{Transfiguration Classroom, Hogwarts}
{2nd Sep 1991}
{3rd Person POV}
While the rest of the class began focusing on copying down the symbols on the board, Rigel raised his hand catching Minerva's attention. The boy looked surprisingly focused as he had a thoughtful look, so Minerva decided to see what he wanted. She needed him by her side in the end, so if he was willing to ignore the social rules that most houses followed, she was more than happy to indulge him.
"Yes, Mr. Black?" Minerva asked, the attention of the whole class once again shifted from the blackboard to the black-haired boy as he stood up.
"Umm, Professor? What you demonstrated was an Inanimate-to-animate transfiguration right?" Rigel asked. Minerva nodded at him, "Yes that's correct Mr. Black..."
"So the reason the pig looked alive was because of animation charms you used on it to make the construct behave like a pig?" Rigel asked, he did not for a second believe that she was able to create life out of thin air without soul-crippling consequences.
"That's a good observation, Mr. Black," Minerva responded a little surprised, normally wizards and witches didn't think much about these minor details. They were more focused on how to perform magic itself.
"The answer to your question involves many different high-level theories but let's see if I can satisfy your curiosity," Minerva spoke as she gestured toward the desk again. "This is a normal desk, it does not have a brain or nervous system to control its movements and yet when I used magic to transform it into a pig it was able to move on its own. What Mr. Black guessed was the use of a high-level charm that could make an inanimate object move, and while it could be a way to go, this is a Transfiguration class and any spells not related to the subject would normally not be used in the class."
After making the distinction perfectly clear, Minerva continued, "For the purpose of this spell, I used transfiguration to change this desk into a pig. In doing so not only did I create a simple and crude set of nerves for it to move around, but I also had to create a brain to control those movements. The theories behind these complex techniques will be discussed later, just know that when you create a brain the commands or intent with which you create this brain will remain imprinted on it. For example," Minerva waved her wand and the desk once again transformed.
The pig once again returned but this time its actions were a lot more complex. It shifted its weight on its back legs and entered a guarded posture as it started making familiar sounds. "Oink~, Oink~ Oink~, Oink~, Oink~ Oink~"
"Can anyone guess what the pig is doing?" Minerva asked. She looked around the classroom but nobody responded. "It's not a pig but a dog stuck in the body of a pig. It's trying to bark but the sound that's coming out of its mouth is that of a pig because of its anatomy..."
After Prof. McGonagall explained the rhythm of the pig's barking started to become clear. With another wave of her hand, the pig returned back to being a desk but Rigel once again noticed that the desk was filled with mana, unlike its previous state.
"If I had to use animate charms on my transfiguration construct then it would be an Inanimate-to-Inanimate transfiguration..." Prof. McGonagall finished her explanation as she nodded at Rigel to sit down.
"You don't need to stand to ask your question Mr.Black, and 5 points to Slytherin for your astute observation and knowledge of higher-level magic. It's good to see that you are taking your studies seriously." With that bit of encouragement done, Minerva pointed to the board, and the symbols that were written were erased until just the first symbol was left.
"Now, starting with some history, the first Transfiguration spell was created by a Greek wizard named Roderick Sokrates. The times were old and not much knowledge about his life and struggles was left. Still, he not only created the first few transfiguration spells that you would learn today, but he also created the basics of the Transfiguration Alphabet."
She pointed to the board and a letter 'δ', one they had copied appeared on the board. The letter was translated and its meaning became clear as another few words appeared after it.
'''δ->iron->σί'δ'ερο'''
"The letter δ is a substitute for the Greek word 'sídero' which means Iron in their language. Just like that all these letters either represent a material or a state which links your transfiguration spell and intent together. To use a spell you need to correctly understand the spell and its translation and keep that in mind when you use that spell. Using this same method and terminology, we derived the magical branch of Transfiguration." Professor McGonagall instructed.
"This from this moment on would either be known as the Transfiguration Alphabet or as Roderick's law as it would be mentioned in your textbooks. All the theory of Inanimate-to-Inaimate Transfiguration was derived from these very symbols." Prof. McGonagall explained. She then waved her wand again and two new spells appeared on the board.
'''μεταμοΜέταλλο->metamorfóno Métallo~'''
'''μεταμοαιχμηρός->metamorfóno Aichmirós~'''
"Now these are the two spells that we will be using today, translate them according to your books and write these spells in your books. I'll teach you the wand movements when you are done. You have 10 minutes..." Minerva finished as she walked back to her desk.
Rigel opened his bag and pulled out his Transfiguration textbook, now the theory was starting to make sense and he quickly wrote the two spells down on a parchment and started to translate the two spells.
...
It didn't take him long to figure out how Prof. McGonagall was able to perform a simple transfiguration by simply waving her wand while they needed two spells and wand movements to turn a match into a needle.
'It's all intent, by forcing us to write down the translation and meaning behind the spells. It made it easier for us to focus our intent on the outcome. The spells too are geared toward achieving a successful transfiguration.' Rigel concluded. The incantations were simply a trick to fool his mind and to focus his intent, the main ingredients of the spell are intent and wand movements.
Rigel kept his discoveries to himself as he waited for the next portion of the class to begin. He was looking forward to defying and morphing the laws of physics that were ironclad in his mind.
'This is going to be interesting!'
...
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AN - I'm pulling the whole lecture out of my ass so it took a little bit of time. Since it was the first lecture I decided to invest a little more into it, don't worry the story would not convert into a theory crafting session!
P.S.- 30 Chapters ahead on P.atreon!