A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

Chapter 79: A New Approach to Learning Magic

"Um..."

Felix Harp felt a mixture of amusement and irony. Did Malfoy open the Chamber of Secrets? He indeed did.

As far as he knew, the Chamber had been opened four times this term.

The first time was when Harry, in Professor Lockhart's office, heard the eerie sounds from the ceiling. The second and third times resulted in the petrification of Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey respectively. And as for the fourth time, it was when Harry rescued Justin.

Malfoy had taken possession of the diary after Colin Creevey was attacked. From this perspective, he wasn't entirely blameless.

However, he wasn't the Heir of Slytherin, and the true culprit was currently sealed within a box by him.

"Granger, I've had a rather in-depth conversation with Malfoy. I can confirm he's not the Heir of Slytherin."

"But, Professor..." the young witch protested somewhat reluctantly.

Felix Harp said, "The Chamber's location has been discovered, and the creature inside has been dealt with. The only thing to worry about is this so-called Heir of Slytherin, but he won't be causing any more waves."

"Please convey this to Potter and Weasley. As a professor, I believe your focus should be on your studies."

Yet, Hermione keenly sensed something and couldn't help but ask, "Professor, did you find any clues?"

Felix Harp merely replied vaguely, "I've been keeping an eye on it. So, for you and the young wizards in the castle, the danger has ended, and the adventure should be over."

Hermione held onto the professor's words, then turned to ask another question, "Professor, about that lightweight Transfiguration spell you mentioned—can I learn it? Of course, I understand it might be challenging..."

"You want to learn this spell?" Felix inquired.

"Yes, Professor." Hermione's expression turned serious. "There are only a few days left of the holidays, and I don't want to miss classes."

Without knowledge of this spell's existence, Hermione would've reluctantly accepted her fate, spending a comfortable three weeks in the infirmary. After all, she couldn't possibly attend classes with a cat's face, and that would be too embarrassing.

But having witnessed Professor Harp's "lightweight Transfiguration," her mind became animated.

If she mastered this magic, she could easily attend classes wearing thick clothing and a hat. As for the cat whiskers on her face, she could just remove them. Compared to the pain of missing weeks of school, that little discomfort was negligible.

However, Professor Harp shook his head. "Miss Granger, while the lightweight Transfiguration spell might not be as difficult as human Transfiguration, it's still not something a second-year wizard can master."

"But, Professor—" Hermione persisted, "We've already learned animal Transfiguration, and I'm doing really well with it. Even Professor McGonagall is quite pleased."

"That's a different concept. The difficulty of regular animal Transfiguration and the complexity of performing Transfiguration on wizards are entirely distinct. Do you know why?" Felix Harp gently probed.

"Because of the presence of magic?" Hermione pondered for a moment before answering.

"Exactly, magic interferes with your spellcasting," Felix explained. "The same goes for Transfiguring magical creatures, which is equally challenging."

"That's truly unfortunate," Hermione sighed.

Felix Harp spoke kindly, "Miss Granger, you're one of the few young wizards I've encountered who possesses both talent and a strong work ethic. Magic may seem subjective, but it has a rigorous logic that requires climbing step by step. So—"

He suddenly paused, his gaze shifting restlessly. His wand drew small circles in his hand.

Hermione looked at Felix Harp, recognizing this as his habit when deep in thought. A glimmer of hope arose within her.

Perhaps, the professor could come up with a solution?

Felix Harp paid no attention to Hermione and took out a piece of parchment from his ring, quickly jotting down his thoughts.

Hermione leaned forward, widening her eyes to read the contents above her.

Professor Felix Harp began by writing "Lightweight Transfiguration" at the center of the parchment. From these words, he drew several lines, each corresponding to something she found either familiar or unfamiliar—

Casting technique, incantation, gestures, understanding of the spell, manipulation and shaping of magical energy... levels of magical theory, she counted them meticulously; there were a total of seventeen components.

At this point, Hermione started to grasp the concept. Was he breaking down the factors affecting a spell? But what was the purpose?

Felix Harp paused briefly, then beneath the "Casting technique" segment, he added a few lines in small script: "Required wand flicking and shaking skills, refer to first and second-year spellbooks; wand-waving required, angle diagram attached;"

Hermione studied these contents. It was quite similar to what Professor Flitwick had taught in class, except for one significant difference: Felix Harp mentioned far more influencing factors! Many of them she had never heard of before.

Furthermore, he listed essential theoretical knowledge.

For example, under the "Level of Magical Theory" segment, it read, "Prerequisite Theory: Basics of Transfiguration; Animal Transfiguration; Human Transfiguration theoretical elements (attached separately)," and so on—a series of complex matters.

Each point was elaborated further on another piece of parchment.

For almost the next half hour, he continued this process.

Soon, two parchments weren't enough, and the professor pulled out a third, then a fourth...

It wasn't until Felix Harp set down his quill that nine densely filled parchments lay in front of her.

Hermione wore an expression of disbelief. For just one spell, the professor had written more than she'd put into her own published paper.

Meanwhile, Felix Harp was reflecting on the process he had just completed—

In essence, he had meticulously broken down all the theoretical knowledge and spellcasting techniques required for a spell into multiple distinct dimensions. Each dimension had specific requirements and judgment criteria.

In simple terms, he deconstructed a major goal into a multitude of assessable minor goals.

Completing this step simplified the rest of the process. The young wizards would practice each minor goal individually until they met all of them. Eventually, they would combine these achievements to master the complete spell.

During this process, any obstacles the young wizards encountered would cease to be insurmountable; they could follow the diagrams and address their individual shortcomings, effectively compensating for them.

For students with a strong foundation, like Hermione, she had already accomplished part of the objectives in advance.

In just nine pages of parchment, the professor had unveiled all the secrets of this spell.

Of course, his approach wasn't suitable for the "intuitive" type of wizard—often, they themselves didn't know how they learned a spell.

Satisfied, Felix Harp nodded. Besides himself, who had undergone one level-up experience after another, how many people in the current British wizarding world could dissect and compartmentalize a specific spell as if they were reciting cherished memories or carving up a piece of meat?

He couldn't forget the scene when he had achieved a breakthrough in his spell. After practicing the same spell a thousand times, he finally reached a certain limit, and all his memories of practicing that spell surged in his mind.

Every wand movement, every manipulation of magical energy, every test of potency, every validation of hypothesis...

These seemingly insignificant insights erupted in his mind in an instant, countless sparks of inspiration twinkling like stars. Together, they formed a series of steps, elevating his spellcasting to an entirely new level.

...

Felix Harp looked at Hermione. "Miss Granger, I believe I have found a method." He spoke gently and calmly.

If his assistant could learn the Lightweight Transfiguration through this approach, then he had complete confidence in teaching the upcoming Dueling class.

Felix Harp was eager to put this to the test.

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