Chapter 33: Is This Magic So Metaphysical?
"Tutoring?" Ron blinked. "Didn't he eat enough? Does he want the professor to cook him another meal? Are his relationships with the professors already so good?"
Harry looked at him: "...Dylan should be going to the professor for extra lessons."
"Oh! I really think Dylan should go to Ravenclaw sometimes!"
"...You've arranged three houses for Dylan. Where exactly do you want him to be sorted?"
"Of course, Gryffindor!"
...
Dylan came to Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Professor McGonagall's dignified voice came from inside.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall."
Dylan pushed the door open.
Professor McGonagall was sitting behind her desk, her quill scratching on the parchment.
Seeing that Dylan had come to her for extra lessons, Professor McGonagall raised her eyes slightly, looking at Dylan calmly through her square glasses.
"Your performance in today's flying class seemed very ordinary. Is there anything you're concerned about in terms of flying?"
Dylan walked to Professor McGonagall's side.
There was a small stool in the corner, which Professor McGonagall had prepared for him.
Dylan pulled the small stool over, sat down, and blinked.
"Professor, your information is too good. I just finished my flying class."
Professor McGonagall glanced out the window.
"From my position, I can see your flying practice. I saw that Harry has good flying talent."
"Madam Hooch also told me about this. We are ready to recommend Harry to the Gryffindor Quidditch team."
"As for you, I watched for a while by the window, and you were just average."
Dylan smiled: "Flying back and forth in the sky is really scary. I'll just practice little by little."
Hearing Dylan say this, Professor McGonagall didn't say anything more.
"What questions did you prepare today?"
Dylan immediately placed the notebook in his hand on the desk and pushed it in front of Professor McGonagall.
"Professor, I have a preliminary understanding of how to transform inanimate objects, and recently I'm trying to study how to turn inanimate objects into living things, but I encountered some problems."
Professor McGonagall took Dylan's notes and looked at them carefully.
"Although you told me the essence of the Transfiguration Spell, when I tried to turn an apple into a rabbit, I clearly controlled the wand movements accurately, and the magic output was smooth and continuous."
"And I also studied the physiological structure of rabbits. I can make sure that what I imagined was indeed a rabbit."
"However, during the transformation process, the early stage of the form change was relatively smooth, but after the rabbit took shape, it appeared limp and lifeless."
"I also studied the habits of rabbits, and it shouldn't be like this."
Dylan pointed to a place in his notebook.
"I'm thinking, is there something wrong with the life magic adaptation link mentioned in 'Advanced Transfiguration Details'?"
While Dylan was speaking, Professor McGonagall flipped through the notes and leaned forward slightly, listening intently to Dylan's questions.
After he finished speaking.
Professor McGonagall didn't answer immediately, but read all the latest notes on Transfiguration Spell that Dylan had recorded in his notebook, and then put it down and looked at Dylan.
"Some of the points you mentioned in your notebook are very novel, which is very good."
Professor McGonagall sat up straight, folded her hands and placed them on the table, her lips slightly raised, and spoke slowly.
"As for the problem you encountered, I think the crux of the matter is that your understanding of the connection between magic and the essence of life is still shallow."
"When you try to transform an inanimate object into a living creation, the waving of the wand and the output of magic are the most basic actions."
"It's good that you can spend time studying the structure of living things, and even their habits. This is also something that must be done when practicing Transfiguration Spell."
"However, even if you have outlined the blueprint of the target in your mind, in addition to feeling its vitality, agility, and instinct."
"The most important point is that you need to imagine your magic, not just simple magic, but life magic in the true sense."
Dylan raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Life magic?"
He had read about this in the book.
Life magic is a special form of magic, mainly reflected in spells related to life creation and life characteristics.
Dylan originally thought that this meant—
He only needed to rely on the wizard's deep understanding of the essence of life when giving magical creatures specific life vitality in spells such as Transfiguration.
That is to say, when using life-related magic, magic can be understood as life magic.
Unexpectedly, the so-called life magic actually required him to imagine that the magic he was using was life magic.
"It's really metaphysical..."
He couldn't help but complain in his heart.
But he smiled on his face: "I see, I understand."
Professor McGonagall nodded and said in a gentle tone: "Generally speaking, life magic originates from the wizard's own inner strength and is closely related to the wizard's spirit, emotion, and understanding of life."
"So, when you try to study living transfiguration, in addition to integrating your feelings and understanding of life into magic, you also need to believe that your magic can produce the effect of making inanimate objects alive."
Dylan nodded again.
"Since you mentioned life magic, I'll briefly talk about my shallow understanding of this definition."
Professor McGonagall looked at him with some expectation in her eyes.
Dylan said seriously: "Life magic, although it is the inner power of wizards, also has some deep-level connection with the life force in nature that I cannot understand now."
"So in the process of using Transfiguration, the two can be related, which also means the success or failure, good or bad of the transfiguration result."
Hearing this, Professor McGonagall's eyes lit up, the corners of her mouth raised a lot, revealing a rare happy smile, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes also stretched out.
"Dylan, your understanding of magic is quite profound. As a first-year student, this is very rare."
She patted Dylan on the shoulder lightly.
"You're right. The magic in a wizard's body has the potential to be transformed into life magic, but not all magic use is a manifestation of life magic."
"When wizards cast some spells, they need to resonate with the life force of nature. You can imagine that you are drawing energy from nature, combining your magic to give the magical product real life vitality."
Professor McGonagall explained many knowledge points to Dylan. This was the essential meaning hidden behind the words in the book that Dylan couldn't explore.
Dylan gained a lot.
(End of chapter)
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