Hogwarts: Through the Veil of Time

"Several sheets? Shouldn't the object be single and separate?" the professor smirked, and some of the students looked at me mockingly.

— Depends on the type of manipulation. Technically, one spell requires one object, and one spell won't work on several objects. However… — I paused dramatically, and the professor seemed to understand what I was getting at and was a little surprised. — You can use the Mayer-Turner formula to combine several spells and objects into one cascading transfiguration spell. In practice, you'll get one spell for several objects. A little trick.

"Excellent. Seventh-year material. I see you've read the supplementary literature, and, importantly, understood it." McGonagall's smile became much more obvious. "What about the rest of the requirements?"

— With a separate object, everything is simple. You won't be able to transfigure, for example, a nail firmly driven into a wall. But a nail that is loose inside it — no problem. Understanding exceptions, shall we say?

- Of course, Mr. Granger. I, and I hope others, are extremely interested in your findings.

A couple of students snorted dismissively, but under McGonagall's menacing gaze they immediately assumed the appearance of diligent students listening attentively to their colleague.

- Well... You can't create food out of nothing. An old formulation, in my opinion, that doesn't quite correctly explain the essence. The object of transfiguration in principle cannot be "nothing".

And yes, I know perfectly well that matter is a form of energy, which means that absolutely everything can be transfigured into anything. But in local realities there is no justification for this, and the depth of knowledge of the universe in both the ordinary and magical worlds is much inferior to the elven one. Simply put, there is no point in talking about this, as well as proving it in practice.

— As for food, I think I know what the problem is. Food is an object with an extremely complex structure, and its creation requires extremely deep knowledge of the theory of the structure of matter and space, along with knowledge of the functioning of the body as a whole, and metabolism in particular. Transfiguration, I emphasize, namely the transfiguration of food, which would fully perform the function of this very food, is a colossally expensive matter, both magically and mentally. But there is another problem.

I tore out two leaves and with a wave of my wand turned them one by one into glass cups.

"Aguamenti," I said a spell, filling one cup with water, and repeated the maneuver with the second.

— The second problem is the time of transfiguration.

To illustrate, I turned the water in the cups into two apples. And no, they're not real.

- Not food, of course. Similar in structure, - I cooled the ardor of several students, who began to whisper animatedly.

- According to my estimates, the magic invested was enough for five minutes of transfiguration. What do you think, professor, am I right?

McGonagall waved her wand over one apple, then over the other, with an air of importance, and then nodded, confirming my own feelings. It seemed that I had indeed found the necessary key to Transfiguration – this discipline was no longer a problem for me. I picked up one of the apples.

- So. Transfiguration time. Drawing conclusions from various materials on the subject, I came to a clear and disappointing conclusion. If you divide the result of transfiguration in two, then the duration of transfiguration will be halved. This is due, as it seems to me, to the fact that the spell is divided between objects, dividing the invested magic. And as we know, the cost of magic is affected not by the size or density of the object and the target of transfiguration, but by their structural complexity. And if you divide it into many parts?

I slammed the apple hard against the table, breaking it into a huge number of pieces. The smallest ones turned into water almost immediately, while the others, the larger ones, lasted a few moments longer, until the five largest pieces remained in a puddle of water. Just as I was about to speak, the smallest of the remaining pieces turned into water.

- There is no need to tell you what might happen if you transfigure this apple from a chair or a table and start using it.

"A very harsh example," the professor nodded, removing the traces of my demonstration with a wave of her wand. "Did the other exceptions yield to your extraordinary mind?"

- Of course, professor, - I nodded with a slight smile, causing one of the students to gnash their teeth. - You can't turn anything into a human. It's simple. Just as any transfigured creature will not be alive, but only a golem, the same is true for a human. Theoretically, like with an apple, you can recreate a body with unimaginable expenses, but a human is not just a body, but also a soul. That's where the problems lie.

"These, Mr. Granger, are already sections of Dark Magic," the professor said sternly. "I strongly advise against practicing them, and it's not a matter of legality."

- I know, Professor, I'm just stating a fact. What we all understand by a person really cannot be transfigured. As for turning something into a magical object or creating something magical - here, unfortunately, I don't quite understand the reasons for the failure. I suppose it is possible to enchant a transfigured object, and then fix it with the formula of eternal transfiguration. I think the point is that transfiguration is the science of transforming material objects. Magic and charms are immaterial.

- That's right, Mr. Granger.

- Money... Hm, - I thought. - Depends on what kind. Ordinary people's money is made from ordinary materials, and it can be successfully transfigured theoretically, but the DMP keeps a close eye on such things, if I remember the conversations I overheard correctly.

- You have touched upon a very important point, - nodded McGonagall and addressed everyone. - This exception appeared at the end of the seventeenth century. At that time, both Muggles and wizards used money made of precious metals and their alloys. That is why their transfiguration is not considered possible. By the way, Mr. Granger, what is the reason for the impossibility of transfiguration of precious metals and stones?

"Dispersal of magic," I shrugged.

Now the whole class was diligently taking notes, albeit reluctantly.

"More details?" asked the professor.

— Gold, platinum and pure silver have unique properties that prevent any magic from taking hold on them. Again, theoretically, when we try to transfigure an object into gold, the transfiguration almost works — the moment the object becomes gold, it immediately sheds its magic, returning to its original state. This moment is completely elusive in time, which is why it seems that the transfiguration does not work.

Neither Professor McGonagall nor I could help but notice Hermione's raised hand.

"Miss Granger?" the professor immediately turned to her.

- I would like to add and correct. Silver successfully undergoes transfiguration.

"Not at all," I shook my head, causing displeasure among Hermione, the red-haired Weasley, and Potter. "You mean low-grade silver, eight hundred, eight hundred and thirty, and so on. They have an extremely low cost, low magical value due to the high content of impurities, and transfiguration in them is possible precisely due to the low silver content. But even so, such a silver content negatively affects the duration of transfiguration.

"You could use the formula to fix the transfiguration, creating an alloy with a small amount of silver," Hermione countered.

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