transfiguration from the perspective of the fundamental connection of matter."
"Usually, we learn to turn matches into needles and beetles into buttons, focusing on the transformation of form and function rather than tracing the potential homologous relationship between two seemingly disparate substances."
She reached out and picked up the piece of graphite, gently rubbing it with her fingertips to feel its greasy texture, then carefully examined the diamond, falling into a brief moment of contemplation.
"In my Transfiguration practice," she began slowly, "I do perceive that different substances have different magical manifestations."
"Turning a feather into a piece of iron is much harder than turning iron into a feather, because the former requires constructing a tighter and more stable structure."
"The two substances you mentioned… are so starkly contrasted, yet you pointed out their potential common origin. This is very interesting."
Professor McGonagall continued: "I have never specifically studied the transfigurative connection between the two."
"But from the perspective of magical perception, a diamond indeed feels much harder, more condensed, and more orderly than graphite."
"Graphite feels loose, layered, and prone to sliding."
"To turn graphite into a diamond, perhaps it is more than just increasing hardness and changing luster."
"It is more like taking a pile of loose, sliding sheets and rebuilding them into a crystal palace with a rigorous structure where every part is tightly connected to others."
"The difficulty of this far exceeds ordinary transformation of form."
"That is exactly where my confusion lies, Professor," Regulus interjected at the appropriate moment.
"During my attempts, I felt that they seemed to share some most basic substance, but the way they are arranged and combined is completely different."
"As you said, Professor, graphite is loose, layered, and easy to slide, while diamond is a three-dimensional structure where every node is tightly connected to others."
"What Transfiguration needs to achieve is likely indeed more than just changing the appearance."
"It is about completely rewriting this internal, most fundamental structure, forcibly reconstructing it from one stable state into another that is entirely different yet equally, if not more, stable."
Professor McGonagall listened intently, her eyes shimmering with the light of deep thought.
Regulus's description provided her with a highly enlightening perspective—understanding the difficulty and essence of Transfiguration from the level of internal structural rules or construction patterns of matter.
"Exquisite insight, Mr. Black." Professor McGonagall finally allowed a faint smile to appear.
"This reminds me of certain high-level magic involving the essential transformation of matter, even… the Philosopher's Stone."
She waved her wand, and the graphite on the desk floated up gently: "Let us test this idea."
She did not recite a lengthy incantation; she simply gave a slight tap with the tip of her wand, her gaze focused intently on the piece of graphite.
Regulus could feel a powerful, pure, and extremely condensed magic enveloping the graphite, a magic containing a crystal-clear will—
The intent to reconstruct its internal connection rules.
The graphite began to change at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The dark gray quickly faded, the texture became incredibly dense, transparency increased, and the interior began to refract light.
A few seconds later, a transparent crystal clearly possessing the characteristics and hardness of a diamond appeared on the desk.
Then, with another tap of Professor McGonagall's wand, the crystal changed further, its edges polished by an invisible force, refracting even more brilliant fire, until it finally became a small diamond.
The entire process was handled with effortless ease, far more relaxed and stable than when Regulus had tried it himself.
This was the realm of a master.
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