Chapter 37: Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration

Aside from Chu Yang, only a few Slytherin girls sat obediently in the classroom.

After a long wait, no other Slytherin first-years arrived. Professor McGonagall's face grew visibly grim. As the Deputy Headmistress of the school, having taught at Hogwarts for so many years, this was the first time she had encountered such a situation.

"Does anyone know what is going on with Slytherin? Where have all those boys gone?" Professor McGonagall swept her cold gaze across the classroom. Everyone immediately fell silent, terrified, and hurriedly lowered their heads.

"Professor McGonagall, it seems those boys played in the common room all night last night and caught a cold this morning. They were taken to the hospital wing by the older students." Pansy Parkinson, with her short hair, stood up, a gloating smile on her lips. She enjoyed seeing those arrogant boys make fools of themselves, and besides, Malfoy, whom she liked, was not among them.

"Thank you for answering my question, Miss Parkinson, but even so, Slytherin will still lose five points." Professor McGonagall, now aware of the cause, looked displeased and gestured for Pansy Parkinson to sit down.

More laughter of mockery erupted from all sides, leaving Pansy Parkinson, who had backfired in her attempt to show off, blushing with embarrassment.

"Quiet!" Professor McGonagall paced the classroom and said sternly, "Now, open your books to the first section of the first page..."

Professor McGonagall began to cover the basics of Transfiguration, mostly introductory knowledge intended to help students understand what Transfiguration was and its associated risks. She shared some unique insights, such as what it felt like for a person's clothes and accessories, like glasses, to turn into animal skin while transforming. This was a unique sensation that only an Animagus could experience, serving as invaluable knowledge for other witches and wizards.

Furthermore, Professor McGonagall briefly touched upon the five principal exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.

Chu Yang summarized them: First, you cannot transfigure anything into food except for food itself, though you can transform one type of food into another or increase its volume. Second, you cannot turn inanimate objects into living ones, or vice versa; Transfiguration cannot alter the life status or nature of a target.

Third, you cannot perform Transfiguration on magical objects, as the conflict between the charms and the source of magic would cause a violent reaction. Similarly, special transformations like the Animagus form have their own limitations, such as the inability to transform into a magical creature. In Chu Yang's understanding, this conflict between Transfiguration and magical objects or creatures was akin to inserting two conflicting, unrelated lines of code into a program, disrupting its normal execution.

Fourth is quantity; you cannot use Transfiguration to multiply a target. Such acts of replication or creation are similar to the second point, and are beyond the reach of human capability. Fifth is creation from nothing; you cannot use Transfiguration to conjure matter out of thin air, even if it is something you have seen and deeply understand.

These five special cases were all attempts to use magic to defy the laws of "reality"! Interestingly, Chu Yang had a vague intuition that these five points were not impossible to achieve; they felt more like "shackles." Once one of them was broken, magic would enter an entirely new realm, triggering a qualitative change.

For the first lesson of the first-years, Professor McGonagall touched only briefly on necessary precautions. Because most of the Slytherin first-years were absent, she did not teach any specific spells.

"Familiarize yourselves with what I have just covered." After saying this, Professor McGonagall transformed into a tabby cat and sat upright on the lectern, her feline eyes showing a human-like weariness.

After a brief silence, four figures burst into the classroom: the "Boy Who Lived" Harry and his friend Ron, along with Goyle and Crabbe, whose cheeks were hideously swollen.

"Oh, thank goodness Professor McGonagall isn't here, or we'd be in real trouble. She looks so stern, she could scare you to death when she isn't talking!" Ron grumbled while pulling Harry toward their seats, completely failing to notice that Harry's expression had already changed.

Professor McGonagall transformed back into human form but merely walked past them; her target was the late-arriving Goyle and Crabbe.

"I heard you all had such a good time last night that you didn't want to come to Transfiguration today? Should I tell Headmaster Dumbledore to let Slytherin House teach themselves Transfiguration?" Professor McGonagall's face was as cold as frost. Her voice was not loud, but every word pierced Goyle and Crabbe's hearts. They now regretted not sleeping on the floor last night, as they could have otherwise joined the others in the hospital wing.

"It wasn't like that, Professor McGonagall, please let me explain." Goyle tried to defend himself in a panic, then felt someone tugging gently at the hem of his robe. He turned to see Crabbe, and then caught sight of Chu Yang’s playful smile.

In an instant, Goyle's hair stood on end, as if an electric current were coursing through his body. He still remembered the feat of Chu Yang taking down the entire first-year boys' dormitory single-handedly last night. How many punches could he take? Not even one!

"We are sorry, Professor McGonagall, we promise it won't happen again!" Goyle quickly admitted his mistake and then obediently shut his mouth.

Professor McGonagall paused, still waiting for the rest of his explanation...

"There will not be a next time!" Professor McGonagall glared and said loudly, "Sit down!"

Goyle and Crabbe sat down, but they couldn't focus on the lesson at all, shifting in their seats as if there were nails on the bench. They were this way because they were sitting exactly one row in front of Chu Yang; even without turning around, they could clearly feel the heavy, tangible gaze scanning them from behind.

The Slytherin girls had initially intended to ask Goyle and Crabbe for details, but the two boys remained like statues in a hall, eyes fixed forward, unmoving, until the end of the class.

The Potions classroom was in the dungeons, not far from the entrance to the Slytherin common room. The corridor leading to it was dark and damp, and most of the first-years wore expressions of fear. The atmosphere here was truly too eerie, and for a group of eleven-year-olds, it was a significant psychological pressure.

Hermione, who had originally intended not to speak to Chu Yang for the entire day, couldn't help but quicken her pace and lean close to Chu Yang's side.

Hermione coughed dryly and said with a sarcastic tone, "People from your house are truly impressive, making Professor McGonagall so angry on the very first day of school."

Chu Yang nodded noncommittally and said, "I think they're quite impressive, too."