Emerging from the greenhouses, the young wizards were covered in mud from head to toe. After hurrying back to the castle for a quick shower, they rushed off to their next lesson.
Their second period was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall.
The task for this class was to transform beetles into buttons—a relatively low-difficulty assignment. During the final exams of the previous school year, their Transfiguration practical had involved turning mice into snuffboxes; this kind of transformation from living creatures to inanimate objects had been taught long ago.
Having them practice this now was merely to help them review the knowledge they had acquired the year before. After all, a significant number of students tended to "return" most of what they had learned to their professors over the course of the two-month summer break.
Naturally, that group did not include Kyle.
After successfully transforming the beetle on his desk into a button, Kyle began to ponder the Human Transfiguration that Grindelwald had been teaching him.
At that moment, he was using Transfiguration to manipulate his own hair.
Ninja Art: Needle Jizo!
Kyle's brilliant golden hair twisted first into the shape of an 'S,' then into a 'B.'
Just as Kyle was amusing himself with his hair, Professor McGonagall walked over and tapped on the desk in front of him.
"Kyle, your application of Human Transfiguration is already quite proficient. Did Albus teach you this?"
"My father taught me, Professor McGonagall," Kyle replied.
Upon hearing his words, a look of sudden realization dawned on McGonagall's face.
Grindelwald's level of Transfiguration was indeed extraordinarily high. Back when he had controlled and replaced Percival Graves to infiltrate MACUSA, he had relied on a masterful display of Human Transfiguration to create a flawless disguise.
"I believe you can begin attempting to learn the Animagus transformation," McGonagall suggested.
Hearing Professor McGonagall's words, both Hannah and Hermione displayed looks of deep envy. That was an Animagus—the most advanced branch of Human Transfiguration in the entire field of Transfiguration magic.
However, Kyle shook his head. "Professor McGonagall, I think it's still a bit too early."
Seeing McGonagall's confusion, Kyle took the initiative to explain: "Currently, I can only change the shape of human tissue; I cannot yet achieve changes on a cellular level."
McGonagall immediately understood what Kyle meant.
For instance, Kyle could change his muscles and bones to take on a different appearance, but in essence, he would still be human. But to truly become another animal like an Animagus, changing from a human into a different species, was something Kyle could not yet achieve.
"Then where are you currently in your Transfiguration studies?"
"Cross-species transformation."
This was content usually taught in fourth or fifth-year Transfiguration classes. Given Kyle's current pace of learning, he would likely be ready to formally begin the preparatory Human Transfiguration for the Animagus by the second half of the school year.
A smile appeared on Professor McGonagall's face.
"Once you have finished learning that section, come to my office. I can guide you through mastering the Animagus transformation then."
"Thank you, Professor."
As the two were talking, a cloud of grey smoke smelling of rotten eggs suddenly exploded over by the Gryffindors.
A Dungbomb. Kyle initially thought some insane "brave soul" had thrown a Dungbomb in McGonagall's class.
McGonagall also looked over with a grim expression, only to find Ron holding a broken wand and attempting to cast a spell.
Ron's wand had already been in a terrible state, and last night, when Hagrid had pulled him out of the tank, he had left the wand inside the cabin. Subsequently, under the force of a heavy impact, it had snapped completely in two.
Although Ron had used some Spellotape to stick the wand back together, wands were not things that could be repaired so easily.
"You should consider getting a new wand, Mr. Weasley."
Ron muttered under his breath, "If I write home asking for another one, I'll likely just receive another Howler."
While Ollivander, the professional wandmaker, sold wands quite cheaply—only seven to twenty Galleons—this was only possible because the Ministry of Magic provided subsidies. When a wizard purchased a wand for the second time, there was no subsidy, and they had to pay the full price.
The market price for a single unicorn tail hair used as a wand core fluctuated between nine and twelve Galleons. Phoenix feathers were even more expensive, costing twenty to thirty Galleons each.
After all, a single unicorn tail had hundreds or thousands of hairs. While not every hair could be used as a core, they were still far less difficult and rare to obtain than phoenix feathers.
With core prices so high, once the wand was manufactured and the labor costs of Mr. Ollivander were factored in, the price of a wand started at a minimum of thirty Galleons. More expensive wands could cost seventy, eighty, or even over a hundred gold Galleons.
The Weasleys could not possibly afford a new wand without a Ministry subsidy.
Actually, this might have been Ron's first time buying a wand. But that didn't matter; even with a subsidy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley couldn't scrape together the money. The thirty-plus Galleons the twins had given Mrs. Weasley last time had mostly been spent at Diagon Alley buying Ginny's new robes and wand. Even if a little remained, it had become Ginny's pocket money for Hogwarts; Ron couldn't count on it.
Kyle offered a kind reminder, "Cedric knows how to make wands. He had a summer job at Ollivanders before. Maybe you could let him take a look at yours."
Ron's eyes lit up. "Really?"
His wand couldn't get any worse no matter what he did to it, so he might as well let Cedric have a look. However, Ron's face immediately fell again. "Does he charge money?"
Kyle looked at Ron strangely, as if he were looking at a fool. "You didn't think you could get it for free, did you?"
Ron froze instantly; he didn't have a single Knut on him.
Even though the unicorn hair Cedric used was plucked by himself in the Forbidden Forest and the wood for the shafts was scavenged from the remains of the Whomping Willow, he still put in time and effort. Cedric's family wasn't a charity; he wouldn't repair wands for free.
"Wandmaking..." Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Cedric is one of the few geniuses I've seen with a supreme talent for Transfiguration. Spending too much time on wandmaking will only distract his focus."
From the sound of it, Professor McGonagall clearly did not support Cedric wasting too much time on wandmaking.
Kyle, however, didn't see it that way. After all, having more skills never hurt anyone.
Currently, besides his Hogwarts curriculum, Kyle had to carve out time every day to study Alchemy and Ancient Runes. In addition to that, he had to squeeze in time for physical training and Lightning Release Body Cultivation. He was currently attempting to upgrade his Chidori Stream into Lightning Release Armor.
If Cedric had the ability, learning more things outside of Transfiguration was a good thing.
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